Gold Architecture, Building and Structure Design · 2025
Spira Silva Mixed Use
- A' Design Award 2025 Gold Winner in Architecture, Building and Structure Design
- Awarded April 15, 2025
- CLIENT: Hao Zhong and Yuchen Qiu
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 72,352
- Verification code EAB64EC7CA · Verify this award
About Spira Silva Mixed Use
The Spira Silva, in Williamsburg's redeveloped waterfront, envisions a vibrant, eco conscious future by integrating nature with urbanism. Unlike traditional timber buildings, the project utilizes twisted CLT panels for both aesthetics and efficiency. Interior spaces vary across floors, offering flexible configurations and adaptable layouts. The Spira Silva challenges conventional skyscraper design, fostering a welcoming atmosphere and promoting sustainable urban living.
Spira Silva Mixed Use by Hao Zhong emerges as a compelling exemplar of contemporary parametric architecture that synthesizes organic formal inspiration with the technical demands of supertall mixed-use development, demonstrating how biomorphic design principles may be translated into the urban vertical realm without sacrificing structural logic or functional program. The tower's distinctive spiraling façade treatment, characterized by sinuous vertical bands of glazing interwoven with warm metallic cladding panels, suggests an engagement with natural growth patterns and botanical morphology that connects this work to broader architectural movements exploring biomimicry and organic expression in built form. The compositional sophistication evident in the tapering silhouette reveals careful attention to both aerodynamic performance and visual refinement, the form narrowing gracefully toward its apex in a manner that reduces wind load while creating an elegant proportion that draws the eye heavenward. Technical accomplishment manifests in the seamless integration of diverse façade systems, where the diagonal structural members appear to serve both expressive and load-bearing functions, creating a rhythmic pattern that animates the surface with shadow play as solar angles shift throughout the day. The waterfront positioning activates meaningful dialogue between architecture and landscape, the tower's vertical aspiration complemented by the horizontal expanse of harbor waters that mirror its warm materiality in rippling reflection. The podium base, articulated through a colonnade of structural columns, establishes a permeable ground-level interface that suggests public accessibility and urban engagement, mediating between the monumental scale of the tower and the human dimension of street-level experience. This work invites contemplation of how contemporary architecture might honor organic precedents while embracing the technological possibilities of parametric design, structural engineering innovation, and sustainable building practices. What conversations between nature and technology, between aspiration and groundedness, does this synthesis propose for future urban development?
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- Unlike traditional timber buildings, the project utilizes twisted CLT panels as its primary structure members, creating a dynamic architectural language while maintaining structural efficiency. Tthe interior spaces vary across floors, offering open layouts, enclosed areas, and adaptable configurations for different functions. The design fosters warmth, vitality, and a sense of belonging to occupants.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- typical CLT wall panel: 12'-6" x 14'-0" x 1'-0 3/8"
typical glulam column: 1'-6" x 1'-0"
typical CLT floor panel: 14'-0" x 24'-0" x 1'-0 3/8"
wood-look metal panel: 4'-0" x 12'-0" x 0'-2" - Tags
- twisted CLT construction, innovative structure, sustainable high-rise, dynamic spatial design, urban timber, eco-conscious design, iconic landmark
- Production Technology
- The project integrates innovative CLT construction with advanced digital modeling techniques. The twisting structure is achieved by programming the CLT panels to create dynamic forms that balance both aesthetic and structural efficiency. The use of parametric design tools enabled the creation of complex, fluid geometries, while sustainable materials were prioritized to reduce the carbon footprint.
- Design Challenge
- The deisgners utilized paramatric design tool and structural anaylsis tool to evaluate the structural feasibilty and efficiency of our design iterations. Daylight analysis tool is used to adjust twisting effect of building elements.
- Project Duration
- This design started in 2023. The building is situated in the waterfront district of Williamsburg, right adjacent to Domino Park and Williamsburg Bridge.
- Operation Flow
- Spira Silva fosters dynamic interaction between occupants and space. Its twisted CLT structure creates flexible interior layouts, offering varying spatial experiences from open to enclosed areas. The design encourages natural light and airflow through strategically placed apertures, enhancing occupant comfort. Adaptive spaces support diverse activities, from collaborative work to private retreats. The building's sustainability and versatility improve occupant well-being and energy efficiency, delivering a more engaging urban environment.
- Research
- The designers came across a project uses CLT panels with varying moisture levels to self-shape into twisted forms, reducing energy use and material waste while enabling complex, sustainable designs. They see this potential in pushing CLT construction beyond conventional stacking methods, allowing for the creation of expressive, sustainable and unconventional high-rises, which can foster warmth, vitality, and a sense of belonging for occupants.
