Editor’s Choice
2016 Skyscraper Competition

Michal Ganobjak, Martin Koiš
Slovakia

IDEA
2250 AD. Earth is highly urbanized. Nearly 50 billion of people live on the Earth. New technologies offer several kinds of sustainable food production, but every piece of land is occupied. The Plantage Skyhanger would therefore solve local food production and supply problem in highly urbanized equator area. The basic idea is to provide real food – real soil medium, real daylight, original organic plant species – by vertical farming in new structure, hanged from space, which is hovering above the city.

THE PLANTAGE SKYHANGER
The Plantage skyhanger offers achievable, affordable fresh vegetables and crops for the city. Hanged greenhouse feeder. Whole construction is hanged and lightweight. Fields are circular with condensation irrigation from the ceiling. Seeds are artificially multiplied in laboratories in top levels of the Plantage skyhanger. Plants are not genetically modified. Seeds of organic plants are stored on counterweight space station. Soil, which in other way is annually lost in seas, is collected from deltas of rivers. Plantage skyhanger uses this soil as medium and uses it again in the process of agriculture. After several processes, soil is returned into nature. The Plantage building is using natural daylight in two ways – direct and undirect. Huge scale translucent ETFE pillows bring daylight inside of around perimeter of the Skyhanger. Undirectly, pillows welded and crosslinked by two directional networks of optic fibres bring original natural daylight inside of the Skyhanger during whole day. If spectrum of light is insufficient, it can be artificially supplied by “light recepies” for specific plant species. Station and plantage skyhanger rotates simultaneously with the Earth; i.e. every 24 hours around the Earth axis. Building is harvesting energy of wind vibrations of rope and sunlight. Energy is used for functioning of the building. Energy is stored. Building uses zero energy concept.

SPACE STATION
Station serves as a seed bank for original organic plant species. Near to absolute zero, genetic material of seeds can be stored for centuries and offers stable condition comparing to Earth seed banks after global climate changes and melted permafrost. Space station simulates gravity through rotation of the outer ring, and it is shaded from cosmic radiation, to simulate Earth conditions for seeds and human occupants.

CONSTRUCTION
Construction process begins with building of counterweight hubless space station which is carrying element of the building. Station element is taken into space by space shuttle rockets and Space elevator. To increase counterweight function, station is collecting space trash from the Earth orbit. Carbon nanotube fibre rope braided from carbon nanotube ribbons is unwound from space to the Earth. Floors of the Skyhanger are hanged and filled with alluvial soil eroded by rainy waters in delta of rivers. Building is lifted up and travels through defined orbit to the equator line, where station takes position of geostationary orbit. Building and station rotates simultaneously with the Earth. At the bottom levels of the Skyhanger is stabilizing element – water basin used as Fish farm. Water eliminates fluctuations of the building and eliminates pendulum effect. Absorbed fluctuations imitate water flows and waves which are necessary for breeded fish. Rotating loadbearing rope in two directions creates Fibonnacci pattern of facade. Unbraided nanotube carbon fibre ribbons create two directional fibbonacci pattern and bear all hanged floors. Multiwall-nanotube-carbon cable serves as a main construction loadbearing element. Triple rope hanged on inner static ring of space station is wowed into one 35786 km long cable, which is carrying the building of the Plantage. Rope serve as transport line for „climbers“ and visitors of space station. The Plantage building with rope and station rotates simultaneously with the Earth, 24 hours a day.

Leave a Reply