Green Skyscrapers
In the next few days we will showcase 25 innovative proposals for green skyscrapers. These projects were submitted for the Annual Skyscraper Competition from 2006 to 2009.

Project 19 of 25

Ting Ho Cheung, Yiju Lee
Canada

Megastructure - Urban Organism

The strategies of urbanization, especially the impacts of suburbia colonization, are a controversy. The hypothesis for this research is the influence of a higher population density in the Greater Toronto Area and how this will affect its inherent resources. The prosperity of cities depends on the smooth movement of people and goods and it is getting more difficult with the increasing sprawling developments where large portions of land are not utilized and houses, shops, and workplaces are very far from each other. Read the rest of this entry »

Green Skyscrapers
In the next few days we will showcase 25 innovative proposals for green skyscrapers. These projects were submitted for the Annual Skyscraper Competition from 2006 to 2009.

Project 18 of 25

Guillaume Letschert, Dorian Bernards, Myriam Cesaroni
France

Urban Farmlands

Today more than 50 percent of the world’s population live in urban centers, by the year 2050, it will be nearly 80 percent. During the interim it is expected that the population will increase by an extra 3 billion people. With today intensive farming practices, characterized by high inputs of capital, water, fertilizers, and waste; an estimated 10,000,000 hectares of new land will be needed to grow enough food to feed them. At the moment we have nearly reach the maximum of land that is sustainable for crops. Each year we are losing about 100,000 square kilometers of topsoil around the world, the majority with poor management and poor urban planning. Read the rest of this entry »

Green Skyscrapers
In the next few days we will showcase 25 innovative proposals for green skyscrapers. These projects were submitted for the Annual Skyscraper Competition from 2006 to 2009.

Project 17 of 25

Pierre Heuser, Markus Egle, Lars Junghans
Germany

Forest Vertical Living

The Forest
The aim of this concept is to reach a sustainable, ecological structure with a high living quality and a high population density. Therefore the skyscraper should not be seen as an expression of individuality but as an element of a larger system. In the forest (shadow, climate conditions etc.) it is possible to achieve special synergy effects. This proposal introduces a new layer above ground for symbiotic leaving with the forest.

Read the rest of this entry »

Green Skyscrapers
In the next few days we will showcase 25 innovative proposals for green skyscrapers. These projects were submitted for the Annual Skyscraper Competition from 2006 to 2009.

Project 16 of 25

Hong Seong-hyeop, Choi Jae-ho
South Korea

Symbiotic Tower Amazon

The rapid modernization and urbanization have changed the original meanings of the Amazon. The tropical rain forest has been degraded to one of the expendables and it has lost its value as the basis for the nature since its financial value is considered more important than the life quality. In this situation, a high-rise building delivers the symbolic message of the world called the symbiosis by incorporating the two unsuitable words, green and growth. Read the rest of this entry »

Green Skyscrapers
In the next few days we will showcase 25 innovative proposals for green skyscrapers. These projects were submitted for the Annual Skyscraper Competition from 2006 to 2009.

Project 15 of 25

Jaakko Kallio-Koski, Toni Österlund, Joose Mykkänen
Finland

Mangrove Tower

The Sea at Risk
The Baltic Sea is the second largest brackish water basin in the world in terms of water volume. The water of the Baltic Sea is a mixture of ocean water and fresh water brought by numerous rivers. The unique brackish-water ecosystem is very sensitive to disturbances. About 85 million people live in the Baltic Sea catchment area, placing severe pressure in the ecosystem.
The Mangrove Tower is a temporary structure designed to prevent eutrophication in the sensitive archipelagos of the Baltic Sea. The actual process of reducing pollutants is simple, but needs a large scale self-sufficient system that can be relocated after the site has been cleaned. Read the rest of this entry »

Green Skyscrapers
In the next few days we will showcase 25 innovative proposals for green skyscrapers. These projects were submitted for the Annual Skyscraper Competition from 2006 to 2009.

