Noah’s Ark: Sustainable City

By:  | March - 2 - 2012

Honorable Mention
2012 Skyscraper Competition

Aleksandar Joksimovic, Jelena Nikolic
Serbia

Noah’s Ark is a self-sustainable city on the water that can support all living species, from humans to animals and fish to plants and trees, that have been evicted from land by natural disasters, warfare, whatever disasters the end days may bring. In addition to providing protection from these disasters, the Ark concept also addresses overcrowding on land: 72% of the earth’s surface is already covered by water, so extension of the urban city grid onto water is both logical and useful, as solar, wind and wave energies are easily captured at sea, and it is these natural energy sources that will power the development.

It is designed as part of a network consisting of other Arks, which connect with floating underwater tunnels and the main land. As the settlements grow, the Arks can attach to each other, creating one big artificial mainland from a series of artificial islands. Read the rest of this entry »

Tundra City

By:  | March - 2 - 2012

Honorable Mention
2012 Skyscraper Competition

Pavel Sipkin
Russia

Tundra City is located in the exhausted diamond mine “Lucky” which is the geographical center of the entire Russian Tundra – the last point of urbanization of the Russian North.

The tundra is an unexplored region, which hardly anyone wants to go. It is associated with a “hole” due to poor living conditions. The Russian government has paid attention to the prospect and huge potential benefits of developing the region to the whole the country. This has been facilitated by the existing geopolitical threat posed by the rapidly development of China, India, and other countries.

Tundra City is a launching pad to address the problems of the region: population, development of infrastructure, creation of new industry, agriculture, science, and culture. Read the rest of this entry »

GreenGru Airportscraper

By:  | March - 2 - 2012

Honorable Mention
2012 Skyscraper Competition

Gerasimos Pavlidis
Greece

Inspired by the towering cranes found in big cities, the 380 meter-tall GreenGru skyscraper provides public transportation via air to residents of metropolises with traffic problems or airports located far from the core. It also works as an energy station, generating enough power from within to run its own systems and light up some of the surrounding city as well.

The building’s name capitalizes on the energy creation inside, a process the designer’s have dubbed “Artificial Photosynthesis Installation,” explaining the “green.” “Gru” is the Italian translation of “tower crane,” the basis of its look.

The tower’s mast is made of carbon-nanotube-reinforced steel, with large concrete counterweights underground for stabilization. The building’s façade, inspired by twisted rubber bands, is made of graphite, which is ten times stronger and six times lighter than steel. The graphite is covered in a polymeric carbon dioxide-absorber called zeolight, which lowers carbon dioxide levels during the night; sunlight exposure during the day allows the molecules to float away. This means the exterior of the building creates a greenhouse effect inside, making the environment excellent for growing plants. Read the rest of this entry »

Oceanscraper

By:  | March - 2 - 2012

Honorable Mention
2012 Skyscraper Competition

Hui Chen, Luying Guo
China, United States

Constructing a building that floats in the ocean has inherent benefits, the main boon being buoyancy. Locating a structure in the sea allows the possibility for massive complexes to be constructed without the restraints of gravity, opening possibilities for great architectural experimentation.

Enter “Oceanscraper,” a design for a cone-shaped underwater city complex. The Oceanscraper has a large “bowl” in the center to allow daylight to reach the depths; surrounding the bowl is a ring of living space. Submarines dock into the living space, and residents remain inside, creating a community of submarine apartments. This mobility affords freedom for residents and also allows each city complex to shift rapidly, if need be. Submarines are free to navigate both within the bowl and outside of the complex, and can dock collectively in themed groups, such as submarines that are performing research, or those that are hosting tourist groups, etc. Read the rest of this entry »

Tehran Tower

By:  | March - 2 - 2012

Honorable Mention
2012 Skyscraper Competition

Mahdi Kamboozia, Alireza Esfandiari, Nima Dehghani, Mohammad ashkbar sefat
Iran

Tehran, Iran’s largest city and its capital, is plagued by extreme air pollution, 80% of which is caused by auto traffic. Amongst its 8.5 million residents, it is estimated that 27 people die daily from pollution-related diseases, showing the tangible and deadly dangers that result from the traffic caused by urban sprawl. To combat this reality, the designers of the Tehran Tower propose building up, locating massive skyscrapers within Tehran to house masses of residents centrally.

Demolishing unimportant old buildings will create space both for the two legs of the large tower, which is connected above ground to create a wide building expanse, and for green space that will make the urban expanse as a whole more livable. By designing a tower with two legs that connect above ground, precious land is saved from development: the skyscraper occupies just 1,200 square meters of land versus the 30,000 square meters a typical tower would need for development. Each tower provides 1,200 housing units. Read the rest of this entry »

Floating City

By:  | March - 2 - 2012

Honorable Mention
2012 Skyscraper Competition

Wei Zhao
China

天上人间 (Tian-shan-ren-jian – Heaven and Earth) is the physical manifestation of the traditional Shanshui painting, which aims to reach the ideal lifestyle.

Earth, with 7 billion people, is continuously increasing her load with three new babies born every second. With limited resources, the rapid growth of population has caused many problems included environmental degradation, ocean acidification, ozone holes, lack of fresh water, and constant loss of biodiversity.

The “Heaven and Earth” project is a utopia wonderland residing in the air. There are mountains, rivers, lakes, forests, and animals. It solves the problems that exist on Earth, including food, water, and housing. Read the rest of this entry »