Honorable Mention
2011 Skyscraper Competition
Justin Oh
Canada
The final height of this skyscraper has not yet been decided, as perpetual development of the project has continued for more than twenty years. Its rich history can be witnessed and analyzed through the changes in the facade, the same way history can be seen in layers of stone or the rings of a tree. The architecture of the skyscraper changes as each firm contributes their own unique design proposals for the next addition to the tower’s elevation – mankind’s skyscraper project of the twenty-first century.
Hong Kong’s Kowloon side is Corbusier’s Plan Voisin, compressed and multiplied. Victoria Harbour has decreased to accommodate endless developments as the majority of the population live and work in skyscrapers. The principles of Coalesce are to discontinue Hong Kong’s public housing estate-style developments and remove existing estates in order to unite the parks on the Kowloon side. The equation of the project: recreational green space substitutes each estate razed, and with each estate razed, the equivalent amount or more leasable area is added to the central skyscraper. With an increase in green concentration at the heart of Kowloon, the district is expected to experience a drop in its uncomfortable temperatures and filter polluted air, while providing recreational space and facilities.
The core of the project is the skyscraper. Unparallel to any skyscraper in the world, the design of this structure is an ongoing collaboration of work from architects on the global scale. The skyscraper rises in phases, depending on the needs and demands of the community. Each phase is produced by a mixture of both local and international architects to create a completely unique design and individual architecture. As the development continues to rise, occupants will begin to inhabit the tower.
The history of the skyscraper will be evident; lower phases will differ from the higher phases of construction, an expression of evolution and design for the future. Remaining true to the birth concept of the skyscraper, the tower will continually develop and the sky will be the limit.
