Structure and Architecture

By:  | November - 30 - 2009

Special Mention
2006 Skyscraper Competition

Carrie Norman
United States

 

Horizontal - Vertical Skyscraper

Special Mention

 

The main aim of this proposal is to question the role of structure within the field of architecture. Can it have multiple roles that integrate other elements, systems, creating mutually beneficial conditions? Can it be modeled like a leaf, in which the very members that hold it together are the same that deliver its nutrients? If so, structure can be a conduit—a physical network of rigid arteries and veins that not only bear load, but also house and perform additional services and operations. This scheme proposes that a research institute become a responsive, working system that utilizes structure and technology to yield agriculture, and effectively contribute to the efforts of reducing energy consumption that results in transporting fruits and vegetables from rural to urban areas. A canopy of hydroponic garden pods is designed to function as a seasonal market for the Philadelphia community.

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Urban Image

By:  | November - 25 - 2009

Special Mention
2007 Skyscraper Competition

Jakub Klaska
Czech Republic

 

Pixilated Facade

Special Mention

 

This project focuses on the fact that a skyscraper is capable of becoming a landmark within the context of almost every European city. The project Urban Image is based upon the potential of the skyscraper to become the landmark of a particular area. Every megastructure in Holland is a highly planned act with strictly defined regulations. The extreme lack of space in cities such as Amsterdam doesn’t allow mega-developments, as seen in Asia nowadays, or in the USA through the XX Century. Read the rest of this entry »

One-half Infinity Tower

By:  | November - 20 - 2009

Special Mention
2006 Skyscraper Competition

Leonard Ng
United States

 

Special Mention

Special Mention

 

Originating from the Klein Bottle, a non-orientable mathematical surface, it is similar to a Mobius strip in that it is single-sided. Its potential for spatial application is where the Mobius strip falls short, for the Klein Bottle is fully 3-dimensional and flirts with bounding volume with an infinite, single continuous side. It can be perceived as a strange tube which, in an attempt to bend & form a normal torus/loop, self-intersects and rejoins with itself but on the wrong side. The key lies in its strange quality of self-intersection, for the self-intersection provides spatial, typological, programmatic, structural, technological, site, and sustainability opportunities. Read the rest of this entry »