Honorable Mention
2019 Skyscraper Competition

Zöe Russián Moreno
Venezuela

OUTLINE | PURPOSE
Forests cover more than 30% of the entire planet. They create oxygen, they absorb malicious greenhouse gasses, they provide a substantial source of medicines, and many more actives necessary for life. However, even with these vital characteristics, it has not stopped developers from exhausting its resources while being misinformed; never reaching its full potential. Therefore, “Ka’ poy yepü” seeks to address this problem by proposing a multi-platform research center with a focus on geo-biological education. The purpose is to expand knowledge on how to harmonize technology and nature by networking around the globe on how to use and discover new forms of energy. Read the rest of this entry »

Honorable Mention
2019 Skyscraper Competition

Tao Qiyang, Wang Kun, Chen Ruihua, Sun Yunjuan
China

It is a grim reality in many parts of the world that the sand is pressing on. Desertification is a worldwide ecological and environmental problem. On average, there are about 50,000 ~ 70,000 square kilometers of land desertification every year in the world. This design is located in the desert of Egypt, and choose a typical pyramid group as an example, trying to explore the combination of modern technology, using skyscrapers to improve the desert environment and Egyptian culture（pyramids、temples、castles） combined with the architectural situation. The skyscraper is not only a building, but also a culture and a national symbol. The prototype is based on Cook’s idea of a “plug-in city”. On the basis of improving the ecological environment of the desert, the internal production, life and transportation should be organized. Form the appearance of the inverted pyramid. Floating above the desert, the structure is shaped to collect and produce water. At the same time, the interior of the building collects and manufactures water sources, stores and accumulates them into artificial lakes, and effectively interacts with the desert ground. The interior of the building becomes a hanging garden. The facade is in the solid form of pyramid.In the future, we hope that, thanks to the development of technology, the the vision of desert oasis will be realized and gradually improve the desert environment. Read the rest of this entry »

Honorable Mention
2019 Skyscraper Competition

Turan Akman
United States

Water is the foundation of life. Now, imagine a world without water. 33% of the land in the world are deserts, so life without water is a reality for those regions. In fact, around 1 billion people lack access to safe water, and this number is growing as the water crisis in the world is getting worse. On top of this, climate change is affecting our water sources. Rivers and lakes are either drying up, or becoming too polluted to use.  Moreover, hundreds of thousands of people die each year because of diseases caused by lack of water. New buildings are usually designed to save water, but this solution is simply not enough. At the current rate of water consumption, this problem will only get worse and we need a better solution. Read the rest of this entry »

Honorable Mention
2019 Skyscraper Competition

Romain Josue, Corentin Fraisse
France

ANALYSIS: OUR MOUNTAINS ARE CRUMBLING
Mountains are not only made of ice and rock but also of our dreams and our desires. Man has always believed that, as a witness to our birth, mountains would also be around for our departure. But for the past twenty years, the continuous thawing of the permafrost which binds the Alps together has triggered an increase in the number of landslides. 2018 was another record-breaking year with one of the hottest summers ever recorded, and as a result, the temperature of the earth has never been higher. With rising temperatures come new issues for the world’s population to tackle: unstable peaks kill tens of alpinists every year as rocky outer layers crumble away, causing landslides and the mass flooding of valleys. Thus the Alps become more and more dangerous each day. Mont Cervin is the perfect illustration of these new dangers: located at the Swiss/Italian border, this icy rock formation has been subjected to the changes in permafrost and its decay, and as a result, the countries’ border has moved over 150m in 60 years. Read the rest of this entry »

Honorable Mention
2019 Skyscraper Competition

Keyi Shen, Zichao Zhong, Dingyu Li, Jian Yan, Yuan Zhang
China

As we all know, there are many natural wonders caused by uncontrollable factors such as climate or plate movement. It is likely that after several Centuries, there are no Everest, East Africa Rift Valley, Colorado Grand Canyon, etc.

Just like us now, we are eager to understand what the world before is like, and we can only guess and restore through fossils and incomplete historical documents. No one provides us with an accurate statement. Meanwhile we don’t have a way to document the natural landscape.

So this Skyscraper will play the role of a historical scene recorder and narrator, simulate a real scene for future humans, and let landscape wonders continue. Read the rest of this entry »

2020 SKYSCRAPER COMPETITION OPEN FOR REGISTRATION

eVolo Magazine is pleased to announce the winners of the 2018 Skyscraper Competition. The Jury selected 3 winners and 27 honorable mentions from 526 projects received. The annual award established in 2006 recognizes visionary ideas- projects that through the novel 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 Skyshelter.zip designed by Damian Granosik, Jakub Kulisa, and Piotr Pańczyk from Poland. The project is a foldable skyscraper inspired by origami that could be easily transported and deployed in disaster zones.

