位于尼日利亚拉各斯Ikoyi的金斯威大厦（Kingsway Tower）是一座地标性的建筑综合体，坐落在Alfred Rewane路一个显眼的角落，这条干道将城市一分为二，北至机场，南至维多利亚岛。大厦由南非建筑公司SAOTA设计，高15层，有一个地下室，一座二层零售裙楼，一个停车裙楼和12层的办公楼。金斯威大厦不仅为拉各斯这座尼日利亚的经济中心，同时也是世界上发展最快的城市之一，引入了新的设计理念，并且在建筑质量和执行管理方面体现着这个新兴市场在全球范围内的重要地位。

Kingsway Tower in Ikoyi, Lagos, Nigeria is a landmark mixed-use building set on a prominent corner on Alfred Rewane Road, an arterial road that bisects the city leading north towards the airport and south to the Victoria Island. Designed by South African architects SAOTA, Kingsway Tower is 15 storeys high. It has a basement, a two-level retail podium, a parking podium and 12 office floor levels.

Not only does the design of Kingsway Tower introduce new architectural ideas to Lagos – the economic centre of Nigeria and one of the fastest growing cities in the world – but it is also uncompromisingly world-class in its quality and execution, reflecting the importance of this emerging market in a global context.

Alfred Rewane路位于著名的Ikoyi住宅区，周边地带经过重新规划已经形成了一个多功能区域走廊，也唤起了办公建筑和酒店的蓬勃发展。然而，拉各斯的许多开发项目都具有相当程度的匿名性，它们大都遵循统一模式，采用混凝土板和制式外墙。\\\"我们希望设计出一栋针对拉各斯独有特点的，能够用外立面回应气候的建筑。\\\"项目首席建筑师，SAOTA总监Greg Truen如是说。

Located in Ikoyi, a prestigious residential neighbourhood, Alfred Rewane Road and its surrounds have been rezoned to create a mixed-use corridor, resulting in a boom in office and hotel developments. Much of the development in Lagos, however, has a fairly anonymous character, generally following a standard commercial model with concrete slab and curtain wall facades.

“We wanted to design a building that made direct references to the fact that it was in Lagos, with a façade that responded to the local climatic conditions,” says SAOTA Director Greg Truen, lead architect on the project.

大厦独特的飘扬式外形巧妙地参考了拉各斯湖上传统船只的方帆，同时突出了城市的气候条件。大厦耸立在波浪形的天幕之上，底部的编织状图案也让人联想到微风中的织物。顶篷环绕着一座二层的零售裙楼，为街道提供了遮蔽，并且在街角提示了大厦入口。

The distinctively swollen, billowing form of the tower subtly references the square sails of the traditional boats on Lagos Lagoon while conveying the effect of the gentle breeze that characterises the climatic conditions of the city. The tower rises above a wavy canopy with a “woven” pattern on its underside, reminiscent of fabric caught in the breeze. The canopy sweeps around a two-level retail podium, providing shelter at street level and lifting invitingly towards the entrance at the most prominent corner.

外立面的折叠穿孔铝板构建出了大厦最具标志性的外观特色。由于更偏好来自抽象图案的灵感，SAOTA精心避开了表象上的直观设计。他们认为，把以棕榈树为代表的热带植物沿着城市内和周围的热带泻湖排列开来，只能使它们看上去像是“出现在正确的地方”。然而，建筑设计应该遵循适合当地经济和气候条件的美学宗旨，而并非一味宣扬所谓的文化符号。大厦外立面上排布着数层薄板，创造出一个多孔、通透，具有深邃感和雕塑感的立面。正如Truen所言，”当各层移动转换的时候，会投射出趣味十足的阴影”。

The folded, perforated aluminium screens on the tower’s outer façade are primarily responsible for the building’s iconic identity. SAOTA was, however, careful to avoid direct or literal metaphorical equivalencies. They preferred to abstract the inspiration for its patterning – tropical vegetation, especially palm trees, along the tropical lagoons in and around the city – so that they seem simply “of their place”, appropriate to the climate and economy in their aesthetics, practicalities and performance rather than asserting overt cultural references.

The screens on the outer façade are arranged in multiple layers, creating a porous, permeable façade with depth and a sculptural quality, that, as Truen puts it, casts “interesting shadows internally as the layers shift against each other”.

