Editors’ Choice
2020 Skyscraper Competition

Masaaki Matsuoka, Yuuki Murakami, Fumito Tamamura, Ryo Watada, Hiroki Kanto
Japan

1. Three-dimensionalization of parks
The 21st Century. As cities become exposed to sophisticated computerization and diversification, they are becoming more complex, in both physical and non-physical aspects. No matter how communication technology may improve, the innovation born of people meeting face to face will be all the more needed. Under these circumstances, the concept of “public” will undergo significant change. The park, which can be seen as a symbol of this, is not just a place of rest for citizens but is also a place of production that provides values to cities in preparation for even greater climate change, food crises, disasters, and other risks that cities face. As a new symbol of such parks, and taking a cue from the obelisks once found around the world, we propose a model for a new public high-rise structure that brings independence and redundancy to cities: the Smart Obelisque. Read the rest of this entry »

Editors’ Choice
2020 Skyscraper Competition

Anna Kosmala, Anita Tupikowska, Aleksandra Moś
Poland

Recent events from around the world have clearly shown the devastating effects of human activity to date. In response to the fires that consumed vast areas of the Amazon forest and the Australian bush, we have designed a high-rise building to prevent similar ecological disasters in the future. It is intended both to prevent fires, through fast fire detection and immediate intervention, as well as compensate for losses through reforestation and help the affected people and animals.

The shape of the high-rise building was inspired by the cone and the tree. We wanted it to fit into the surroundings and at the same time draw on the idea of sowing seeds – new plants grow around the high-rise building (planted by residents).

We understand that it takes time to put up such a construction, so we propose a system of smaller buildings, which due to prefabricated elements could be built in less than a day. The structure of smaller residential units and the high-rise building consists of capsules attached to a centrally located main communication core, made of reinforced concrete. The skeleton of the capsules is made of prefabricated beams and columns with recycled plastic inside covered with concrete and geo-textile stretched on it. We decided on such construction to avoid littering the environment with plastics and because of their high resistance to damage. In less demanding climates, it would be possible to replace the geo-textile with glass. All installations run under the floor of the capsule and then through the inside of the main core. The capsules are anchored to the core by means of a hanger fixing system. The construction works on burnt-out areas would start with smaller residential units. Some of the residents would be involved in the construction of the central unit, while the rest would repair the damage on the burnt-out area. Read the rest of this entry »

Editors’ Choice
2020 Skyscraper Competition

German Sandoval Garduño, Ilse Guzmán Heredia
Mexico

Site
The Site for the proposed is a natural basin near Glaciar Torre; on the South of Chile, is a point of convergence between the continents with the most biodiversity loss, of intermediate logistics connection between America, Africa, and Oceania. The site is currently a beautiful snowy mountain landscape ready to house a project of this magnitude and with the ideal temperature for its requirements.

Aim of the project
The aim of the project is to reschedule, protect, and restart animal life to save the design of creation in case of catastrophes or wars. Through preservation techniques, assisted reproduction methods with the support of advanced technologies to reprogram the biodiversity as a reserve over the next several decades. Read the rest of this entry »

Editors’ Choice
2020 Skyscraper Competition

Walter R. Hughes
United States

We are faced with a need to implement adequate strategies along the architectural-technological process that include precepts of sustainability to reverse damages infringed upon the environment. In addition to energy performance, the reduction of energy requirements and the introduction of renewable energy, it’s extremely important to reach a zero-energy level.

