2008 MFE Awards
Merit: High-Rise
Submitted by: Smallwood, Reynolds, Stewart, Stewart & Associates Atlanta-based Tivoli Properties put the Aqua high-rise in the heart of the city's action?Midtown. But that proximity also left the architectural firm, Smallwood, Reynolds, Stewart, Stewart & Associates in Atlanta, with major challenges.
The firm had to contend with two busy streets?10th and West Peachtree?which shrunk the 20,000 square feed of buildable area to less than 16,500 square feet. Combined with its trapezoidal shape, this size made it extremely difficult to lay out a structured parking deck. The proximity of the streets and limited frontage also made it difficult to have a lay down area for construction.
Eventually, the architects located curb cuts on both streets to accommodate ground-floor retail and the condominium tower's lobby. The parking entrance and loading deck are located on different streets.
Above the trapezoidal podium is a condo tower with 83 units, plus penthouses, on 19 floors. The floor between the tower and podium has key amenities such as a pool, clubhouse, fitness room, and terrace. The typical floor has five units with views toward the Midtown and Buckhead skylines. Each unit has an elevator serving it, eliminating the need for public corridors. The units wrap around three sides of the core, allowing an uninterrupted glass window-wall system to span the entire northern façade along 10th Street. The exterior primarily features aqua-tinted glass, giving it a striking appearance from the distance.
