The award-winning architecture and design firm XTU Architects recently revealed their proposal for the French Dream Towers, a complex of four highly stylized and environmentally friendly towers. These futuristic yet organic structures are mainly comprised of glass, but they also feature panels of micro-algae, allowing them all to counterbalance their respective impacts on the environment.

“Biofacades” work with the planet in a variety of ways. Since the building materials have been fused with living, photosynthetic organisms, the towers will actually be able to absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen into the atmosphere. Additionally, the algae will serve as a clean and efficient form of insulation. In a similar way, it will also depend on the heat generated by the buildings themselves. The architects explain that the towers’ exteriors “allow [for] symbiosis: the biofacade uses the thermal building to regulate the culture temperature of algae and at the same time these facades allow a much better insulation of buildings.”
The project is set to be completed in Hangzhou, China. Since water is a large part of the city’s industry and culture, the architects created the high-rise with that history in mind. More specifically, the towers are located around one of Hangzhou’s central bodies of water. The structures’ natural sloped shapes will also allow for extensive rainwater harvesting. Rainwater will travel down the sides of the ...