Honorable Mention
2018 Skyscraper Competition

Ryan Gormley
United Kingdom

The beginning of the Timber Age
Can high rise architecture act as a mechanism to manifest low carbon materials and environmental design principles allowing our cities to breathe?

In recent years, the scarcity of natural resources tied with a push for greener construction methodologies has started to change perceptions of mass timber construction systems. Global Government and industry led initiatives into improving the sustainability and Carbon efficiencies of construction partnered with technological advancements in timber technologies will result in a rise of tall timber structures. The project explores the possibilities of using timber for the creation of high rise architecture by carefully considering material sourcing, structural performance, environment, digital design and off site fabrication issues. Implementing prefabricated timber systems not only reduces carbon emissions when compared with steel and concrete, but instead captures embodied carbon within the timber itself. The rule of thumb is that an average 1m3 of timber can store 1 ton of co2. This means that architectural interventions within the built environment can act as Carbon sinks thus improving the sustainability of our cities. Read the rest of this entry »

Honorable Mention
2018 Skyscraper Competition

Kartik Misra, Krishan Sharma, Dewesh Agrawal, Kritika Kharbanda
India

This is a skyscraper that aims to rejuvenate the indigenous salt farming community of the great Rann in Gujarat, India, namely, the Agariyas. The project seeks to become an architectural epitome that caters to the future and ambitions of the region by utilizing the abundant salt as the building block of the community’s macrocosm.An ecological and social renaissance for the people of the cursed land has been sought for by providing them a structure which endeavours to achieve better opportunities for the people.

THE WHITE DESOLATION
The vast expanse of the salt marsh is characterized by myriad salt pans disseminated with makeshift shacks. Inter societal islands arise due to isolated pattern of settlement. An absolute absence of social and physical infrastructure is observed which renders the community incapable of mutual learning. Deteriorating health because of long exposure to immense salt and solar concentration further intensifies it. The salt marsh betrays the community every monsoon, because the fields become completely submerged in water, making annual migration necessary.

HABITAT ASSIMILATION
The project induces community interaction and interdependence, coupled with efficient service delivery. Standard, systematic and non-intermittent salt production throughout the year due to juxtaposed functions which provide ease in the output cycle. Integration of vacuum evaporation plant with the building gives rise to an effortless method of production. Forging a resilient, permanent and sustainable setup with increased dependence of solar power creates a heterogeneous yet admissible ecosystem for the community. An increment in the efficiency of salt production from solar evaporation through introduction of novel methodology, machinery and community training boosts the comprehensive output. Read the rest of this entry »

Honorable Mention
2018 Skyscraper Competition

Dimo Ivanov
Switzerland

Story 
Civilization 0.000 is a high tech structure, placed at Cape Horn in Southern Chile, that uses locally available renewable energy sources to generate electricity. Making use of the ample wind, wave, and tidal energy of this region, the structure would utilize a combination of 19 wind turbines, 4 wave power plants, and 6 tidal power turbines to create 100 million kWh of renewable energy each year. However the electricity production is only one of many important functions such as living space, education, resource management, energy storage, research and engineering.

Cape Horn – The first 0.000 unit
The first ever designed 0.000 unit will be placed at Cape Horn, the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile. This unit will be specialized in generating electricity. If we take a look on the global energy maps, we’ll recognize the enormous amount of wind-, wave-, and tidal energy concentrated in this area. The choice to design the first 0.000 unit there is almost self-explanatory.

Design
Form follows force – There are three main forces, that define the whole structure – wind, wave & tidal energy. Through a series of different experiments and optimizations according its aqua- and aerodynamic features, the building is composed of three main structural and functional areas – tower, platform & tidal power station. Read the rest of this entry »

Honorable Mention
2018 Skyscraper Competition

Estelle Filliat, Charlotte Ferreux, Duc Truong, Elias Vogel
France

Yemen is one of the poorest countries in the world. The armed conflicts raging for several months are deteriorating an already critical situation. In addition to causing terrible human suffering, these attacks are destroying Yemen’s unique cultural heritage, which is the repository of people’s identity. Yemen has architectural masterpieces. Shibam is probably the most emblematic example of them. The 16th-century Walled City of Shibam remains the oldest metropolis in the world to use vertical construction, this construction is called « tower houses». The mud-brick high-rises, which stretch up to seven stories high, were constructed from the fertile soil surrounding the city. One of Unesco’s experts, Jacques Heyman, stresses the urgency of the situation : «Today almost nothing has been done to stop the ruin of this city, which is accelerating. If Shibalm is not restored immediately there won’t be much left to restore in 10 years’ time ». It seemed essential to put a spotlight on this threatened city. We must reverse the situation !

