eVolo Magazine is pleased to invite architects, students, engineers, designers, and artists from around the globe to take part in the 2021 Skyscraper Competition. Established in 2006, the annual Skyscraper Competition is one of the world’s most prestigious awards for high-rise architecture. It recognizes outstanding ideas that redefine skyscraper design through the implementation of novel technologies, materials, programs, aesthetics, and spatial organizations; along with studies on globalization, flexibility, adaptability, and the digital revolution. It is a forum that examines the relationship between the skyscraper and the natural world, the skyscraper and the community, and the skyscraper and the city.

The participants should take into consideration the advances in technology, the exploration of sustainable systems, and the establishment of new urban and architectural methods to solve economic, social, and cultural problems of the contemporary city including the scarcity of natural resources and infrastructure and the exponential increase of inhabitants, pollution, economic division, and unplanned urban sprawl.

The competition is an investigation of the public and private space and the role of the individual and the collective in the creation of a dynamic and adaptive vertical community. It is also a response to the exploration and adaptation of new habitats and territories based on a dynamic equilibrium between man and nature – a new kind of responsive and adaptive design capable of intelligent growth through the self-regulation of its own systems.

There are no restrictions in regards to site, program, or size. The objective is to provide maximum freedom to the participants to engage the project without constraints in the most creative way. What is a skyscraper in the 21st century? What are the historical, contextual, social, urban, and environmental responsibilities of these mega-structures?

eVolo Magazine is committed to continuing stimulating the imagination of designers around the world – thinkers that initiate a new architectural discourse of economic, environmental, intellectual, and perceptual responsibility that could ultimately modify what we understand as a contemporary skyscraper, its impact on urban planning and on the improvement of our way of life.

REGISTRATION

Architects, students, engineers, and designers are invited to participate in the competition. We encourage you to have multidisciplinary teams.

• Participants must register by January 26, 2021.
• Early Registration: USD $95 until November 17, 2020.
• Late Registration: USD $135 from November 18, 2020 to January 26, 2021.
• One registration = One project.
• Participants may submit various projects but must register each entry.
• There is no limit as to the number of participants per team. Individual entries are accepted.
• After your registration has been approved, eVolo will send the registration number (within 24 hours) which will be necessary to include in the submission boards.

SCHEDULE

• July 15, 2020 – Competition announcement and registration opens.
• November 17, 2020 – Early registration deadline
• January 26, 2021 – Late registration deadline
• February 9, 2021 – Project submission deadline (23:59 hours US Eastern Time)
• April 27, 2021 – Winners’ announcement

-> REGISTER YOUR TEAM

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

This is a digital competition and no hardcopies are necessary. Entrants must submit their proposal no later than February 9, 2021 (23:59 hours US Eastern Time) via email to skyscraper2021@evolo.us. 

The project submission must contain the following files:

1. Two boards with the project information including plans, sections, and perspectives. Participants are encouraged to submit all the information they consider necessary to explain their proposal. These boards should be 24″(h) X 48″(w) in HORIZONTAL format. The resolution of the boards must be 150 dpi, RGB mode and saved as JPG files. The upper right corner of each board must contain the participation number. There should not be any marks or any other form of identification. The files must be named after the registration number followed by the board number. For example: 0101-1.jpg and 0101-2.jpg.
2. A DOC file containing the project statement (600 words max). This file must be named after the registration number followed by the word “statement”. For example: 0101-statement.doc.
3. A DOC file containing the entrants’ personal information, including name, profession, address, and email. This file must be named after the registration number followed by the word “info”. For example: 0101-info.doc.
   All the files must be placed in a ZIP folder named after your registration number. For example: 0101.zip
4. If your files are larger than 20MB you can submit your entry using a file sharing service like wetransfer or Google Drive to skyscraper2021@evolo.us

JURY

Koray Duman [Principal, Büro Koray Duman]
Reza Najafian [Principal, ReNa Design]
Arto Ollila [Partner, Aarti Ollila Ristola]
Eric Parry [Principal, Eric Parry Architects]
Isa Ye [Founder, designverse. Founder, Young Bird Plan]

REGULATIONS

1. This is an anonymous competition and the registration number is the only means of identification.
2. The official language of the competition is English.
3. The registration fee is non-refundable.
4. Contacting the Jury is prohibited.
5. eVolo Magazine, as the competition organizer, reserves the right to modify the competition schedule if deemed necessary.
6. Participants retain all copyrights of their designs. eVolo Magazine is granted permission to publish in print and digital publications all projects submitted to the competition.
7. Entrants will be disqualified if any of the competition rules are not considered.
8. Participation assumes acceptance of the regulations.

