2022 Skyscraper Competition
Editors’ Choice

Tiaglin Denis Valentinovich, Balash Ruslan Sergeevich, Sudarkina Victoria Alekseevna, Ermakova Ekaterina Alekseevna 
Russia

Wind-powered Skyscraper is a new high-tech complex of buildings based on the principle of using an environmentally friendly renewable energy source – wind, which is everywhere. The concept was developed on the territory of modern Dubai, however, the complex can be located anywhere in the world, with strong and weak winds, since already at 4 m/s it is able to generate electricity and provide itself with it up to 200% of its own needs.
The complex consists of four to five modules-buildings twisted around a fixed axis with rotors. The modules are interconnected by a common platform and technical floors. This form, built on the basis of the DNA model, ensures the spatial stability of buildings.
The technological process consists in converting the energy of the ambient air flow into hydraulic energy, followed by its use to drive generators that generate electricity. The streamlined shape of the buildings is chosen in such a way that it concentrates the air flow and gives it the vector of optimal impact on the air rotory unit. The air flow concentrated by buildings and directed by aerodynamic shields to the blade systems of individual modules creates rotation of their rotory blocks around a static axis. The modules are separated by fixed platforms having a rigid connection with the frames of peripheral structures in combination with a supporting column.

• In comparison with a propeller wind turbine, the use of a wind turbine with a vertical axis of rotation allows:
• Place it directly in the urban environment, which eliminates the use of extended power lines;
• Place generating modules at different heights up to 1000 meters;
• Use a gravitational energy storage device;
• Ensure low speed and absence of infrasound.

Read the rest of this entry »

Editors’ Choice
2022 Skyscraper Competition

Maryam Vaseghi
Germany

Germany is a country of old forests, beautiful rivers, and historic artwork and buildings. Acid rain is dangerous gases such as carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxide combined with water in clouds to create acid rain. When it comes to the problem of acid rain, Germany is its own worst enemy. The main sources of acid rain are smoke from factories and cars. Factories burn fossil fuels like natural gas, coal, and oil. This adds to acid rain through auto emissions. The toxic smoke from manufacturing plants is carried by air currents to other places before it falls to earth as acid rain. Germany shares its borders with many other countries. With other countries involved, it is also a more difficult problem to solve. For example, air currents bring the chemical-filled smoke from coal-burning factories in the United Kingdom to Germany. The chemicals fall to earth in Germany as acid rain. Over the past forty years, acid rain has taken its toll on these landmarks. Acid rain has ruined nearly half of the Black Forest in southwestern Germany. It has damaged the soil and the trees growing in it. Many acres of diseased trees are at risk of dying. It is the main concern in the future. Read the rest of this entry »

eVolo Magazine is pleased to invite architects, students, engineers, designers, and artists from around the globe to take part in the 2023 Skyscraper Competition. Established in 2006, the annual Skyscraper Competition is one of the world’s most prestigious awards for high-rise architecture. It recognizes outstanding ideas that redefine skyscraper design through the implementation of novel technologies, materials, programs, aesthetics, and spatial organizations; along with studies on globalization, flexibility, adaptability, and the digital revolution. It is a forum that examines the relationship between the skyscraper and the natural world, the skyscraper and the community, and the skyscraper and the city.

The participants should take into consideration the advances in technology, the exploration of sustainable systems, and the establishment of new urban and architectural methods to solve economic, social, and cultural problems of the contemporary city including the scarcity of natural resources and infrastructure and the exponential increase of inhabitants, pollution, economic division, and unplanned urban sprawl.

The competition is an investigation of the public and private space and the role of the individual and the collective in the creation of a dynamic and adaptive vertical community. It is also a response to the exploration and adaptation of new habitats and territories based on a dynamic equilibrium between man and nature – a new kind of responsive and adaptive design capable of intelligent growth through the self-regulation of its own systems.