- Inspiration
- Several years ago, the designers had the opportunity to visit a timber factory in Spokane, where they became deeply intrigued by the potential of timber construction. While timber structures are rare in New York, timber high-rises are even more so. They sought to challenge this norm by envisioning something entirely innovative, pushing CLT construction beyond traditional stacking methods. Their goal was to create expressive, sustainable, and unconventional high-rises, fostering a connection to nature, akin to living within a giant tree.
- Image Credits
- Hao Zhong, Yuchen Qiu
Colors of Spira Silva Mixed Use
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G0E23 ShopDesign Interview about Spira Silva Mixed Use
Spira Silva is driven by the idea that a single mass-timber element—an ordinary CLT panel—can transform the typology of the high-rise when its innate ability to bend and twist is embraced rather than restrained. The design draws inspiration from research on self-shaping timber, where controlled moisture reduction produces predictable curvature. By allowing the material to form itself, the building’s structure, form, and spatial experience emerge naturally from the properties of wood.
The main focus was to explore how timber’s natural responsiveness could produce a new architectural vocabulary for tall buildings—one that is materially efficient, low-carbon, and experientially rich. We wanted to show that mass timber can rise beyond its typical use in mid-rise buildings and become a catalyst for innovation in skyscraper design.
Beyond its conceptual exploration, the intention for Spira Silva is to share the project with a larger audience—through competitions, publications, and research forums—to inspire and inform the future of timber construction.
This was a self-initiated exploration, driven by our strong interest in timber construction and its untapped potential in high-rise architecture. We wanted to investigate how a sustainable, low-carbon material could not only replace conventional systems but also actively generate form, structure, and spatial experience.
High-rise design remains dominated by steel and concrete, especially in New York, where strict fire-safety codes limit timber use. You rarely see tall timber structures in the city. We wanted to reimagine how a timber skyscraper could contribute to the urban fabric and the skyline while meeting performance and safety standards.
Urban residents, creative companies, and future-oriented developers seeking sustainable, low-carbon buildings with unique spatial and architectural qualities.
Unlike most timber towers, which simply replace concrete with CLT but maintain conventional form, Spira Silva lets the material dictate geometry. The twisted panels shape structure, form, and space simultaneously—creating terraces, carved interiors, shade pockets, and a dynamic silhouette without additional components.
“Spira” refers to the spiral or twisting motion of the CLT panels, while “Silva,” meaning “forest” or “wood” in Latin, reflects the project’s material origin. The name also resonates with the Latin cultural history of Williamsburg, which has long been a hub for Puerto Rican, Dominican, and Ecuadorian communities. By drawing on Latin roots, the name connects the tower to both the materiality of timber and the rich, evolving cultural fabric of its neighborhood. Together, “Spira Silva” expresses a timber forest spiraling upward, anchored in both material and place.
I used computational tools to model material behavior, simulate moisture-driven curvature, and test geometric outcomes. Parametric modeling software supported the development of the twisted façade system, while conventional architectural tools were used for planning and visualization.
The integration of structural logic, form generation, and spatial expression into a single process—self-shaping timber—makes the design unique. The material itself becomes the generator of the architecture.
Parametric modeling streamlined the wayfinding and geometry generation process, allowing us to control rotation angles, panel spacing, and curvature across the entire façade. Structural analysis and simulation tools helped verify that the self-shaping panels could perform safely, providing confidence that the “crazy” twisting concept was possible. AI-assisted tools also played a key role in visualization, enabling rapid exploration of lighting, materiality, and spatial experience. Together, these technologies bridged the gap between experimental design, engineering rigor, and immersive presentation.
Spira Silva is grounded in both material research and precedent studies. A key influence was the Urbach Tower research, which demonstrated how twisting timber elements and parametric design can create complex, inhabitable forms while maintaining structural integrity. This project reinforced the idea that natural material behavior—like timber’s self-shaping tendencies—can drive architecture rather than limit it.
One of the main challenges was finding a balance between structural feasibility and aesthetic ambition. Twisting CLT panels are inherently expressive, but their curvature and rotation had to remain within tolerances that ensure safety and constructability. Another key challenge was integrating multiple functions into a single system: the panels not only define the building’s form and provide structural support, but also regulate daylighting, creating terraces, shaded pockets, and sculpted interiors. Balancing these interdependent roles—structure, form, and environmental performance—required careful iterative testing through parametric modeling and simulation tools, ensuring that the tower remained both visually striking and technically achievable.
The project challenges conventional high-rise design and contributes to the global dialogue about sustainable construction. We believed it could offer a meaningful perspective to the design and construction community.
Grand Interview about Spira Silva Mixed Use
The idea behind Spira Silva’s twisted CLT system originated during our visit to a timber manufacturing plant in Spokane. Observing CLT production up close, we were struck by how standardized, planar, and repetitive the material typically is in high-rise construction. Yet, at the same time, we noticed subtle warping that naturally occurs as moisture content changes across the grain.This observation led us to ask a simple question: What if this natural tendency could be harnessed rather than corrected? From that moment, the design began with a single CLT panel, and we explored how controlled rotation and calibrated deformation could produce curvature without forcing the material. Through physical prototypes and digital simulations, that single panel evolved into a repeatable module capable of defining both structure and façade, eventually becoming the generator for Spira Silva’s entire architectural language.