The idea is not to resolve an international conflict but to project into a peaceful future. The idea is to propose a sustainable extension of the city of Shibam. The development of the city is both constrained by its ramparts and by the constructive boundary of the mud-brick. The extension of the city is limited both horizontally and vertically. The only possible solution is in the ground itself. The idea is to dig the existing streets. The new Shibam, a natural extension of tower houses, are all roots that directly use the richness of the ground : the heat of the depths, the water of the groundwater, the thermal inertia of the ground, the mud as material and the depths as architecture. The tower is extended from a tower-house to a true skyscraper. Using existing resources under the city, Shibam steers clear from Yemen’s extreme import dependence. Read the rest of this entry »

Honorable Mention
2018 Skyscraper Competition

Ngai Hang WU, Han-Hsun, Hsieh, Man Nguyen
United Kingdom

A POST-WORK, POST-CAPITALISM WORLD
Hong Kong, in the near future, where automation has taken control to the full extend. A place where A.I and Robot have replaced 90% of the works. A universal basic income system has been delivered for all unemployed citizens. Human kind progress to a new kind of society: a post-work, post-capitalism world. As most of the white-collar jobs are fully automated, office towers will become useless and empty. However, the need for housing is never reduced. Indeed, since most people have no works, they will spend more time at home and enjoy their freedom. In exchange, people’s hobbies will turn to become their main activities. Thus, this lead to a mass reduction in office spaces, but an increment in housing space. Therefore, a logical policy from the autonomous governments will be executed to re-occupy, renovate and re-alter office towers to become a new type of housing for people, a truly bottom-up approach which create dynamic and democratic community across the ex-economical area of Hong Kong. Read the rest of this entry »

Honorable Mention
2018 Skyscraper Competition

Kang Tae Hwan, Kim Min Jeong, Yun Seo Jun, Lee Se Won
South Korea

Have you ever thought about a life without water? If you think of the forest desertification image that you saw through YouTube, you can see little impact of water on human life. It is not well known that when water is not available, it contravenes water human rights, such as discrimination and a threat to safety, and can’t escape from poverty. In particular, water is more than just a drink in India. Every Indian loves their river, crossing over the religions and languages of the times. Before daybreak, Hindus take a bath and pray in the nearby river, they wash themselves with bronze water bottles as a religious ceremony. When religious festivals are held, tens of millions of people in the city are bring together.

Despite efforts to solve the water system, which is based on international and India domestic law, India’s water demand appears to have failed to meet the demand. As urban population continues to grow with the rapid industrialization, additional 1.5 percent of waste water per day for each increasing in population has been made. Water pollution is serious in India, as the sewage treatment facility can only handle 30 percent of the total waste water and the huge volume of waste water is poured into rivers every year. Furthermore, the long lasting culture in India has accelerated river pollution. Read the rest of this entry »

Honorable Mention
2018 Skyscraper Competition

Jun Ho Han, Yungi Jung
United States

Blocks in Manhattan are like small fortresses. The high dense development has rendered the whole block to become an interiorized space. There are only a few entrances to these 243,000 square feet of space and it does not lead you to a public space. Is there any way to develop these blocks in New York to have more connections to the community and become less isolated? And could there be a strategy to achieve that while making the block even denser?

The Columbia University campus in upper Manhattan has a potential possibility to achieve this strategy. Although the block of Columbia University has a strong formal boundary than other blocks in New York, because of the intention of Mckim, Mead & White, who wanted to make the inside of the block comparable to the surrounding, it acknowledges the necessity of providing their space to the public, and developing the block as a whole.

