Editors’ Choice
2020 Skyscraper Competition

Qing Tianyi, Chen Zhi, Li Peiying, Jiang Xinjian, Sun Weixing, Zen Peiyun, Shi Yining, Zhang Jingbiao
China

A certain degree of fire is of positive significance for the renewal and regeneration of the forest ecosystem. However, when the fire is too large and difficult to control, the high temperature, smoke, and dust brought by the fire and the slow recovery of the ecosystem after the fire for nearly 100 years will cause incalculable damage to animals and plants, and even impact on human life.

Focusing on the current hot spots of Australian wildfires, we have built a tall tower in Australian forest by using the architectural method to meet the benefits of fires for the forest, at the same time, we have tried our best to control the extent and scope of the fires, and improve the recovery speed of the forest system. Read the rest of this entry »

Editors’ Choice
2020 Skyscraper Competition

Jung Seung Won, Yoon Joon Hyuk
South Korea

Plants and animals are becoming extinct at the fastest rate ever known in human history. As environmental issues and human exploitations have changed the ecosystem and climate, many species on Earth are in danger to be disappeared or become extinct. In response, a lot of research institutes are organized to preserve species and ecosystems, but it is not enough to break through this Dystopia.

As we believed that the new skyscraper will able to cover this serious environmental problem, the building which is helpful for the endangered species’ preservation and prosperity was came out. Based on the climate classification of Köppen, the”SEEDs” have 25 climates. Every floor represents each climate and possesses 5 single modules that function as preserving incubators. Noticeable species will be preserved and monitored in here to take care of. The most important function is not only preserving them but also taking incubators out and grafting species to actual habitats. Read the rest of this entry »

Editors’ Choice
2020 Skyscraper Competition

Jun Peng
United States

The flood hazard of New York City is caused by heavy rainfalls, storm surges, and rising sea-level. Hurricanes primarily result in storm surges. Under a changing climate, a projected sea-level rise associated with hurricanes leads to overall flood elevations to increase greatly. In addition, more intense rainstorms are expected by the NYC Panel on Climate Change to an 11% increase in precipitation by the 2050s. Heavy rainfall will exceed the city’s infrastructure peak load and results in more flooding. The floodplain of the city is expanding greatly from 2020 to 2100 according to NYC Flood Hazard Mapper. Flooding generally causes huge social, environmental and economic devastation. An extreme case is Hurricane Sandy in 2012. Based on the data from the Official Website of the City of New York, its storm surge of 2.8 m above the mean tidal level caused an estimated $19 billion in damages and loss of economic activity across New York City. Thus, to protect the city from flooding is a big challenge. Read the rest of this entry »

Editors’ Choice
2020 Skyscraper Competition

Talgat Azimbayev, Bokeikhan Kamza, Arman Bayserik, Amir Ibragimov, Bexultan Duisengaliyev
Kazakhstan

The sunny continent located between the northern and southern subtropical climatic zones, Africa is a mysterious world with a unique climate and diverse fauna. Famous for its Sahara, which is a magnificent image of desert covering nearly all of northern Africa with golden sand dunes, drifty mountains, and rocky plateaus that glisten in the sun.

But all that glitters is not always gold. Behind this beautiful picture lies another. While the center of the continent has a humid tropical climate with extremely heavy rainfall, to the north this humid climate completely changes into a desert climate with longer dry periods and droughts. But the greatest danger is the fact that the border of these arid places expands up to 3 km per year and is accompanied by a lack of moisture. The reason for this is a rise of global surface temperature and human activity, which is equally important. Read the rest of this entry »

Editors’ Choice
2020 Skyscraper Competition

Qiu Song, Niu Zhiming, Yuan Chao, Man Kaice, Jiang Jingjing, Ren Qingliang, Liu Chenyang
China

Design Background
In recent decades, under the background of population expansion, accelerated industrialization, increasing influence of human activities on forests and increased risk of forest fires, hundreds of thousands of forest fires occur every year in the world. On January 31, 2020, the Australian Capital Territory entered a state of emergency due to forest fire risks. This is also the first time since 2003 that the region has entered a state of emergency. According to an Australian Broadcasting Corporation report, 11.2 million hectares of forest were burned across Australia. However, the Amazon rainforest fire that shocked the world the year before last destroyed only about 1.8 million hectares of forest.

