Cascade Tower

Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology

Idea projektu

Cascade Tower is conceived as a response to the highly congested and unstructured urban condition at the GEC intersection in Chattogram. The site is one of the most active commercial nodes in the city, yet it lacks organized office infrastructure, structured commercial zoning, and meaningful public open space. The project aims to address these issues by bringing multiple urban functions into a single vertical system while also creating a strong public realm at the ground level. The core idea is inspired by a waterfall, not as a literal form, but as a conceptual framework that guides the massing, spatial sequencing, and overall experience of the building.

Popis projektu

Cascade Tower is a 50-storey mixed-use high-rise that combines commercial, corporate, and entertainment functions within one integrated development. It includes car showrooms, convention facilities, banking spaces, offices, restaurants, cafeterias, a cineplex, and a large shopping mall podium, all arranged to function as a continuous urban ecosystem. The building form is developed through a stepped vertical composition inspired by the idea of cascading movement, where the mass is broken and shifted as it rises. This creates a strong identity within the skyline while reducing the visual heaviness of a typical tower. At the ground level, a large central open space is created as a public corridor and gathering zone, responding directly to the lack of structured public spaces in the surrounding context. This space is activated by surrounding commercial edges and becomes a key connector within the urban fabric. The main focal point of the project is a 96-foot-high waterfall that drops from a truss bridge connecting the office tower and the shopping podium. This bridge becomes both a functional and symbolic element, turning circulation into an architectural experience and making the public space more dynamic.

Technické informace

Cascade Tower is designed as a 50-storey mixed-use high-rise located at the GEC intersection in Chattogram. The building integrates a vertically organized program consisting of retail functions such as a shopping mall and car showrooms at the lower levels, along with restaurants, cafeterias, and a cineplex to activate the public realm. The mid and upper levels accommodate corporate offices, banking facilities, and convention spaces to address the growing demand for structured business infrastructure in the area. The planning strategy follows a clear separation of public, semi-public, and private zones, with a podium-based active lower level and progressively more private upper floors. Structurally and spatially, the building is defined by a stepped massing system inspired by the waterfall concept, where the form gradually breaks as it rises and the core reduces in size toward the upper levels. A truss bridge connects different functional zones of the tower and supports the spatial integration of the 96-foot waterfall at the center of the site. The overall urban strategy focuses on reducing horizontal sprawl by consolidating functions vertically while introducing a significant public open space that enhances pedestrian movement and urban interaction.