On the boundary of the campus, there are ascending entrances to enrich the feeling of spatial shift, and makes the contrast more distinctive between the mundane streets and the open campus. This strategy could go further and create an unexpected open space by filling up and connecting the space in between buildings on the boundary.  Read the rest of this entry »

Honorable Mention
2018 Skyscraper Competition

Seunghwan Jung, Ryeojin Jeon
South Korea

We propose a skyscraper to get fresh water from the waters using the principles of nature. This building has a form that can best collect water vapor condensed in the sea. The condensed water flows to the stem through the trumpet and is fed to a vertically stacked farm.

To reduce discarded water, the water used in each layer is used again in the lower layer after some water purification. The water used up to the ground level is stored in the lower part of the building after being purified. The stored water and harvested crops are transported to the ground through the ship. Utilizing the power of water falling from a height of about 2 km, hydroelectric power is generated inside the stem to produce energy. Read the rest of this entry »

Honorable Mention
2018 Skyscraper Competition

Golnaz Mayel Afshar, Faranak Momeni Azandaryani
Iran

The skyscraper aims to generate a solution for the unprecedented air pollution in Tehran, Iran by combining several innovative technologies in one. Tehran’s air pollution has been a decade-old issue, which has exponentially increased, in recent years. On average, one person dies of air pollution causes at every two hours, and people have been chocking to death from the air they inhale. The most significant causes of pollution in Tehran are the overwhelming number of vehicles, loose inspection regulations, high immigration from villages into the capital, non-standard gasoline, and most importantly the topography of Tehran. The deep topography is due to the mountains surrounding the city. This has resulted in the air being trapped. The site has been picked in the center of Tehran where the air pollution is the most concentrated and the topography is at its deepest.

With this aim, the suggested skyscraper would create a new chain system between smartphones, pollution, and architecture. The most important factor is the involvement of people in the appearance of the skyscraper and the amount of data received from the people (through their smartphones) to fight pollution. This is done through an app, which syncs in real time with the skyscraper, creating a spatio-temporal system of visual and spatial syncing between pollution and architecture, through the people.

The app provides different services for the exterior and the interior of the skyscraper on smartphones. The facade of the project is equipped with the quantum stealth material technology, which bends light to create invisibility, in accordance with the level of pollution. The data received form the various directions would be translated into the facade of the architecture. The amount of pollution directly affects the visibility of the architecture. The less pollution there is, the less visible the skyscraper would be since it is in a de-activated state. As the amount of pollution starts to rise, the architecture unhides and is activated in order to fight pollution through the diffusion of catalytic converters infused in a capsule. Read the rest of this entry »

Honorable Mention
2018 Skyscraper Competition

Jonathan Ortega
United States

Aviation has made the world a smaller place. A century ago it would take weeks to travel across a continent by rail, and months to traverse the oceans by ship; today, travelers can cross an ocean in a matter of hours and circumnavigate the globe in a few short days. As air travel has shrunk the world, however, aviation infrastructure has expanded exponentially. Today’s airports use a massive amount of space for terminals, concourses, taxiways, and runways.  This growth is compounded by the surrounding roads and highways feeding into, out of, and around these sprawling airport complexes. Moreover, airports are often hemmed in by the surrounding infrastructure, limiting future growth and complicating current designs. The use of verticality of structures, while not new, opens up new opportunities for development and expansion of airports into smaller footprints, leaving more available land for green space as well as for other development possibilities.  Future airports can take advantage of verticality to reduce their land use.

Verticality is not just for infrastructure; it is also the wave of the future for aircraft as well. Vertical takeoff and propulsion systems in future aircraft will minimize the need for the kinds of taxiways and runways that are omnipresent in today’s airports. Eliminating or minimizing the use of paved spaces will allow the available land to be used for alterative purposes, from green spaces and parklands to commercial and agricultural development. This reduction in paved spaces will have other benefits as well, including a reduction in the heat sinks seen in today’s cities and other developed areas.  Read the rest of this entry »