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 »

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 9 of 25

Mikael Ling, Björn Förstberg
Sweden

Heliotropic Skyscraper

Tropism is a biological term referring to the orientation of an organism in response to external stimulus, such as light, heat, or gravity. Heliotropic plants track the motion of the sun to optimize photosynthesis.

The concept for this skyscraper is the same, as it orientates according to light and heat. The structure adapts to climatic changes to reach an adequate balance of temperature and light. It has a green core, a vertical stem, that purifies the air and it is also used as a vertical park. 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 8 of 25

Nikola Stojkovic, Jelena Zivkovic, Zoran Ivkovic, Danilo Vuletic
Serbia

Skyscraper as ecosystem

A skyscraper as an ecosystem is the collection of biotic and abiotic processes and components that dictates the life in a skyscraper. This project is a self-sufficient “farm”, a community capable of surviving entirely from the building activities and resources. Its two main components are the living and working areas and the farming lands. The natural resources are extensively used as a clean form of energy. 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 7 of 25

Alan Morrissey
United Kingdom

Paper Tower

The prime focus of the study project was built around the phrase ‘untethered space’, and dealt with the cultural significance of the edge of the city, a mysterious place that adopts many forms and functions. For my project, which was based around the Staines and King Edvard IV Reservoirs near to Heathrow airport, I used the central road that bisects the reservoirs and the proximity of the airport as catalysts for the establishment of a new form of edge culture, built around the following self – imposed brief: 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 6 of 25

Chris Kroner, Swati Salgaocar
United States

Architrash

Scraping the sky
The next skyscraper will not only be built through smart design, but also through effectively advertising itself to the public. Concept marketing would need to help sway public misconceptions about building and programming tall buildings. Looking back to the Chicago Tribune tower competition, skyscrapers and newspapers already have a linked history. This project looks to be marketed as a newspaper to the public before breaking ground to sell the idea to the masses.

Recall the dense masses of medieval and renaissance cities, and the innovation of skyscrapers designs after the New York Zoning law of 1916 as generators for the texture of the tower form. The building is started with large vertical elevators as the main core of the building. This skyscraper is then an aggregation of clustered apartments and programs, spiraling around cruciform steel structure plates, which are attached to the elevators. Aggregated cells of housing wrap program centers, making building clusters. These clusters can be rearranged offering tall or low buildings, and they can be rotated and placed for climatic tuning. The premise behind such a building is based upon problems of urban waste. The clusters sort, clean, reuse and disperse all types of recyclable waste, which becomes retooled for more construction within the skyscraper or becomes products to be sold for revenue. 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 5 of 25

Nikolay Simeonov
Bulgaria

Four Seasons Skyscraper

Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, grew rapidly after the fall of the communist regime. It is the most enticing for business and living city in the country. Unemployment rate is less than 3%, comparing with 12% for the state. About 20 years ago, together with the building of the subway line, the boulevard T.Aleksandrov was laid out. The idea is to connect the center with less developed west areas. Boulevard in words, more correctly to say road, generally flanked by old, almost ruin-like housing fund. The building of new structures is impending, the dispute is how dense and high. Sofia used to have fame for green city. The parks and the gardens have been neglected. The asphalt has conquered the grass, almost no new trees have been planted. Read the rest of this entry »