Green Skyscrapers
In the next few days we will showcase 25 innovative proposals for green skyscrapers. These projects were submitted for the Annual Skyscraper Competition from 2006 to 2009.
Project 15 of 25
Jaakko Kallio-Koski, Toni Österlund, Joose Mykkänen
Finland
The Sea at Risk
The Baltic Sea is the second largest brackish water basin in the world in terms of water volume. The water of the Baltic Sea is a mixture of ocean water and fresh water brought by numerous rivers. The unique brackish-water ecosystem is very sensitive to disturbances. About 85 million people live in the Baltic Sea catchment area, placing severe pressure in the ecosystem.
The Mangrove Tower is a temporary structure designed to prevent eutrophication in the sensitive archipelagos of the Baltic Sea. The actual process of reducing pollutants is simple, but needs a large scale self-sufficient system that can be relocated after the site has been cleaned.
Eutrophication
Eutrophication is a major problem in the Baltic Sea since the 1800’s when the Sea changed from an oliogotrophic clear-water sea into a eutrophic marine environment. It is a consequence of nutrient loading caused by human activity. Due to the large amounts of nutrients, microscopic phytoplankton has drastically increased and algae blooms have become prevalent. Increased primary production of the Sea increases the amount of organic matter in the sediment and leads to self feeding internal nutrient loading cycle. Organic matter that settles at the bottom of the sea begins to decompose. Decomposition consumes limited oxygen resources of the bottom water layers and turns it into an anoxic system.
Mangrove Tower
The Mangrove Tower consists of a bundle of “mangrove branches”. Each branch being an independent unit; where the upper part contains wind turbines for generating power necessary for the water pumps located at the bottom. The Mangrove Tower is a water oxygenator that pumps surface water full of oxygen to the lower layers of the sea. The towers are placed in sheltered pools on the coast. Its morphogenetic structure allows the addition or removal of several braches without loss of structural stability.