There are no restrictions in regards to site, program, or size. The objective is to provide maximum freedom to the participants to engage the project without constraints in the most creative way. What is a skyscraper in the 21st century? What are the historical, contextual, social, urban, and environmental responsibilities of these mega-structures?

eVolo Magazine is committed to continuing stimulating the imagination of designers around the world – thinkers that initiate a new architectural discourse of economic, environmental, intellectual, and perceptual responsibility that could ultimately modify what we understand as a contemporary skyscraper, its impact on urban planning and on the improvement of our way of life.

REGISTRATION

Architects, students, engineers, and designers are invited to participate in the competition. We encourage you to have multidisciplinary teams.

• Participants must register by February 7, 2023.
• Early Registration: USD $125 until December 6, 2022.
• Late Registration: USD $165 from December 7, 2022 to February 7, 2023.
• One registration = One project.
• Participants may submit various projects but must register each entry.
• There is no limit as to the number of participants per team. Individual entries are accepted.
• After your registration has been approved, eVolo will send the registration number (within 24 hours) which will be necessary to include in the submission boards.

SCHEDULE

August 29, 2022 – Competition announcement and registration opens.
December 6, 2022 – Early registration deadline
February 7, 2023 – Late registration deadline
February 21, 2023 – Project submission deadline (23:59 hours US Eastern Time, UTC-5h)
May 9, 2023 – Winners’ announcement

-> CLICK TO REGISTER YOUR TEAM

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

This is a digital competition and no hardcopies are necessary. Entrants must submit their proposal no later than February 21, 2023 (23:59 hours US Eastern Time, UTC-5h) via email to skyscraper2023@evolo.us.

The project submission must contain the following files:

1. Two boards with the project information including plans, sections, and perspectives. Participants are encouraged to submit all the information they consider necessary to explain their proposal. These boards should be 24″(h) X 48″(w) in HORIZONTAL format. The resolution of the boards must be 150 dpi, RGB mode, and saved as JPG files. The upper right corner of each board must contain the participation number. There should not be any marks or any other form of identification. The files must be named after the registration number followed by the board number. For example 0101-1.jpg and 0101-2.jpg.
2. A DOC file containing the project statement (600 words max). This file must be named after the registration number followed by the word “statement”. For example 0101-statement.doc.
3. A DOC file containing the entrants’ personal information, including name, profession, address, and email. This file must be named after the registration number followed by the word “info”. For example 0101-info.doc.
4. All the files must be placed in a ZIP folder named after your registration number. For example 0101.zip
   If your files are larger than 20MB you can submit your entry using a file sharing service like wetransfer or Google Drive to skyscraper2022@evolo.us

JURY

Kim Gyeong Jeung, Yu Sang Gu, Min Yeong Gi [Winners 2022 Skyscraper Competition]
Dr. Sina Mostafavi [CEO SETUParchitecture studio, Associate Professor Texas Tech University College of Architecture]
Skylar Tibbits [Co-Director, Self-Assembly Lab, MIT]
Kathy Velikov [Principal rvtr, Vice-President ACADIA, Associate Dean for Research and Creative Practice Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning]
Lu Yun [Principal, MUDA Architects]

REGULATIONS

1. This is an anonymous competition and the registration number is the only means of identification.
2. The official language of the competition is English.
3. The registration fee is non-refundable.
4. Contacting the Jury is prohibited.
5. eVolo Magazine, as the competition organizer, reserves the right to modify the competition schedule if deemed necessary.
6. Participants retain all copyrights of their designs. eVolo Magazine is granted permission to publish in print and digital publications all projects submitted to the competition.
7. Entrants will be disqualified if any of the competition rules are not considered.
8. Participation assumes acceptance of the regulations.

AWARDS

1st place – $5,000 USD
2nd place – $2,000 USD
3rd place – $1,000 USD

Winners, honorable mentions, and selected projects will be published in the forthcoming book EVOLO SKYSCRAPERS 4.

-> CLICK TO REGISTER YOUR TEAM

Winners and special mentions will be published by eVolo and several international print publications including the forthcoming book EVOLO SKYSCRAPERS 4. In addition, the results are covered by the most important online architecture and design publications and general media such as The Huffington Post and The Wall Street Journal.

