“Throughout Studio Gang: Architecture (published May 2020 with Phaidon), there is a constant back-and-forth in how the studio operates between the city and the elements, whether it’s responding to noisy infrastructure or the flight paths of birds. . . .
Construction is an environmentally demanding act. Aqua Tower’s concrete balconies give the high-rise its identity, but the cement industry is also a major contributor to worldwide carbon dioxide emission. Low reflective glass on Solar Carve might reduce the amount of birds that smack into the side of the building, but there would be even fewer collisions if there were no building at all. These are difficult, existential quandaries that all architects face. Studio Gang’s work doesn’t necessarily have all the answers, but its willingness to respond to what Jeanne Gang calls ’21st century imperatives and possibilities’ is encouraging. The studio provides a philosophy of care and connection, which will become essential if we are to thrive in the next two decades to come.”
Martha Thorne, executive director of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, includes Aqua Tower in her list of the most groundbreaking structures of the last decade.