Honorable Mention
2022 Skyscraper Competition

Ahmed Helal
United States

Since the construction of the Equitable Life Assurance Building in 1820, the office tower has become synonymous with white-collar productivity in New York City. In the subsequent 200 years, some 450 million square feet of office space has been constructed in the five boroughs, constituting over 10% of all office space within the United States. It wasn’t until the proliferation of the internet, collaborative communication platforms, and co-working spaces, that the office began to decentralize. Then, in 2020, the Global Coronavirus Pandemic completely disrupted the corporate hierarchy, as White-Collar America transitioned to working from home, it became evident that the workforce could remain productive outside the office. It is now clear that there will never be a full return to pre-Covid workplace normalcy. This paradigm shift has rendered the commercial office tower obsolete. If this typology no longer holds value, then what should we do with the obsolete building stock? To simply demolish it would be wasteful, arrogant, and short-sighted, for two reasons. First, all constructions have inherent value simply in that they exist and were an expenditure of finite resources that can never be replaced. To dispose of them is to erase those resources forever. New York City alone produces over 3 million tons of construction waste annually, only 35% of which is returned to the production stream. Second, it is precisely this outdated building stock that gives New York its identity. The only path forward is adaptive reuse – to transform these antiquated buildings into vibrant and essential structures that serve to alleviate the two fundamental architectural crises in the city: housing and public space. – This proposal is an example of adaptive reuse design, changing landmarked office skyscrapers like the AT&T Building by Philip Johnson, currently known as 550 Madison, to residential spaces that prioritize tenants and the local community, offering an accessible well-rounded live, work, and play lifestyle through the design and programming of homes and public spaces. Read the rest of this entry »

First Place
2021 Skyscraper Competition

Andrii Lesiuk, Mykhaylo  Kohut, Sofiia Shkoliar, Kateryna Ivashchuk, Nazarii Duda, Mariia Shkolnyk, Oksana-Daryna Kytsiuk, Andrii Honcharenko
Ukraine

One of the main goals of the project is to grow a living skyscraper on the principle of sustainable architecture.

The building will function in the middle of a grey megalopolis and solve a number of important environmental and urban issues.  By analyzing the active process of urbanization and a decrease in the percentage of green spaces as a phenomenon that provokes a number of environmental problems.

We believe that by integrating genetically modified trees during the stage of their growth and development into architecture, we can restore the balance between the digitalized megacities and the Earth’s resources, which are gradually depleted.

A skyscraper tree is a separate living organism with its own root system, irrigation, care mechanisms, and features of development focused on its adaptation to use in architecture. It is a group of unique fast-growing and tall hardwood deciduous trees, which are planted in groups in specially prepared soil (to obtain resources) and in the process of their growth from a unique architectural volume.

The plant absorbs water and nutrients, which are distributed from root to tip. At the same time, the growth of the trunk circumference will gradually increase the strength of the wood structure and improve its self-supporting properties. Read the rest of this entry »

Second Place
2021 Skyscraper Competition

Amit Deutch, Roni Dominitz, Tamar Kerber
Israel

The Lluvioso groundwater refilling facility is a mixed-use high-rise structure designed as a response to Mexico City’s variable water-related issues such as flooding, water shortage, and their side effects. The solution we examined in our project utilizes the high-rise altitude to gather rainwater and refill the city’s groundwater supply.

This field of high-rise structures spread out over the city’s flood risk areas, at a height of 400m, would harvest rainwater using an external membrane layer detaching from the building’s facade. The external layer consists of 10 wings, anchored to the main structure at a height of 100m in order to allow the city’s future vertical growth. Thus, resulting in a 600m diameter rain-water collecting Canopée covering a typical city quarter. The collected water would then be directed down into the aquifer as well as upwards towards a pendulum water tank (for self-use). This proposal seeks to reduce flood damage, fill the aquifer and enhance the water supply for the city’s residents. Read the rest of this entry »

Third Place
2021 Skyscraper Competition

Xiangshu Kong, Xiaoyong Zhang, Mingsong Sun
China

Hmong in China is an ancient nationality, mainly living in Yunnan province. Hmong has its own language, architecture, and lifestyle. However, this group of special minority cultures is being gradually swallowed by modern culture. Many Hmong cultural customs have disappeared, and even many Hmong people’s houses have been demolished or will be.