Defense and control of forest fires have received widespread attention from every country. As designers, we have the obligation to contribute our own strength to the world through architectural design. Read the rest of this entry »

Editors’ Choice
2020 Skyscraper Competition

Zeng Shaoting, Liu Chenyang
China

Dubai is one of the most popular cities in the world, lies directly within the Arabian Desert. With sandy desert surrounded, Dubai has a hot desert climate. Summers in Dubai are extremely hot, windy, and humid, with an average high around 41 °C (106 °F) and overnight lows around 30 °C (86 °F) in the hottest month, August. Most days are sunny throughout the year. Winters are comparatively cool with an average high of 24 °C (75 °F) and overnight lows of 14 °C (57 °F) in January, the coolest month. Desert terrain, extremely high temperatures, and limited rainfall have historically made agriculture unworkable in Dubai and the United Arab Emirates

Dubai currently imports over 80% of its food. The main food influences were from nearby countries such as Saudi Arabia, Oman, Iran, East Africa, and Indian. In order to reach the city’s targets, locally grown food not only has to expand its growth rapidly, but it also has to meet the uncompromising health standards of the UAE, and cater to the diverse population that enjoys a wide variety of international food.

The Burj Khalifa, known as a skyscraper in Dubai, has been the tallest structure and building in the world since its topping out in 2009. Our skyscraper project is Agri Khalifa aimed to use innovative agricultural technology to find ways to grow locally-sourced produce in Dubai and change its current state. Read the rest of this entry »

Editors’ Choice
2020 Skyscraper Competition

Wei-Zhe Lin, Chun-Yi Yeh
Taiwan

In many studies and in the experiment, using the ripple of sound, you can move tiny sand particles, and arrange the special shape of the ripple. If we amplify the energy of the sound and the energy of the precise intersection of the peak and low sound waves, we can push larger objects; from the sand on the mobile desktop to the construction of skyscrapers.

In the physics field, the sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as air, liquid or solid. The curtains, slabs, and floor plans in this skyscraper all use dynamic sound energy to generate ripples and transmit by “ultrasonic media” to precise locations. this will be a future skyscraper constructed and integrated by physics, architecture, and artificial intelligence.

Through multiple “AI ultrasonic devices”, aka (AIUSD), to control and shape the “ultrasonic medium” between them(AIUSD), aka (USM). An AIUSD is like a dumbbell shape and can emit ultrasound at its endpoints and centers. For each one to shape the USM by AI information system technology, send out the accurate frequency and target position to achieve the function of shaping. Read the rest of this entry »

Editors’ Choice
2020 Skyscraper Competition

Anni Cai, Jinwei Hu
China

Due to human activities, the global temperature continues to rise, and Australia will enter a dry wildfire season each spring and autumn. However, Australia is facing an extremely hot year in 2019. The continuous high temperature and drought have caused drought to detonate in September. The fire, which quickly expanded and spread to other states, caused a rapid decline in air quality, devastated millions of hectares of land, and claimed the lives of hundreds of millions of animals and plants. A series of effects even lead to the irreversible extinction of endangered organisms.

The skyscrapers are located in the Gondwana Rainforest on the border between New South Wales and Queensland, Australia, including rainforests that have never been disturbed by humans and reformed rainforests. About 200 species of rare and endangered flora and fauna inhabit it. Significant biodiversity is of great significance to world scientific research and the protection of animals and plants. The site of the skyscraper can share, protect, and study this endangered variety of rain forests and ecosystems. It can quickly rescue the endangered animals and plants in the vicinity of the disaster and increase the possibility of animal and plant heritage.