AWARDS

1st place – $5000 USD
2nd place – $2000 USD
3rd place – $1000 USD

Winners, honorable mentions, and selected projects will be published in the forthcoming book EVOLO SKYSCRAPERS 4 to be released in 2021.

-> REGISTER YOUR TEAM

Winners and special mentions will be published by eVolo and several international print publications including the forthcoming book EVOLO SKYSCRAPERS 4. In addition, the results are covered by the most important online architecture and design publications and general media such as The Huffington Post and The Wall Street Journal.

Previous winners have been featured in the following print publications:

ABC Magazine – Czech Republic, About:Blank Magazine – Portugal, Aeroflot – Russia, Architect Builder – India, Architecture and Culture – South Korea, Architecture Design Art – Pakistan, Architektura Murator – Poland, AT Architecture Technique – China, Archiworld – South Korea, AWM – The Netherlands, Azure – Canada, B-1 – Thailand, Bauwelt – Germany, Blueprint – United Kingdom, BusinessWeek– USA, C3 – South Korea, CAAOH – Ukraine, Casamica – Italy, Casas y Mas – Mexico, Concept – South Korea, Courier Mail – Australia, Discover Magazine – USA, Donga – South Korea, Enlace – Mexico, Focus – Canada/Italy, Future Arquitecturas – Spain, Geolino Extra – Germany, Grazia Casa – Italy, Kijk – The Netherlands, L’Installatore Italiano – Italy, L’Arca – Italy, L’Uomo Vogue – Italy, La Razon – Spain, Le Courier de l’ Architecte – France, Le Fourquet – Mexico, Mark Magazine – The Netherlands, Maxim – USA, Mercedes Benz Magazine – Germany, Mladina – Slovenia, Modulo – Italy, Modulor – Switzerland, NAN – Spain, Natur + Kosmos – Germany, New Scientist – United Kingdom, Oculus – USA, Of Arch – Italy, Pasajes de Arquitectura – Spain, Peak Magazine – Singapore, Popular Mechanics – USA/Russia, Popular Science – USA, Puls Biznesu – Poland, Quo– China/Spain, Rogue Magazine – Philippines, RUM – Sweden, Salt Magazine – The Netherlands, Science et Vie – France, Sciences et Avenir– France, Shanghai Morning Post – China, Space – South Korea, Spade – Canada, Spazio Casa – Italy, Specifier Magazine – Australia, SMW Magazine – Taiwan, Stafette – Germany, Tall Buildings – Russia, Tatlin – Russia, The Broker – The Netherlands, The Outlook Magazine – China, The New York Times – USA, The Wall Street Journal – USA, Time Style and Design – USA, Travel and Leisure – USA, Vida Simples Magazine – Brazil, Vogue – Australia/USA, Vox Design – Poland, Wettbewerbe Aktuell – Germany, Wired – USA/Italy, Woongjin – South Korea, World Architecture – China

FAQ

Who can participate in the competition?
Everyone is invited to participate, including students and professionals from any country worldwide.

Can we submit more than one entry?
Yes, but each project must be registered individually.

Can we submit printed boards?
No, this is a digital competition and all submissions must be in digital format as outlined in the competition brief.

Is there a specific height requirement for the skyscraper?
There is no specific height requirement.

Is there a specific program requirement?
No, participants have complete freedom to establish their own program, site and conceptual agenda.

eVolo Magazine is pleased to announce the winners of the 2020 Skyscraper Competition. The Jury selected 3 winners and 22 honorable mentions from 473 projects received. The annual award established in 2006 recognizes visionary ideas that through the novel use of technology, materials, programs, aesthetics, and spatial organizations, challenge the way we understand vertical architecture and its relationship with the natural and built environments.

The FIRST PLACE was awarded to EPIDEMIC BABEL designed by D Lee, Gavin Shen, Weiyuan Xu, and Xinhao Yuan from China.  The project envisions a rapid-deployment healthcare skyscraper for epidemic outbreaks. The building consists of a steel frame in which pre-fabricated programmatic boxes would plug-in according to specific demands.

The recipients of the SECOND PLACE are Yutian Tang and Yuntao Xu from The United States for the project EGALITARIAN NATURE. The proposal imagines a man-made vertical park for recreational activities within high-density urban areas accessible to all its inhabitants.

COASTAL BREAKWATER COMMUNITY designed by Charles Tzu Wei Chiang and Alejandro Moreno Guerrero from Taiwan received the THIRD PLACE. The project envisions a vertical housing community for fishermen in St. Louis, Senegal where rising sea levels have forced the inhabitants to move inland. The proposal is inspired by the traditional wooden architecture- a system of pillars, arches, and tensile structures.