In order to build a well-off society in an all-around way, the Chinese government has issued relocation policies to the villages to help the Hmong stay away from their dilapidated places of residence and move to the suburbs of cities to provide a modern and affluent life. Although the original intention of the government is good, more and more ethnic minorities are unable to adapt to the new places of residence. They miss their arable land, yards, streams, and so on. We try to design a skyscraper. We try our best to keep farmers’ memory and lifestyle of their original hometown, and at the same time let them enjoy the convenience of modern urbanization. Read the rest of this entry »

Honorable Mention
2021 Skyscraper Competition

Alina Kandyba, Emil Stefansson, Josefin Antus, Karl Östvall
Sweden

Up in the Squair is a re-imagination of the skyscraper as a vertical continuation of urban space; a proposal focused on the experience of the user exploring the dynamics of spaces, derived from elements found in historic city centers.

The context where the skyscraper first arose is recognized by its strict grid plan; wide avenues to fit traffic, not much room for adaptations, nor irregularities and asymmetries. The skyscraper could be seen as a reflection of this context following a grid plan logic but vertically with orthogonal circulation; a common idea of rationally moving from point A to point B unifies building with the site.

When the skyscraper was introduced to Europe it faced a more complex situation. A present history and an architectural dominance exclusive to culture, state, or religion. And as a result, instead of becoming the core of the city, like New York or Tokyo, the skyscrapers of Europe tend to be either erected in districts planned for the matter, like Le Défense in Paris, or in the historic center where old structures are demolished to give space for the skyscraper, like City of London’s financial district. Read the rest of this entry »

Honorable Mention
2021 Skyscraper Competition

Lee Jae Uk, Kim Ji Hoo
South Korea

Water shortage
The African government has invested heavily in education, agriculture, and medical facilities for the development of the country, but has not been able to produce clear results. Increasing demand due to rapid urban growth resulted in the overabundance of the water resources system, and poor management of resources, weak long-term investment and research on the environment, and a lack of infrastructure led to many natives’ dependence on relief.

Ironically, the average annual precipitation in Africa results in average annual rainfall of 1,000 to 2,000 mm. Nevertheless, the reason why water is always suffering from a lack of water supply facilities infrastructure to collect and store rainwater. The climate of Africa is divided into dry and rainy seasons. In the rainy season, there is a lot of rain to flood, but this rain is not used and flows into the groundwater.

The minimum amount of water a person needs to survive is 7 liters per day. Urban areas with water facilities can easily be supplied with water, but Africans in rural areas who do not receive a minimum supply of water spend 16 hours a day growing water, and they will never dream of agricultural water. Lack of drinking water and agricultural water worsened their health.

Lack of water and sewage treatment facilities
In Africa, where sewage treatment facilities are not available, people solve feces and urine on the streets and it seeps into the ground.  pathogens are preserved on the ground. One way for Africans to get water is to grow contaminated water from digging. This water also worsens their health.

Sponge
The Sponge is a water circulation collection housing for residents in rural areas who can use groundwater due to discharge and collect rainwater in rainy seasons. Read the rest of this entry »

Honorable Mention
2021 Skyscraper Competition

Adam Fernandez
France

For more than 4,500 years, the pyramids have fascinated me. Man-made for the elite of the early dynasties, they were built as a royal tomb. Resurrection machine where the pharaohs made their transition from death to eternal life, this pyramidal shape is also a magical symbol of regeneration linked to the daily rebirth of the sun.

According to recent research, the pyramids were built by free men. The excavations carried out near the pyramids by the group of archaeologists AERA in 2013 have made it possible to reconstruct the life of these Egyptians. It describes a working town located south of the Sphinx. They found evidence of animal husbandry, slaughterhouses, and graveyards there, enough to infer the proper diet and access to medical care for construction workers, Dr. Redding told LiveScience.

The PYRAMIDES project aims to offer an alternative to the architects of the past. That of building new cities based on the same divine laws. Through which the people and the pharaohs would cohabit together.

This city is organized around an oasis. It keeps an ecological reserve in its core where wild flora and fauna share a common shelter protected from the sun. Functioning as a green lung and natural air conditioner, the inhabitants of PYRAMIDES will be able to walk there and enjoy a temperate climate.

