CRA–Carlo Ratti Associati, in collaboration with GS E&C, has unveiled a 140-meter-tall Climate-Adaptive Tower in Seoul that reimagines high-rise living through flood resilience and climate-responsive design. Elevated on slender stilts, the residential tower frees the ground below to absorb stormwater, preserve mature trees, and create new public spaces, embracing the principles of a sponge city while addressing the increasing impacts of climate change.
Instead of occupying the entire site with a conventional podium, the tower lifts its residential volume above an open, permeable landscape. This approach allows stormwater to slow, infiltrate, and move naturally through the site before entering Seoul’s drainage network, reducing flood risks while supporting biodiversity. The ground plane becomes a shared public realm featuring gardens, community farming areas, tea houses, and social spaces that connect residents with nature.
The project’s climate-responsive strategy extends vertically. Korean building regulations require refuge floors every 30 stories, and the design transforms these mandatory safety levels into elevated gardens where residents can gather during everyday life while remaining protected during emergencies. The building’s façade also responds to solar orientation: photovoltaic panels are integrated along the south-facing elevation to generate renewable energy, while vertical louvers on the east and west façades reduce heat gain from low-angle sunlight, improving thermal comfort throughout the year.
By combining flood adaptation, renewable energy generation, urban agriculture, and public space into a single residential tower, the proposal demonstrates how high-rise architecture can actively contribute to climate resilience rather than simply withstand environmental challenges. The project continues CRA–Carlo Ratti Associati’s broader research into environmentally responsive skyscrapers, following projects such as CapitaSpring in Singapore and Jian Mu Tower in Shenzhen.
Climate-Adaptive Tower Project Credits
Project: Climate-Adaptive Tower, Seoul
Architect: CRA–Carlo Ratti Associati
Collaboration: GS E&C
Founding Partner: Carlo Ratti
Partner-in-Charge: Monika Loeve
Project Team: Luca Bussolino, Marlene Braun-Daher, Günes Idil Altun, Simone Fasoli, Sonia Simone
Graphics Team: Gary Di Silvio, Pasquale Milieri
Image Credit: CRA–Carlo Ratti Associati