The Honorable Mentions include a skyscraper for terraforming the permafrost, a proposal for repurposing decommissioned airplanes, a vertical cyber-mall, a water-scraper, and a reforestation skyscraper among other innovative projects.

The Jury was formed by Berrin Chatzi Chousein [Editor-in-Chief, World Architecture Community], Alper Derinboğaz [Founder, Salon Architects], Jürgen H. Mayer [Founder, J. MAYER H. and Partner, Architekten mbB], Manuel Navarro Zornoza [Principal, Latitude Architectural Group], Michael Neumann [Principal, Synn Architects], Ryuichi Sasaki [Founder, Sasaki Architecture], and Lu Yun [Founder, MUDA Architects].

First Place
2020 Skyscraper Competition

D Lee, Gavin Shen, Weiyuan Xu, Xinhao Yuan
China

The Epidemic Babel is a rapid-deployment health care skyscraper designed as a response to the current Coronavirus pandemic that originated in Wuhan, China. The project takes into consideration that an epidemic outbreak is usually fast, leaving no time for governments and policymakers to react. Under these harsh circumstances, a weak healthcare infrastructure will soon be torn apart turning the epidemic into a deadly catastrophe.

The Epidemic Babel features two very important advantages: simple construction and rapid response. The entire building consists of a steel frame with several functional boxes with a very small footprint. The building pattern is simple enough that any qualified construction team can have it ready in five days. Once the steel frame is erected, the healthcare team will choose the appropriate functional boxes to be attached to the steel frame. This building pattern allows the skyscraper to respond to the outbreak in a very short time and relieve the burden of the existing health care infrastructure. All the programmatic boxes are pre-manufactured in factories and need no extra time for construction. The lightness of the frame and boxes also makes it easy to transport to remote locations. Compared to the temporal hospitals currently built in China, the Epidemic Babel is faster to construct and potentially less expensive. Read the rest of this entry »

Second Place
2020 Skyscraper Competition

Yutian Tang, Yuntao Xu
United States

The Egalitarian Nature skyscraper imagines a new building typology driven by the human urge for nature instead of capital. It is a new kind of infrastructure conceived to serve the whole society. The traditional skyscraper is reimagined as a mountain range that provides a new way to experience nature within an urban environment. A zigzag-climbing path is developed along with abstract spaces that encourage an unexpected engagement between people and nature. Accessing the tower is not decided by capital but individual physical strength. Read the rest of this entry »

Third Place
2020 Skyscraper Competition

Charles Tzu Wei Chiang, Alejandro Moreno Guerrero
Taiwan

St. Louis, Senegal, located in the northwest part of the country, near the mouth of The Senegal River, has been home to fishermen for generations. It is a hostile territory where there are constant confrontations with the neighboring countries regarding the established fishing boundaries and territories. In addition to the political and social problems, the region is affected by the rising sea level. Such natural phenomenon has forced the community to move inland, away from the shore.

This proposal is based on traditional pillar structures, which are used to prevent erosion. These structures will serve as a foundation for the new vertical housing units. The project is also inspired by Senegal’s traditional wooden architecture that uses a complex arch system with tensile structures.  The system allows a high degree of adaptability and extendibility to create a new community by the sea challenging the rising sea level. Read the rest of this entry »

Honorable Mention
2020 Skyscraper Competition

Xuejun Bai, Chucheng Pang, Lei Zhai, Yuyang Sun, Dianao Liu
China

With the accelerating process of urbanization, people’s demand for energy is increasing day by day. The existing oil, coal, and other energy can only be used for about 50 years, and their combustion will bring serious air pollution problems, such as urban haze, so the discovery and exploitation of new energy is imminent. Recently, more and more countries have found new clean energy combustible ice in the deep sea. Its reserves can be used by human beings for 1000 years, and it can only be converted into water and methane, so the exploitation of combustible ice is very valuable.

In addition, the problem of marine garbage is becoming more and more serious. It not only causes the damage to the marine landscape but also brings great harm to marine animals. Among them, most of the marine garbage is plastic garbage. Because of its structural characteristics, it will not be easily corroded by the seawater. Therefore, we come up with the idea of using local materials, turning plastic waste into 3d-printed materials, as our own building materials, and filling cracks in the seabed caused by combustible ice mining to prevent secondary disasters. Read the rest of this entry »