Previous winners have been featured in the following print publications:

ABC Magazine – Czech Republic, About:Blank Magazine – Portugal, Aeroflot – Russia, Architect Builder – India, Architecture and Culture – South Korea, Architecture Design Art – Pakistan, Architektura Murator – Poland, AT Architecture Technique – China, Archiworld – South Korea, AWM – The Netherlands, Azure – Canada, B-1 – Thailand, Bauwelt – Germany, Blueprint – United Kingdom, BusinessWeek– USA, C3 – South Korea, CAAOH – Ukraine, Casamica – Italy, Casas y Mas – Mexico, Concept – South Korea, Courier Mail – Australia, Discover Magazine – USA, Donga – South Korea, Enlace – Mexico, Focus – Canada/Italy, Future Arquitecturas – Spain, Geolino Extra – Germany, Grazia Casa – Italy, Kijk – The Netherlands, L’Installatore Italiano – Italy, L’Arca – Italy, L’Uomo Vogue – Italy, La Razon – Spain, Le Courier de l’ Architecte – France, Le Fourquet – Mexico, Mark Magazine – The Netherlands, Maxim – USA, Mercedes Benz Magazine – Germany, Mladina – Slovenia, Modulo – Italy, Modulor – Switzerland, NAN – Spain, Natur + Kosmos – Germany, New Scientist – United Kingdom, Oculus – USA, Of Arch – Italy, Pasajes de Arquitectura – Spain, Peak Magazine – Singapore, Popular Mechanics – USA/Russia, Popular Science – USA, Puls Biznesu – Poland, Quo– China/Spain, Rogue Magazine – Philippines, RUM – Sweden, Salt Magazine – The Netherlands, Science et Vie – France, Sciences et Avenir– France, Shanghai Morning Post – China, Space – South Korea, Spade – Canada, Spazio Casa – Italy, Specifier Magazine – Australia, SMW Magazine – Taiwan, Stafette – Germany, Tall Buildings – Russia, Tatlin – Russia, The Broker – The Netherlands, The Outlook Magazine – China, The New York Times – USA, The Wall Street Journal – USA, Time Style and Design – USA, Travel and Leisure – USA, Vida Simples Magazine – Brazil, Vogue – Australia/USA, Vox Design – Poland, Wettbewerbe Aktuell – Germany, Wired – USA/Italy, Woongjin – South Korea, World Architecture – China

FAQ

Who can participate in the competition?
Everyone is invited to participate, including students and professionals from any country worldwide.

Can we submit more than one entry?
Yes, but each project must be registered individually.

Can we submit printed boards?
No, this is a digital competition and all submissions must be in digital format as outlined in the competition brief.

Is there a specific height requirement for the skyscraper?
There is no specific height requirement.

Is there a specific program requirement?
No, participants have complete freedom to establish their own program, site, and conceptual agenda.

eVolo Magazine is pleased to announce the winners of the 2022 Skyscraper Competition. The Jury selected 3 winners and 20 honorable mentions from 427 projects received. The annual award established in 2006 recognizes visionary ideas that through the novel use of technology, materials, programs, aesthetics, and spatial organizations, challenge the way we understand vertical architecture and its relationship with the natural and built environments.

The FIRST PLACE was awarded to CLIMATE CONTROL SKYSCRAPER designed by Kim Gyeong Jeung, Min Yeong Gi, and Yu Sang Gu from South Korea. The project investigates the use of a series of skyscrapers to modify weather conditions that would improve the global climate crisis and stop desertification, rising temperatures, and natural disasters.

The recipients of the SECOND PLACE are Wang Jue, Zhang Qian, Zhang Changsheng, Li Muchun, and Xu Jing from China for the project TSUNAMI PARK. The project is designed as a man-made inhabited mangrove for the Tonga region to prevent tsunamis that would affect the Pacific Rim.

NEW SPRING: AGRO-ECOLOGICAL SKYSCRAPER designed by Michał Spólnik from Austria and Marcin Kitala from Poland received the THIRD PLACE. The proposal is envisioned as an aggregation of garden modules containing distinct flora and microorganisms that could be deployed to specific regions that would flourish with new life.