Spira Silva’s form translates the qualities of natural growth into an urban high-rise condition. The tower’s twisting geometry emulates the tapering and expansion you find in organic structures, while the CLT surface gives the building a warm, tactile presence that contrasts with the industrial waterfront context.Placed along the Williamsburg shoreline, the twisted panels open and close strategically to bring daylight deep into the interiors, create terraces, and frame views of the river. In this way, the form and material work together to blur the boundary between natural and built environments, suggesting a future for Brooklyn where sustainable construction and biophilic design coexist at the scale of the skyline.
Because the twisting geometry needed to be both expressive and structurally feasible, parametric tools played a crucial role. We built a Grasshopper-based system that allowed us to control rotation angles, panel spacing, and curvature based on structural constraints and daylighting performance.This parametric model was linked to simplified structural analysis tools to evaluate panel bending limits, load paths, and lateral stiffness. By iterating between geometry generation and structural feedback, we achieved a balance: the panels twist enough to create the spatial and aesthetic richness we sought, yet remain within tolerances that CLT fabrication and on-site assembly can handle. The final form is therefore not arbitrary—it’s the outcome of a tightly integrated digital workflow.
The variation from floor to floor emerges directly from the twisting panels. Because the perimeter expands and contracts, each level naturally lends itself to different programmatic opportunities.We embraced this as a design strategy: office floors benefit from the wider, more open geometries to maximize daylight and flexible layouts, while residential floors take advantage of more intimate, sculpted interior zones. This inherent variation supports a true mixed-use environment, where the tower can house diverse activities without forcing a uniform spatial template. Instead, each floor plate becomes a response to the building’s changing geometry, creating a richer set of spatial experiences for occupants.
Working with twisted CLT pushed us far beyond conventional high-rise construction methods. One of the earliest challenges was ensuring that curved panels remained structurally viable and prefabrication-friendly. This required close study of grain orientation, lamination patterns, moisture behavior, and panel thickness.Another challenge was developing connections that accommodate slight rotations without overcomplicating assembly. These constraints ultimately shaped the degree of twist we pursued and informed the tower’s vertical structural rhythm. Rather than seeing these limitations as obstacles, we treated them as design drivers—letting the natural behavior of CLT define what was possible and grounding the final form in material logic.
The metaphor of living within a tree guided our decisions from concept through detailing. Trees grow through layered fibers, gradual rotation, and adaptive structure—qualities we translated into the building’s twisting CLT envelope.This metaphor also informed the interior atmosphere. The warm timber surfaces, carved alcoves, shifting volumes, and light filtering through layered panels are all meant to evoke the qualities of inhabiting a living organism rather than a mechanical tower. The goal was to create an environment that feels grounded, tactile, and organic even as it rises above the city.
Spira Silva’s placement along the Williamsburg waterfront was a deliberate decision shaped by both context and ambition. Located beside Domino Park in one of Brooklyn’s fastest-developing neighborhoods, the site offers high visibility, constant foot traffic, and a dramatic backdrop formed by the Williamsburg Bridge. But equally important, positioning the project directly on the East River allows the building to be experienced from Manhattan—inviting people across the water to appreciate its form, materiality, and contribution to the skyline.This visibility became especially meaningful given the project’s use of mass timber. Timber high-rises or timber construction remain exceptionally rare in New York due to code and fire-safety constraints, so part of the design’s mission was to reimagine how a timber skyscraper could enrich the city. The tower’s twisted geometry showcases its structural logic while opening views toward the river, park, and bridge, appearing as a warm, sculptural counterpoint to the steel-and-concrete landscape when seen from across the water.
Our early simulations tested how different rotations and surface angles affected solar exposure across the podium and tower. These iterative studies identified a geometry that maximized daylight penetration while reducing direct solar heat gain on the most exposed façades. At the same time, we had to constrain the extent of the twist to maintain structural integrity—so the final form represents a careful balance between daylighting/environmental optimization and structural efficiency.
Spira Silva demonstrates that mass timber can move beyond flat plates and rectilinear forms and become an active generator of spatial and structural innovation in high-rise architecture. By relying on a single repeated panel, twisted through controlled logic, the project shows how variation and architectural richness can be achieved through prefabrication rather than complexity.We hope the work encourages future developments to explore timber not just as a sustainable alternative, but as a material capable of redefining urban typologies—making tall buildings lighter, warmer, and more environmentally responsive.
The variation from open to enclosed spaces across the tower was intentionally crafted to support both individual comfort and community engagement. Large, open office zones promote transparency and collaboration, while the narrower, sculpted residential spaces create a sense of intimacy and retreat.