Project 14 of 25

Reese J Campbell, Demetrios Comodromos
United States

Skyscraper Historic Cairo

A Social Construct for Islamic (Historic) Cairo
Modern Cairo (al-Qahira in Arabic which means the “Victorious”) was founded as the imperial city to a conquering army in 969 AD, at the head of location where the Nile splits into its two main branches. It began as a walled royal compound with highly organized palaces, parade grounds, and lush gardens.

However, within 200 years of its founding and given the fall of its conquering dynasty, Cairo rapidly morphed into the medieval social fabric that largely exists today. At its height in power and wealth in the mid 1930’s, Medieval Cairo was the largest cosmopolitan city in the world, boasting a population of over 500,000 people inside its walls and acted as the center for all trade as it moved from the orient to Europe and the West. The fabric of the Islamic metropolis significantly crystallized within a 100 year period into a complex network of social, economic, religious and cultural network. The historic district of Cairo today is a residue of those relationships, most of which still operate much the same as they did 1000 years ago, upon its founding.

Modern metropolitan Cairo´s growth has far exceeded its medieval numbers and is currently the largest city, in both Africa and the Middle East with a population of over 15 million people. Cairo proper has a density of over 90,000 people per square mile and is suffocating from hyper congestion of every type.

Read the rest of this entry »

Green Skyscrapers
In the next few days we will showcase 25 innovative proposals for green skyscrapers. These projects were submitted for the Annual Skyscraper Competition from 2006 to 2009.

Project 13 of 25

James Kerestes, Juliet Lee
United States

Eco Community

The commercial district of Philadelphia is located between 30th Street Station, the city’s major transport hub, and City Hall. The zone encompasses at least 25 city blocks of active commercial businesses and hotels. What this area lacks is a sustained urban community where permanent residents and commuters can interact, a destination point within this dense urban fabric. Therefore, this proposal is for the design of 580 feet-tall mixed-use tower located at 18th Street and Arch Street. The site will be indicative of integrating the densities of people, culture, activity, commerce, and the environment built form. Read the rest of this entry »

Green Skyscrapers
In the next few days we will showcase 25 innovative proposals for green skyscrapers. These projects were submitted for the Annual Skyscraper Competition from 2006 to 2009.

Project 12 of 25

Ruwan Fernando
New Zealand

Symbiotic City

This skyscraper forms a symbiotic relationship with the existing city; collecting water, sunlight (energy) and distributes it to the grid. Its material is lightweight and renewable and the structure is designed to last a temporary measure of time. Evolutionary computation will capture the site as a complex multi-dimensional interaction of bodies and will evaluate solutions based on the needs of the district as a whole. Read the rest of this entry »

Green Skyscrapers
In the next few days we will showcase 25 innovative proposals for green skyscrapers. These projects were submitted for the Annual Skyscraper Competition from 2006 to 2009.

Project 11 of 25

Anton Markus Pasing
Germany

Terraformer

“The first duty in life is to be as artificial as possible. What the second duty is no one has as yet discovered.” –Oscar Wilde

Almost all high-rise buildings are useless without us. Lonely and empty. In truth, they need us more than we need them.

That will change… The world as we know it seems explicable and free of mysteries. Something unexpected will happen. Water and clean air will become a luxury and crime and frustration will increase. An unidentified sponsor will build the “Terraformer”… Read the rest of this entry »

Green Skyscrapers
In the next few days we will showcase 25 innovative proposals for green skyscrapers. These projects were submitted for the Annual Skyscraper Competition from 2006 to 2009.

Project 10 of 25

Ka Wai Yuen, Ho Lun Wong
United States

Sky Mound

This project studies the architecture behind ants, termites, and other insects’ mounds. It could be located in any site with a hot and dry weather. Its structure is designed as a self-cooling system that uses earth and soil as an organic skin. The main circulation is at the center of the nest and connects to various-sized living units and shafts. It has platforms at different levels for recreational and social activities. Read the rest of this entry »