Argentinian firm Adamo-Faiden has built a concrete tower in Buenos Aires, flanked on two sides by metal-grated walls that conceal dozens of private gardens.

The seven-storey Bonpland 2169 building in Argentinian capital spans 11,500 square feet (1,068 square metres), and incorporates internal gardens on every level.

Designed by local architects Sebastián Adamo and Marcelo Faiden of Adamo-Faiden, each of its 13 units – intended to be adapted for varied uses – all have access to these enclosed grassy spaces.

"The building is prepared to be residential, office, studio, or whatever the inhabitant decides to do with it," Faiden told Dezeen. "There's no predicted use."

Bonpland 2169 features grated facades on two sides and is fairly symmetrical in plan. The units each include two rooms: an interior space and an outdoor "aerial garden", connected by sliding glass doors.

Trees and low vegetation are planted in every garden, while the metal grates filter sunlight. "The metal mesh consolidates the limits of the second room (the garden), and at the same time, serves as physical support or growing tutor for the vegetation," Faiden said.

The gridded facades also feature hinged doors, creating a checkerboard-like exterior. "The windows (or doors) let the inhabitant penetrate that immaterial wall and get in direct contact with the outside world," the architect said.

Inside, floor plans are the same for every unit, and include a built-in kitchen nook in one corner and a bathroom on the opposite side.

Interiors have a bare, industrial feel, with white walls, white cabinetry and concrete floors that make the spaces feel light and bright.

An internal staircase is located at the core of the building. The two top-floor units both span two storeys and have indoor and outdoor stairs that lead to rooftop patios.

Overall, the project was designed to provide an alternative to typical pre-determined spatial programming.

"Almost everybody agrees that our cities should be compact, dense and programmatically diverse," said the firm in a project description. "Instead of projecting a container to host previously established programmes, we offered a structure open to different appropriations."

Adamo-Faiden's other projects in its home city Buenos Aires include a greenhouse addition for a two-storey home, and a grid-like glass extension on the back of a 1970s townhouse.

Photography is by Javier Agustín Rojas.

Project credits:

Collaborators: Paula Araujo Varas, Ezequiel Estepo, Marcos Altgelt, Martinica De Barba.
Client: Fideicomiso
Structural engineer: Alberto Fainstein