Editors’ Choice
2019 Skyscraper Competition

Adam Fernandez
France

Badgir (In Persian literal translation: bâd « wind » + gir « catch ») is a traditional element of Persian architecture used from centuries to create natural ventilation and to refresh inside the buildings, more particularly in the living room area. These wind towers are vertical ducts looking as large chimneys allowing to capture and to direct the winds towards the interior of buildings. We can see them in important quantity in the desert area of the center of the country.

The interior of the tower is vertically separated into several ducts to allow the circulation air descending flow (bringing freshness) and air ascending flows (expelling hot air) currents thanks to the differential atmospheric pressures created.

The concept is simple: reuse this traditional process by integrating turbines to generate electricity and to turn this tower into a wind turbine. Higher is the tower, easier it’s to capture air flows (5km/h as minimum) and stronger will be the pressure. Read the rest of this entry »

Editors’ Choice
2019 Skyscraper Competition

Tony Leung
Hong Kong

In the age of “Level 5” (fully automated) autonomous driving, a vehicle (e.g. Toyota E-Palette) can be adopted as Mobile Greenhouse, traveling between farmers and buyers directly.

These vehicles can be charged at vertical “docks” equipped with PV charger and drainage system when idle. The best dock available will be selected by the central computer and directed by GPS automatically to suit solar demand of different crops. The “dock” becomes an ever-changing organism with its own ‘metabolism’.

The recent development in hydroponic technology makes vertical planting possible. Not only farmers but enthusiast or family can hire or own a mobile greenhouse for weekend farming. The docking ports are connected by double spiral ramps; car lift and staircase are provided for services and pedestrian circulations. Read the rest of this entry »