The Jury was formed by Volkan Alkanoglu [Principal, VA | DESIGN], Gianni Botsford [Principal, Gianni Botsford Architects], Steven Chilton [Principal, SCA | Steven Chilton Architects], Tsvetelina Georgieva [Principal, DesignMorphine], Nuru Karim [Principal, Nudes], Arthur Mamou-Mani [Principal, Mamou-Mani Architects], and Moon Hoon [Principal, Moon Hoon Architects]

First Place
2022 Skyscraper Competition

Kim Gyeong Jeung, Min Yeong Gi, Yu Sang Gu
South Korea

BACKGROUND
The two risk factors that will come to mankind over the next decade are “Climate crisis” and “failure to respond to the climate crisis”. 2019 was confirmed as “the Second warmest year in history”. Experts are referring to the end of the Earth as 2050 due to the abnormal climate. From the beginning of the 21st century to 2021, the average temperature of the Earth’s surface rose by 0.93 ±0.07’C, which is more than two-thirds of 1980. (It is increasing by 0.13 degrees to 0.25 degrees every 10 years). Due to the increase in temperature, the global village is currently facing various natural disasters and environmental problems. There are various damages, the most serious damage of climate change to extreme drought and desertification caused by drying up long-term. Of course, reclamation of forests, and man-made factors such as environmental pollution and deforestation have conspired to happen, but desertification due to global climate change is accelerating. Despite these global movements, environmental disasters and desertification around the world are still rising exponentially, and some experts say that environmental problems have already progressed a lot. In other words, awareness and policy on environmental issues are important nationally, but a movement to solve environmental problems through a groundbreaking technological and architectural approach is needed and should be applied worldwide. Then, how can we architecturally prevent desertification as well as persistent natural disasters? The answer lies in the ‘Climate Control Tower’. CCT is designed to cope with climate change and overcome the current climate crisis the world is facing. Through clouds generated by absorbing seawater, the climate crisis regulates the weather by raining where there is a drought, absorbing clouds where heavy rainfalls, or reflecting solar radiation. Read the rest of this entry »

Second Place
2022 Skyscraper Competition

Wang Jue,  Zhang Qian, Zhang Changsheng, Li Muchun, Xu Jing
China

People are often afraid of tsunamis. Technological advances have not led to sufficient measures to withstand tsunamis. When a tsunami strikes, people are still helpless. The Pacific Rim, which is linked to all four major tectonic plates, has the highest tsunami rate in the world, with more frequent undersea fluctuations. For example, the volcanic eruption in Tonga on 14 January 2022 resulted in a tsunami threat to the entire Pacific Rim region.

It is therefore envisaged that a skyscraper will be built in front of Tonga’s long and narrow coastline. The aim was to reduce the biological and ecological damage caused by the tsunami. We use the edge wave effect of tsunamis to advance the tsunami wave so that the building is in the sea to dissipate it when it has not yet inundated the city.

Mangroves are woody plant communities in the intertidal zone of tropical and subtropical coasts, with developed root systems and staggering growth, which have the best effect on tsunami mitigation. Therefore, the skyscraper is inspired by the principle and mechanism of mangrove resistance to tsunamis, and consists of a single unit aggregated to form a vast complex along the coastline. Each cell consists of a bottom pillar and a top multi-level platform. The bottom pillar is made up of thick concrete columns that form a porous structure to dissipate the enormous force of the tsunami, while the upper platforms are of varying sizes, heights, and interconnections to carry people’s lives. Read the rest of this entry »

Third Place
2022 Skyscraper Competition

Michał Spólnik, Marcin Kitala
Austria, Poland

How would the world be able to feed itself?
We live in a paradox – nowadays more food is produced than needed but the expansion of hunger is increasing. How is this possible?

