Honorable Mention
2018 Skyscraper Competition

Alexander Nikolas Walzer
Austria

As the world population grows and cities usually expand into the surrounding areas, or because of static infrastructure form way too high urban densities, the question arises what alternatives we have at the latest after exhaustion of land reserves. The proposed project entitled “E Mare Libertas” (Latin, for Freedom from the Sea) provides a scenario of a vertically packed settlement in the port of Singapore, a state that has already exploited 92% of its building land and that is forced to create new land artificially.

The creation of open spaces on the water, the idea of energetic self-sufficiency, a modular construction system and the inclusion of privacy represent design challenges that are playing extremely with the tension between density and freedom.

With this work, the author tries to point out the problem of our demographic future on an urban scale and to embed it in a proposal for the development of the remaining 70% of the world surface.

“E Mare Libertas” is the national motto and the name of the national anthem of the Micronation Sealand in the North Sea, on a former naval fort off the coast of Great Britain. Read the rest of this entry »

Honorable Mention
2018 Skyscraper Competition

Dong Jingzhe , Li Boyu , Zhang Zihan , Sun Zhe , Wu Yilun , Yu Yang , Zhang Haohao
China

Several years after World War III, a global war breaks out between countries in the world to fight for exhausting petroleum resource. Use of large amount of nuclear weapons in late war resulted in destruction of whole ecological environment in the earth. Most particles produced by nuclear explosion has size less than 1 micron floating in the air for tens of years to severely influence environmental temperature of the earth, so a scene like biter cold winter will appear on the earth – “nuclear winter”.

Damaged by nuclear weapon, the ecological circle is destructed and people cannot live on the earth’s surface, so we propose the “central survival of people” boldly. Facing long time span damage caused by nuclear pollution, people need to live underground temporarily and restore ground environment, meanwhile, people need to contact outer space closely to explore new planets suitable for people to live.

Individual lifesaving building, with most volume underground, has spiral lift device according to restoration condition of ground, providing living environment isolating nuclear pollution size a small city for survivors, with top space mainly used for takeoff and landing of Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), green plant and space purification. UAV carries chemicals to purify and reclaim soil and sow seed, giving the earth life while purifying environment. Water in the air is collected through top condensing tube and stored in storage device, they are transported through pipe to be used for green plant and people’s life. Lower film structure turn CO2 to O2 while purifying dust and air. Read the rest of this entry »

Honorable Mention
2018 Skyscraper Competition

QiLong Wu, WuHong Fang, HuiFang Duan, Chenhui Bao
China

In Buddhist culture, there is a saying called “reincarnation” which believes that the death of life is actually a fresh new start. It is not only a renewal of life and the eternity of spirit, but also a new starting point of a legend.

Every mortal dies eventually. Cemetery is often considered as the place where the deceased rest after their life comes to an end, however, the end of life does not mean virtually meaningless sleep underground. It is not only the place where the living remember the deceased, but also a station where the latter can reincarnate and continue to give back to nature and the living with a different form of life.

Based on the foregoing, in this case we put forward the idea of using the cremains of the dead as the nutrients for seed germination to symbolize the reincarnation of life by the process of seed germinating and growing, whilst minor parts of the plant, through sampling, processing and design, can also become a present for the living who would feel that the deceased are still around them.

In terms of architectural design, if the function of cemetery is simply vertical overlaid, the architecture created can only be a cold tombstone. What we hope is that the architecture could become a bridge between the living and the dead, which carries the affection of the living and allows the life value of the dead to continue and make spiritual dialog between the two possible. Read the rest of this entry »

Honorable Mention
2018 Skyscraper Competition

BoSheng Liu, Jon Rankin, Bryan Daily
United States

By 2300 the Arctic north will no longer be a sequestered, seemingly uninhabitable, frontier – with a projected annually averaged temperature increase of 15 degrees Fahrenheit by 2099 (GlobalChange) – as two-thirds of the world will become uninhabitable. (CleanTechnica) (IPCC) (NCA) In recent years – due to climate change and rapid warming of the polls leading to large ice melt – the Northwest Passage has become navigable during the warmer months. In conjunction with this occurrence the permafrost has begun to thaw. This has lead to an array of corporate interest in the region – ranging from oil, mineral, shipping, and tourist entities, as well as, nations attempting to pioneer the circumpolar territory. (ENR) Now the land and sea of the Arctic north is one of the most contentious geo-political campaigns of our time that will inexorably impact the world in coming centuries – in some ways malignant and in others benevolent. Read the rest of this entry »

Honorable Mention
2018 Skyscraper Competition

Keon Hee Lee, Dong Hyun Kim, Elicia Jiwoo Eom
Australia, South Korea

What do we miss from our current city? Large metropolitan areas such as Manhattan, Hong Kong and Tokyo have a dynamic culture and environment which attracts and sustains a lot of people. These areas are international hubs for commerce and the government. As the number of cities and urban population grow, not only does the demographic change but also its social, economic and psychological shape alters constituting demographics changes. Despite big cities having its fascinating sides, it brings with it significant disadvantages caused by the demographic changes and urbanization. It reduces the available green space and creates higher greenhouse gas emission and also affects mental health through the influence of increased stressors and factors such as overcrowding, pollution, high levels of violence, less ‘human fitting environment’ and lack of social support etc.

