Elements of natural beauty can often astound visually, but they are always infinitely more awe-inspiring when one considers the millions of complex details involved in their existence. Leng Pau Chung, an architecture student in Sarawak, Malaysia, harnesses this wonder in the skyscraper complex Mangrove City: the buildings mimic nature in their holistic form and evolutionary capabilities, but Chung shows the complex’s beauty through the details.

Set amongst mangrove wetlands, the buildings combine complex “green” technology and materials to create a structures that, like the mangroves that surround them, will endure.

Plans for a wind turbine, rainwater harvesting, seawater filtration, daylight shutters, and water and energy distribution throughout the complex are fleshed out in great detail in Chung’s eVolo skyscrapers entry. As an example, Chung shows how, during different times of the day, the buildings’ solar integrated ETFE film can be repositioned to best generate energy and filter incoming sunlight.

“Flexible” construction methods are used for the complex’s structural plans to allow for future additions and alterations: like the mangroves, Mangrove City will have the capability to evolve. A tall high-rise that will house laboratories serves as the main, anchoring building of the complex. More labs are found in hallways that are attached horizontally to the main structure. These hallways are column-free and seemingly float in the air; however, they are in fact supported on both ends by a free standing greenhouse and a modular building that houses residences. A concrete slab “raft” that is reinforced from below supports the entire complex.

By rising vertically, Mangrove City minimally impacts its surrounding inspiration. This will allow it, as Chung says, “co-exist with Mother Nature for ever and ever.”

Leave a Reply