有别于典型的欧美现代主义大厦，金斯威大厦的外立面更像是商业店面而非传统幕墙。“薄板在玻璃表面交错，”Truen介绍道。板坯末端还加装了铝制屏风，不仅可以减少热量负荷，提高建筑的被动性能，还可以为周边留出通道，方便进行清洁维护。\\\"另一个气候对策则是将建筑的短立面朝向东西，长立面朝向南北，”Truen说。”因为太阳在拉各斯升起的速度很快，所以建筑不得不面对大量来自垂直角度的热负荷。将悬挑与遮阳装置融入南北立面的必要性不言而喻。”

Unlike typical European and American towers in the modernist tradition, the façade treatment is configured more like a shopfront than a curtain wall. “The slab projects past the glass face,” says Truen. The aluminium screen is positioned at the end of the slab, which not only improves the passive performance of the building by reducing the solar load, but it also allows access around the perimeter for easy cleaning and maintenance.

“The other climatic response was to position the building with the short facades facing east-west, and the long facades north and south,” says Truen. “The sun gets into the sky very quickly in Lagos, so you’re dealing with a heat load that is coming from a fairly vertical angle. The combination of the overhangs, the shading devices and the north-south elevations is very effective.”

弧形顶棚下大量的公共区域使大厦与周边环境连接紧密，并呈现出与街道和人行道之间高度开放的视觉联系，这一点尤其体现在Glover和Alfred Rewane路的突出角落。LED照明不但增强了大厦的夜间开放性，更保证了气派的视觉效果。”激活街角的生命力非常重要，”Truen说。这种观点在拉各斯是罕见的，大多数当地建筑都试图独立于周围的环境，因此仅把空白的墙壁和围栏呈现给街道，几乎不考虑如何提高街景和公共空间的质量。SAOTA希望本次设计所提供的干预措施能够促进打破这一传统观念，同时为周边的城市结构做出积极贡献。

The street level facade below the curved canopy is populated with publicly accessible spaces, tying it meaningfully to its context and presenting a highly open visual connection to the street and sidewalk, particularly on the prominent corner of Glover and Alfred Rewane Roads. At night, LED lighting enhances the impression of openness and accessibility, not to mention its visual impact. “It was important to activate the street corner and give it a presence,” says Truen.

This approach is unusual in Lagos, where most buildings present blank walls and fences to the street, severing them from their surroundings and doing little or nothing to enhance the quality of the streetscape and shared public space around them. SAOTA hopes that this intervention will catalyse positive change while making a contribution to the urban fabric immediately around it.

大堂的内部设计和顶棚搭建采用了对角线网格元素，具体表现为围绕对角线轴线折叠的多面三角形木板。这种使用现成材料的雕塑手段和设计简单的图案使得所有的细木工板都可以在当地完成采购和建造。极具视觉冲击力的锥形顶棚吸引着来自外部街道的目光。如同大厦的外立面，室内大堂也会为走近细看的人呈现出更丰盛的细节与趣味。

The interior architecture and design of the lobby picks up on the diagonal grid-like element of the canopy, expressed in the panelling as faceted timber triangular elements folded around a diagonal axis. This sculptural approach and simple patterning, along with the use of readily available materials, allowed for all of the joinery to be sourced and built locally.

The bold cone-shaped canopy over the reception desk has an impact from beyond the building, creating interest from the street outside. Like the façade, the interior lobby treatment renders more detail and interest as you approach it.

拉各斯的电力供应不稳定，可提供的日常用水和污水处理等市政服务也极其有限。因此，除了能够显著降低对空调的需求以及能够提供充足自然照明的能源利用方案以外，一切供水、净水、备用发电和污水处理等服务都在现场进行。拉各斯的高速发展，以及超过2000万且仍不断攀升的人口都对这座城市及其建筑提出了挑战。”这是一个没有任何时间怀旧的地方，”Truen说。”为了迎合发展，城市正在不断地进行自我更新和扩张。”

The power supply in Lagos is erratic and municipal services such as water and sewage are limited or absent. As a result, in addition to passive energy solutions that significantly reduce the requirement for air-conditioning and providing ample natural lighting, all servicing – water supply and treatment, backup power generation and sewage treatment – is provided on site.

The rapid growth of Lagos, with a population upward of 20-million people and climbing, places unique demands on the city and its architecture. “It’s a place that doesn’t have any time for nostalgia,” says Truen. “It’s constantly renewing itself to cope with the capacity that’s required.”

在此背景下，金斯威大厦旨在开创一种新的设计理念，以解决城市的独特需求与挑战，同时反映出对当地和全球经济发展的信心，这种做法也得到了金斯威大厦的首个租户——国际计算机软件和技术公司微软（Microsoft）的肯定。

In this context, Kingsway Tower aims to inaugurate a new design narrative, addressing the city’s unique demands and challenges while reflecting both local and global confidence, an approach affirmed by Kingsway Towers’ first tenant, international computer software and technology company Microsoft.