Global food production relies greatly on an extremely small number of crop and livestock species. Grains are married to particular chemicals, becoming vulnerable to environmental changes, and lack immunity. Together with changes in how land and water resources are used, population growth, urbanization, and shifting food culture, this lack of crop diversity poses a threat to global food and nutrition security. For the sake of our society – and for the ones to come – we might like to rethink the ways we treat our land. Read the rest of this entry »

Honorable Mention
2022 Skyscraper Competition

Haptic Architects, Ramboll
Tomas Stokke, Shonn Mills
United Kingdom, Singapore

The Regenerative Highrise is sited at Grønland, a multi-cultural inner-city borough of Oslo.

The proposed new highrise tower at Oslo’s Grønland metro station seeks to use large-scale development of the city as a means to repair or enhance the inner-city neighborhood. In the first instance, this is a site of unique potential, where the metro meets the river above and its adjacent cycle and riverwalk. As such the new tower becomes a vertical linkage of these existing and developing transport networks, most notably the increased use of the city’s waterways for electric ferries.

The tower structure reuses an existing highway viaduct at its base, creating active frontages spanning three levels: the canal and metro level; the high street, and the viaduct level. The base of the tower gives back to the city, providing cultural, leisure, and sports facilities for the inhabitants of the city. The highway viaduct is repurposed for leisure purposes, to ensure the embodied carbon of the existing structure does not go to waste.

The tower itself seeks to address the challenge of waste in the construction industry. Changing needs and standards often lead to relatively new buildings being demolished and rebuilt. The proposed tower employs regenerative design at its core, thus ensuring future flexibility for change.

A superstructure consisting of 3-story high structural decks, allows the tower to be reprogrammed over time. The triple-height sky villages are flexible and can accommodate a variety of uses, such as a single-story production space, two stories of office space, three residential floors, or even a row of terraced housing. Read the rest of this entry »

Honorable Mention
2022 Skyscraper Competition

Yi Liu, Baichao Wang, Hao Zhang, YiHui Gao, ZongHao Yang, Shiliang Wang
China

Changchun is one of the most important cities in China. At the beginning of the last century, urban designers of Changchun carried out the road network system with reference to the theory of Howard’s “Garden City”. The urban transportation in Changchun is a system formed by multiple city squares as the center and roads as the axis, which initially established the main roads in the urban area of Changchun, and this urban layout is still in use today.

With the economic development and population growth of Changchun, the advanced urban transportation system can no longer meet the needs of the city. Although the city square connects several main urban roads, it is very easy to cause traffic jams in the surrounding area of the square during the peak urban traffic hours. For many years, Changchun is one of the cities which has the highest urban traffic jam rates in China. The main framework of the city cannot be changed, and we urgently need to create a new method and model to solve this problem.

This design distributed a number of transportation centers in the busy urban squares in Changchun. The interior of these transportation centers includes an urban cable car system that extends in all directions, a three-dimensional green landscape, and a number of residential and commercial space units. People gather here and take the cable car to any parts of the city. The vertical green landscape system can absorb the automobile exhaust air. The movable and detachable residential and commercial units enrich the center’s commerce system and provide citizens with a convenient urban life. Read the rest of this entry »

Honorable Mention
2022 Skyscraper Competition

Ron Krakovski, Talia Tsuk
Israel

The main purpose of The Tree skyscraper is to provide accessible water to the villages of South Sudan. The Tree unifies the new community while providing it with water for agriculture, sanitation, and everyday needs.

South Sudan is located in northeastern Africa; it gained independence from the Republic of Sudan in 2011, making it the latest nation to be recognized by the United Nations. Conflicts have undermined the developmental gains achieved since independence and worsened the humanitarian situation. As a consequence, South Sudan remains caught in a web of fragility, economic stagnation, and instability a decade after independence. Poverty is ubiquitous and has been reinforced by a history of conflict, displacement, and shocks.

59% of the population of South Sudan lack proper access to clean water sources. Constant conflict and civil war, which began in 2013, Have led to the current water crisis in South Sudan. During the war, the nation’s water systems were deserted and demolished. 1 in 3 people use contaminated water daily, increasing the risk of infection by waterborne diseases. Currently, in South Sudan, 77% of children under the age of five die from diarrhea. Read the rest of this entry »