This proposal is located within a strategic area of the City of Chicago, the birthplace of skyscrapers. At the entrance of the Chicago River and at the head of the Outer Driver Bridge, three mixed-use glass towers, a vertical village of sorts, face Lake Michigan and offer outstanding downtown views. They integrate into the current skyline linking itself to a continuous linear park along Chicago’s waterfront. A pedestrian-friendly promenade at its base with shops, retail, and marina play into Chicago’s dynamic downtown. Its main components are a hotel, office space and residential units served by a multimodal transportation system anchored by a futuristic landing port for autonomous electric flying vehicles, Evtols, which will serve the project and areas nearby. This skyport can handle over 150 landings and take-offs per hour. Read the rest of this entry »

Editors’ Choice
2020 Skyscraper Competition

Jitendra Shrawan Farkade
India

Flux Haus is a parasitic housing scheme, that would engulf five towers in Hong Kong with single-person pods. The grid structure covered in moving single-occupancy pods is designed to be a “more dignified” alternative to cage homes – tiny dwellings enclosed by a gridded metal walls and large enough for only one bunk bed. It would be built on another building that would contain support facilities, in this case, a housing complex in the Sham Shui Po district in Hong Kong. Given current socio-economic conditions and how they spill into Hong Kong’s housing disparity, it offers a futuristic response to inadequate and undignified living conditions.

The proposal is based in Sham Shui Po, a district in Hong Kong with a high cost of living that forces locals to settle in substandard dwellings such as cage houses. A look into Hong Kong’s cage homes gives us a glimpse of how bad the problem of land scarcity is already. Hong Kong has been ranked the least affordable city nine years in a row.

This project is an attempt to use AI and technology to solve the problem of space scarcity. This combination of intelligent machines and humans is an adaptive and evolutionary way of living. As people change, so do their houses. The house understands the inhabitant and provides for their needs. So you won’t own a specific pod. You can board any pod and that pod will adapt according to your needs.

Each pod would be suspended from the grid that would encompass the five towers in the Green Harbour Tower complex. This structure is envisaged as a grid of metal rails. As part of the proposal, the existing building will be adapted to contain all the communal spaces, including bathrooms and kitchens. The pods will then be programmed to take occupants to these spaces when required. Robotic arms would allow for a self-constructing system through an ever-growing rail system that adapts to the population of the housing complex. As a result, the grid structure would autonomously expand over time. Along with this, Flux House’s AI system would also determine the movements of the pods, finding free spaces to dock them and arrange the pods to create communal spaces. This system would create an ever-changing environment adapting to varying conditions and requirements.  Read the rest of this entry »

Editors’ Choice
2020 Skyscraper Competition

Anjan Mondal, Chaitanya Goyal, Chinmay Chowdhary, Dewesh Agrawal, Kartik Misra
India

‘All war is a symptom of the failure of man as a thinking animal.’

The Anthropocene has witnessed prolonged periods marred with plagues and calamities. But none has been of the magnitude caused by expansionist conflicts, and identity politics.

The turmoil caused by wars is unparalleled. Millions have lost their lives and millions have been forced to migrate and dwell in disarray. The world now possesses enough firepower to annihilate itself.

Upcycling fire
The proposal envisions a world order that is free from armed conflicts and the fear of the tendency to self-annihilate itself. It calls for complete demilitarization and destruction of military equipment throughout the world, with the subsequent upcycling of embodied materials and energy in the form of the peace-scraper. Major constituents such as steel and aluminum would be used to form the structure and the living pods. The weapons-grade nuclear material will be the source of clean nuclear energy.

Peace-scraper
The peace-scraper is envisaged as a vertical mixed-use development in regions most affected by wars. The community of the state-less migrants, torn apart by the exploits of wars, will populate the tower. It will stand as the emancipator of millions, created, ironically, from the very means that orphaned them of their land. The program includes a nuclear reactor to cater to the energy needs, skill development center, school, and higher education facilities and markets. The ground will be developed for sports activities. Read the rest of this entry »

Editors’ Choice
2020 Skyscraper Competition

Arnold Siregar, Patar Aprianus
Singapore

Background
Papua is the largest province of Indonesia and located in the west part of the island of Papua. Its great natural beauty and resources have provided a living for a population of more than 1 million people. The amount of tribe in Papua is more than a thousand tribe which give its complexity of living in its natural habitat. To this day, most of this tribe is still living in primitive life with no touch of modernization. Poverty, health, and education issues have been the main issues over the years.