According to ARCADIS Consultancy, there are 3 main benchmarks in being a sustainable city. Quality of life, Green factors and Economic health. Here is where the problems rises. Many of those metropolitan areas have such a high ratings on the latest indicators yet the quality of life(people) ratings is very low. City planning, urbanization, advanced technologies all made the city greater however, it seems to have less consideration in ‘us’. Read the rest of this entry »

Honorable Mention
2018 Skyscraper Competition

Jinzi Wei, Yiliang Shao
China

Background
Since the rapid evolvement of 3D-printing technology, inevitably this technology will take a significant role in industrial projections. In a near future, as lifestyle evolves, new urban spaces, and therefore, city structures would be required. This new mode of production system will greatly shorten the distance between consumer and manufacturer, and provide wider options for urban services. The building 3D-printing system we are proposing for the future society will have similarities to the printers currently using paper. Like paper printers, this “Building 3D Printing System” should vary based on user groups, ranging form family to enterprise, or to an entire society. It can be as commonly owned as a paper printer, and just as easy to use with installed spatial cartridges, as building materials. Furthermore, the “cartridge” itself carries another “Crater to Crater” life circle as a part to the entire sustainable scheme. Read the rest of this entry »

Honorable Mention
2018 Skyscraper Competition

Peitong Liu
China

Though a socialist country, there are some unequal phenomena in People’ Republic of China. Liulin is a small county along Yellow River in Shanxi Province of People’s Republic of China. With its abundant coal resources underground, the county has developed rapidly and its urban area has been expanded fast within recent decades. Especially in the past ten years, the gap between rich and poor is growing greatly with its coal prices rising, which has been embodied distinctly in the urban space. This project is intended to design a complex building which reflects equality and ensures everyone to be treated equally. Read the rest of this entry »

-> 2019 Skyscraper Competition

eVolo Magazine is pleased to announce the winners of the 2017 Skyscraper Competition. The Jury selected 3 winners and 22 honorable mentions from 444 projects received. The annual award established in 2006 recognizes visionary ideas for building high- 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 Pawel Lipiński and Mateusz Frankowski from Poland for the project Mashambas Skyscraper. The design proposes a modular and scalable skyscraper conceived as an educational center and marketplace for new agricultural communities in sub-Saharan Africa. The design seeks to increase farming opportunities and reduce hunger in these regions. 

Vertical Factories in Megacities designed by Tianshu Liu and Linshen Xie  from the United States received the SECOND PLACE. The design investigates the benefits of moving factories back to megacities. The proposal calls for a series of alternating architectural layers- factories and recreational areas stacked together to create a vertical structure. Each recreational layer would feed from the waste and resources of these factories. 

The recipient of the THIRD PLACE is Javier López-Menchero Ortiz de Salazar from Spain for the project Espiral3500. The project introduces the streets and complexity of the city’s horizontal plane into a spiraling vertical structure.

The 22 honorable mentions include skyscrapers inside giant sequoias, villages embedded and hanging from mountains, automated plug-in cities, iceberg skyscrapers that reverse global warming, and wind harvesting structures among other fascinating projects.

The members of the Jury are: Eric Bunge [principal nArchitects], Manuelle Gautrand [principal Manuelle Gautrand Architecture], Ferda Kolatan [founding director su11], Andrea Morgante [principal Shiro Studio] Marcos Novak [professor and director at transLAB], Yitan Sun [winner 2016 Skyscraper Competition], Boštjan Vuga [principal Sadar+Vuga], and Jianshi Wu [winner 2016 Skyscraper Competition].

The 2017 Skyscraper Competition was made possible with the sponsorship of our media partners and v2com.

First Place
2017 Skyscraper Competition

Pawel Lipiński, Mateusz Frankowski
Poland

Mashamba– Swahili, East Africa
An area of cultivated ground; a plot of land, a small subsistence farm for growing crops and fruit-bearing trees, often including the dwelling of the farmer.

Over the last 30 years, worldwide absolute poverty has fallen sharply (from about 40% to under 20%). But in African countries, the percentage has barely fallen. Still today, over 40% of people living in sub-Saharan Africa live in absolute poverty. More than half of them have something in common: they’re small farmers.

Despite several attempts, the green revolution’s mix of fertilizers, irrigation, and high-yield seeds—which more than doubled global grain production between 1960 and 2000—never blossomed in Africa, because of poor infrastructure, limited markets, weak goverments, and fratricidal civil wars that wracked the postcolonial continent.

The main objective of the project is to bring this green revolution to the poorest people. Giving training, fertilizer, and seeds to the small farmers can give them an opportunity to produce as much produce per acre as huge modern farms. When farmers improve their harvests, they pull themselves out of poverty. They also start producing surplus food for their neighbors. When farmers prosper, they eradicate poverty and hunger in their communities.

Mashambas is a movable educational center, which emerges in the poorest areas of the continent. It provides education, training on agricultural techniques, cheap fertilizers, and modern tools; it also creates a local trading area, which maximizes profits from harvest sales. Agriculture around the building flourishes and the knowledge spreads towards the horizon. The structure is growing as long as the number of participants is rising. When the local community becomes self-sufficient it is transported to other places.

The structure is made with simple modular elements, it makes it easy to construct, deconstruct and transport. Modules placed one on the other create the high-rise, which is a form that takes the smallest as possible amount of space from local farmers.

Today hunger and poverty may be only African matter, but the world’s population will likely reach nine billion by 2050, scientists warn that this would result in global food shortage. Africa’s fertile farmland could not only feed its own growing population, it could also feed the whole world. Read the rest of this entry »