In the very heart of the city and the oasis, there is also a place of worship dedicated to prayer where all roads converge. As for the royal tomb, the basements protect the relics and sarcophagus of their pharaoh. Read the rest of this entry »

Honorable Mention
2021 Skyscraper Competition

Zhang Zhenpeng, Feng Jialu
China

The Nagorno-Karabakh region in West Asia is generally recognized by the international community as a part of Azerbaijan, but it is controlled by Armenians. Since 1988, Armenia and Azerbaijan have been disputed over the ownership of Nagorno-Karabakh. In 1994, Azerbaijan and Armenia reached an agreement on a comprehensive ceasefire. However, the two countries have been hostile over the Nagorno-Karabakh issue. On September 27, 2020, Armenia and Azerbaijan broke out into a military conflict. The war caused a large number of casualties on both sides of Armenia and Azerbaijan. Half of the people in the Nagorno-Karabakh region lost their homes. The city was bombed and destroyed. Social security was chaotic. People had to flee to bunkers, dungeons, and churches. They were worried that they would die at any time. A church in Shusha has experienced destruction, the interior of the church is incomplete. Both sides of the war claim sovereignty here. 200 civilians took refuge here at the beginning of the war. During the war, a couple still insisted on holding a wedding in the church.

The church has changed hands several times, sometimes as an Islamic space and sometimes as a Christian space. No matter what kind of space it is, space is meaningless, and its meaning comes from life. People left their lives and plunged into war, forgetting the beauty of life’s common expectations and longings. However, people can pursue the common meaning in the Synonym Tower, whether it is truth, goodness, beauty, or divinity, the authentic form aims to erase all forms. There is no mosque or Christian church here, so the building achieves the ultimate meaning of its generation and construction—carrying all lives and manifesting the public meaning, that is, the meaning of peace. Read the rest of this entry »

Honorable Mention
2021 Skyscraper Competition

Liu Yifei, Tian Yu, Wang Hangdi, Zhou Beiyu
China

For the current loss of architectural identity and urban renewal issues, we conceived a future urban renewal system. Based on the extensive use of 3D printing technology in the future, it will be possible to print sophisticated building bodies and equipment using different high-strength materials. The city of the future will become a rapidly reborn diversified life body, and the temporary 3D buildings that can be quickly rebuilt will replace the permanent buildings as the main body. The Printscraper scattered in different areas designed by us is like a mobile operating table in the city, which accurately retrieves, rebuilds, or repairs buildings.

The Printscraper is driven by solar and nuclear energy and transfers within the service radius of the city. During construction, the three auxiliary towers on the side and the cantilever membrane structure spread out to cover the entire construction area, using 3D nozzles for operation. The membrane structure isolates noise and dust, ensuring the daily life of the surrounding blocks to the greatest extent. The demolished building is processed and stored inside as greening soil and reused materials. The lower part of the building is equipped with a viewing platform and a vertical park open to all citizens. People can visit and monitor the progress of the project while the Printscraper stays in the block, or simply treat it as a temporary good place to meet others. Read the rest of this entry »

Honorable Mention
2021 Skyscraper Competition

Yao Junji, Liu Yuxi, An Peiyan, Chen Yuxuan, Huang Yunting
China

The development of modern civilization has increasingly detached human beings from their natural attributes. Pollution, the fast pace of life, the unprecedented amount of information, the complexity of social relationships, changes in work and rest patterns, and differences in consumer orientation have all contributed to the gradual increase and worsening of mental illness. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 poses a huge challenge to world health, both physically and psychologically. Researchers found from patient health records that within 14 days to 90 days after the diagnosis of novel coronavirus pneumonia, 18% of patients or seemingly normal individuals were diagnosed with mental health problems. The results of this clinical study indicate that in the next few months or more, due to the global pandemic, it is likely to cause a “tsunami-like” outbreak of mental health problems and psychiatric disorders.

Among multiple mental health problems, dysthymic disorder is characterized by high prevalence, high relapse rate, high disability rate, high suicide rate, and high disease burden, which refers to significant and persistent emotional changes caused by various reasons, including depression, bipolar disorder, etc., mainly manifested as emotional highs or lows, accompanied by corresponding cognitive and behavioral changes. Meanwhile, other psychological problems or diseases are often accompanied by emotional cognitive impairment, emotional loss of control, and other emotional problems. Read the rest of this entry »