Main Idea
The idea of Jungle Fair-Scraper is a springboard for a bright future in Papua as this tower can link each district and as a landmark of their location who stay in the midst of the jungle with difficult access due to an extreme topography and minimum infrastructure to connect one to another district around. Jungle Fair Skyscrapper as a torch of new hope for young Papuan in the future without even forcing someone away from their lovely hometown. The tower provides education facilities, health care, and government services. Jungle Fair Skyscrapper is a “SQUARE” for the neighborhood. Also, the skyscraper idea is so relevant for the extreme nature of Papua as it’s surely can reduce the carbon footprint of the development in this scenic place.

Inspired by the local traditional houses, Rumah Honai and Rumah Pohon (also known as Rumah Tinggi), the building is a hybrid concept of both local architectures. The vertical accents on the wall of this both traditional building also shown again on the exterior of the building. We decide to adopt the idea of Honai and Rumah Pohon and mix them together to create a new face of local architecture that can represent Papua from all cultures and backgrounds. Read the rest of this entry »

Editors’ Choice
2019 Skyscraper Competition

Zhou Yun, Zhao Wenxin, Kong Jining, Wang Xiaojing, Dong Junfeng
China

At first, cities and nature were distributed horizontally, but the small scale of cities ensured the contact between people and nature. Gradually, due to the expansion of the city, the city and nature became more and more distant, almost showing a state of separation. Only a small part of people on the edge of the urban areas can enjoy the natural environment. Therefore, we want to build a High-rise architecture to seek an ideal model for the harmonious coexistence of city and nature. In this model, people will not only enjoy the convenience of city life in architecture but also get the intimacy and comfort of nature.

We redefined the horizontal distance between the city building and nature, then changed it into the vertical distance to shorten the distance between city life and nature. Our initial idea was to extract the skyline of the city and attach a mountainous “natural shell” that matched the skyline, so as to minimize the distance between the city buildings and nature. However, such ideal conditions cannot meet the needs of lighting and ventilation that architectures need and cannot be realized. Then we re-examine this issue from the perspective of “handstand”. Read the rest of this entry »

Editors’ Choice
2019 Skyscraper Competition

Arman Salemi, Laura Clark
United States

This project aims to speculate on the potential future of incentivized zoning in New York City. The proposal is for the tallest building in Manhattan, surpassing the new World Trade Center and the slender towers in midtown. This proposed site for this project is Billionaire’s Row, located in midtown Manhattan – an area known for its extreme wealth. Though New York City is a diverse urban landscape, this area is known for its extreme gentrification, resulting in a neighborhood that is largely commercialized that lacks affordable housing, public space, and a sense of community. The proposal aims to build a Vertical City, one that reflects the diversity of New York City into a single tower.

The resulting tower has bespoke villas for the eight richest men in the world – Bill Gates, Amancio Ortega, Warren Buffet, Carlos Slim, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Ellison, and Michael Bloomberg. Each of the villas was designed by a different architect, ranging from Robert AM Stern to Bjarke Ingels, that have been matched with each billionaire. The result is a sky-high display case for the world’s greatest starchitects. We are marketing the next level of luxury – buying air space instead of an apartment. We are aiming to sell air rights to 0.01% – with our new model of real estate you can now “buy the sky.”  Read the rest of this entry »

Editors’ Choice
2019 Skyscraper Competition

Layton Reid
United Kingdom

Ethos
This project seeks to use the detritus and waste elements of production to create an attractor, both economic and social, a free territory for the dispossessed, offering accommodation, leisure, employment, and health.

Typology
The building takes the form of a series of ribbons rising from the landscape to a stoa above this augmented market of interchange, celebration and shared hope, self-administrated, a patria of the air.

Concept
The issue of inequality plagues the world, and refugees and migration receive little credit for their life-giving entrepreneurs, This project creates a vessel for an opportunity, a new territory forged from the industrialized world’s detritus, a land above borders which cleans and links the oceans, a  new tech business-focussed Dubai-Vegas, where the ethos of the migrant can be celebrated, a  yearning for freedom and a search for success. Read the rest of this entry »