Honorable Mention
2020 Skyscraper Competition

Ngo Thanh Ha Tien, Dao Duy Tung
France

According to the report of the Swedish Global Challenges Foundation in collaboration with the University of Oxford’s Future of Humanity Institute, there’s a 5 percent chance that in the next 100 years, humans will be wiped out by a global pandemic or a nuclear war. A century ago, a strain of pandemic flu killed up to 100 million people—5 percent of the world’s population. In 2013, a new mystery illness swept the west coast of North America, causing starfish to disintegrate. In 2015, a big-nosed Asian antelope known as the saiga lost two-thirds of its population—some 200,000 individuals—to what now looks to be a bacterial infection. Faced the risk of Biological warfare (BW)—also known as germ warfare—which is the use of biological toxins or infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi with the intent to kill or incapacitate humans, animals or plants as an act of war; and the evolution of unidentified influenza, are we human beings on our way to meet the end of the world? Read the rest of this entry »

Honorable Mention
2020 Skyscraper Competition

Zijie Nie, Chen Shen, Jian Zheng
United States

Affected by global climate change, many countries and regions are suffering from sea-level rise problems, where people are losing their lands, plants and animals are losing their homes. The design is based in Kiribati, an island country in the South Pacific. This reef-preserving country is particularly vulnerable to the rising sea level issues, and its territory is thought likely to disappear within the next 60 years.

The design proposes to constructs a series of wall-like skyscrapers in the offshore waters and combats the problems caused by rising sea levels in three aspects.

First, by studying the erosion of the coast and the direction of the ocean currents, the design of the architectural massing is used to slow down the speed of the ocean currents flowing around the building. With such a method, the sand and mud in the water are able to deposit as sediment and gradually cultivate the new islands over time.

Second, with the design of skyscraper, land area submerged by seawater was transferred to the air, and thousands of residential units were built in the air to provide a place for people to live and use, protecting them from natural disasters such as hurricane and flood.

Thirdly, while constructing a vertical ecosystem to provide greening for people living in it, it can also become a seed bank for retaining plant diversity in Kiribati and other South Pacific regions. Meanwhile, a large number of artificial components located between underwater structures can be a place for coral reef protection and regeneration.

Finally, we hope that through this design, we will challenge the traditional architectural design thinking—generating land first, then architecture. It provides a new building mode for Kiribati and other regions faced with the same sea-level-rise problem—growing land with buildings. Read the rest of this entry »

Honorable Mention
2020 Skyscraper Competition

Thomas Gössler
Austria

With deforestation being one of the biggest human-driven environmental problems this tendency not only has to be stopped but needs to be reversed. Using conventional methods such a reversal could take decades. The aim of this project is to use skyscrapers in combination with modern technology to automate the process of reforestation and re-naturalization.

The problem of deforestation is publicly known and can be defined as the loss of trees induced by both humans and other causes. It potentially affects wildlife, ecosystems, weather patterns, and even the climate and is mainly caused by either the natural loss of trees due to climate change and increasing devastation, especially in hot and dry areas or the manmade reduction of forest area which includes farming, grazing of livestock, mining, drilling and accounts for more than half of all deforestation. In Malaysia and Indonesia, forests are cut down to make way for producing palm oil; whereas in Brazil cattle ranching and farms—particularly soy plantations—are the key culprits. Many organizations are fighting to plant new trees. But despite such efforts, between 1990 and 2016, 1.3 million square kilometers of forest have been destroyed. Read the rest of this entry »

Honorable Mention
2020 Skyscraper Competition

Victor Hugo Azevedo, Cheryl Lu Xu
United States

At the beginning of the 20th Century, flying was one of the greatest achievements of humanity and the world was mesmerized about the possibilities that were about to open up. In that era of ingenuity, aviation was regarded as a romantic endeavor, a promise to tie people together and make the world smaller.

A century later, humanity is finally able to assess the magnitude of that feat that once was regarded as a miracle. Airplanes were at the centerstage of Great Wars, great shifts in geopolitical power, and gave rise to an ever-growing international elite of frequent flyers. The world of today is a different place, and the undeniable success of commercial aviation meant that flying airplanes has become one of the most substantial contributors to climate change.

A Tale of Two Issues
At the same time, we are in the middle of one of the biggest aviation crises for the aircraft manufacturer Boeing. Thousands of their newly designed 737 Max are unable to fly and are stored in airport facilities across America. What if they never fly again? What happens when the aviation industry slows down? And what to do with the significant number of decommissioned planes in storage facilities in the desert such as Victorville?

Meanwhile, on the ground, the world has a gigantic housing shortage and many marginalized social groups are unable to find a place to live. Not too far from the aircraft storage facilities, the county of Los Angeles has 60,000 people that have no place to live. A chunk of this population happens to be military veterans, who are denied the opportunity to start new lives as civilians due to the high cost of living and inadequate housing supply, as well as general stigma around post-traumatic stress disorder. How to spatially tackle this social problem? Read the rest of this entry »