Jinja: Shinto Shrine Skyscraper designed by Tony Leung  from Hong Kong received the SECOND PLACE. The project aims to restore the traditional interactions between a Shinto Shrine and the local people- an urban building for rice farming, spiritual meditation, and community development.

The recipient of the THIRD PLACE is Claudio C. Araya Arias from Chile for the project Waria Lemuy: Fire Prevention Skyscraper. This proposal envisions a new prototype for vertical housing in areas damaged by wild fires in Chile. The project makes use of passive systems to mitigate wind and disperse water to prevent new fires.

The honorable mentions include Sandscrapers that prevent desertification, floating skyscrapers that transform ocean water into fresh water, towers that collect fog in arid regions, 3-D printed buildings, and volcano skyscrapers among other visionary proposals.

First Place
2018 Skyscraper Competition

Damian Granosik, Jakub Kulisa, Piotr Pańczyk
Poland

USE CASES AND OVERVIEW
More and more natural disasters happen annually across the world. When dealing with forces so powerful, standard means of crisis-management often prove to be inefficient. Whether certain region is struck by earthquake, flood or hurricane – help needs to arrive quickly. This is often easier to be said than done, as damages to transportation infrastructure or remote localization can make it extremely difficult. The Skyshelter.zip tries to address these issues by proposing structure that while offering large floor surface is compact, easy to transport anywhere and can be deployed with minimum amount of time and manpower requirements. It is meant to serve as multi-purpose hub for any relief operation.

EASY TRANSPORTATION
The Skyshelter.zip is extremely easy to move due to its unique qualities. The entire structure is foldable in a manner that resembles origami or accordion. This means it can be neatly packaged into single relatively small box with minimum height and base dimensions reduced to building’s footprint. Then such a package can be moved anywhere with help of helicopters commonly used by rescue teams and military in the event of a natural disasters. Because elements do not have to be transported in batches by trucks, it is easier and faster to reach zones cut off from the transportation network.

SMALLER FOOTPRINT
Perhaps the biggest advantage of stacking vertically all functions required in zone affected by natural disaster is reducing the area that is being occupied by them. Skyshelter.zip’s footprint is on average over 30 times smaller than area required to host typically used tents or containers. This means that much less cleanup work is required prior to setting up the camp. This is especially important in densely populated areas but elsewhere means that it is going to be possible to set up those temporary shelters closer to victims original homes. Read the rest of this entry »

Second Place
2018 Skyscraper Competition

Tony Leung
Hong Kong

The objective of this proposal is to restore the traditional interactions between Jinja (Japanese Shinto Shrine) and local people by reterritorizing a busy urban corner in Ginza, Tokyo with a vertically organized Jinja cum rice-farming complex.

In the past, Jinja and rice farming were the center of Japanese economy.

The paddy field and Jinja complex also served as centers of everyday interaction. Many local Jinja not only housed the relevant Kami (deities) but also served as a warehouse for harvests.  Also, the biggest communal festival, Matsuri, happened during spring seeding and autumn harvesting.

As cities expand, both rice farming and Jinja remains in the shadow of urban livings. Jinja complex is overshadowed by modern skyscrapers. However, more than two centuries ago, according to some ancient manuscripts, Izumo Shrine was said to be reaching 96m high above ground i.e. a historical origin of skyscraping Jinja. Read the rest of this entry »

Third Place
2018 Skyscraper Competition

Claudio C. Araya Arias
Chile

Forest fires are one of the greatest agents of degradation of ecosystems in the world. Although fire is part of the natural dynamics of some habitats, large disturbances cause a deterioration of their functionalities. Fire modifies biogeochemical cycles, produces changes in vegetation, soil, fauna, hydrological and geomorphological processes, water quality and even changes in the composition of the atmosphere. Each of these elements puts at risk not only the existing geography, but also directly threatens population centers, putting at risk the lives of people, their goods, infrastructure, among other things.

The 2016-2017 season of forest fires left a record of destruction never before recorded in the south-central zone of Chile. The consequences of the above were 5,244 fires with an impact of 569,989 hectares, 2,500 homes. The most serious case was the one in the town of Santa Olga, where the destruction exceeds 1,000 homes, destroying the entire city. Reconstruction is an indisputable subject, but the existing model of growth by expansion left a clear vulnerability within the territory.

The degraded soils, and the decrease of the vegetation among other variables produced by this settlement model, were part of the factors that modified the natural conditions, leaving the sector vulnerable. Read the rest of this entry »