The way skyscrapers protect animals and plants stems from the story of Noah’s Ark. When disaster strikes, they can save endangered animals and plants and preserve the genes of endangered organisms. The idea of a construction robotic arm is derived from the legs of arthropod insects. The robotic arm makes the building mobile and carries endangered creatures when disaster strikes, satisfying the function of escape. Read the rest of this entry »

Editors’ Choice
2020 Skyscraper Competition

Chuwei Tan
China

Ghat
Ghat, a term used in the India subcontinent, could refer to the series of steps leading down to a body of water or wharf. There are numerous ghats along the Ganges, and people who live on the steps are also called ghats.

Flood
In India, monsoon waterlogging was commonplace, but this was a frighteningly different sight. The whole city was gradually sinking, everything was drowning. It produced a sense of being choked and trapped.

Dying Water – Pollution & Gag
From the urban perspective, the mighty flood could easily break through the most elaborate and calculated control system in the world, paralyze a well-organized city in operation and left a nightmare mess.

Rivers and streams have borne the brunt of the recent urban explosion in India, a nation whose population has nearly doubled in the last 40 years to 1.35 billion. Unplanned growth has led to the use of water bodies as dumping grounds for sewage and industrial effluent.

In addition, riverbanks, wetlands, and floodplains have been claimed over time by infrastructure, slums, offices, and housing developments – all of which have narrowed natural river channels and distorted flow, greatly reducing the ability of India’s rivers to buffer flooding. It also has taken a toll on biodiversity.

RESEARCH
The field research focuses on Chotte Lal Ghat – almost adjacent to Asia’s largest flower market – the Mullick ghat flower market. Businessmen, tourists, homeless, lots of different people streaming in and out, make this place one of the busiest ghat in Kolkata.

We recorded human activities on the ghat plaza for a whole daytime, in order to figure out the matrix of this multi-function ghat.

CONCEPT
This project aims to provide a solution for the destruction of monsoon flood and environmental pollution caused by human activities, return the wetland, riverbank to nature.

1. Escape Monsoon
   The new ghat slides flexibly with good movement rigidity, can escape from the flood in monsoon season, which is of great significance for avoiding catastrophic accidents and huge economic losses.  Meanwhile, the capsule lifts help to transport people and supplies.
2. Water Circulation
   The pumping station on the ghat center pump water from the river and supply domestic water for ghat residents after filtration and purification. Then, the collected sewage will be filtered again and discharge back to river.
3. Sociability
   Ghat, as urban Space of Sociability, is the portrayal of the city.  By reference to human daily life demand researched in Chotte Lal Ghat, more architectural elements could be brought to the new ghat, like amenities, bedding, factories, and water circulation system. Hence, the ghat society is able to keep itself running when sliding to the sky.

Editors’ Choice
2020 Skyscraper Competition

Francis Cheung, Cheung Ka Wah Francis
Hong Kong

Breaking Flat Floor Plates
By rethinking the arrangement of floor plates, this project challenges conventional office skyscrapers in terms of spatial experience, structural system, and circulation. The project started with developing a design prototype regardless of the site. This allowed me to raise the most fundamental question, “how should a skyscraper be?” What a typical skyscraper, a type of vertical building, lacks most is vertical connections. Thus, by using paper as a testing medium due to its flexibility and fluidity, I aimed at redesigning an internal arrangement that promotes interconnections within a skyscraper.

Folding The Prototype
After several modular testings, I came up with this modular shell system. By folding 4 pieces of paper, a module that consists of different floor levels is created. Stacking up the modules results in the first prototype of my skyscraper.

Structural Experiment
Initial structural testing was performed to ensure the structure could stand. Opposite shell quarters reinforce each other – the upper part takes the tension force while the lower part is under compression. This model also suggests room of spatial variations. The in-between spaces of the adjacent shell quarters could be transformed into different types of connections or separations between slabs.

Spatial Experiment
The modular shell system was metamorphosed with the addition of intermediate slabs. Different combinations of slabs were tested. The spatial transformation brings about a variety of working conditions and programs. The richness of spaces complies with an activity-based working environment that suggests users could work anywhere in the office that suits his current activity. Spatial fluidity and human mobility are promoted. Read the rest of this entry »