http://www.evolo.us/category/2011/
For thew past 5 years, eVolo magazine has held an anual skyscraper design competition. They are looking for young designers to redefine the skyscraper archetype through use of innovative materials and technology, which usually results in highly imaginative new forms. Here are a few of my favorites; click on the images below to enlarge.
"The project is composed of an exoskeleton where different types of living and working units could be plugged-in. Each unit is designed with a specific program in mind – from small ones for single families to large ones for recreational areas such as parks and sports facilities. Hundreds of terraces are used for agriculture and rainwater collection, while specific sites are used to bury organic waste and produce biogas, electricity, and fertilizers"
"Its exoskeleton is built from grapheme, the basic structural element of carbon allotropes such as graphite and carbon. Grapheme has a high thermal and electric conductivity and is two hundred times stronger than steel. The idea for the Hydra skyscraper is to harvest energy from lightning storms and store the power in several mega-batteries located at the base. The project also includes a research facility, housing, and recreational areas for scientists and their families"
"This proposal consists of a series of underwaterscrapers, floating islands that will be used to remove and recycle the garbage patch. These are self-sustained structures organized by function hierarchy with four communication cores that connect three main programs – collectors at the bottom, recycling plant in the middle levels, and housing and recreational levels atop."
"The project is divided in four different layers, organized around a central core that is open to the light. The first layer is above the surface and contains the recreational, and food production facilities, with agriculture fields, farms, and glasshouses. The entire façade is covered with photovoltaic cells to harvest solar energy and specific locations are also equipped with wind turbines. The second layer, approximately 60 levels, is the residential part, with a diverse range of living quarters according to family sizes. The third and fourth layers are used as offices, and service areas with the deepest part of the project dedicated to the study and harvest of geothermal energy"
http://www.evolo.us/competition/hydra-skyscraper/
http://www.evolo.us/competition/lady-landfill-skyscraper/
http://www.evolo.us/competition/rhizome-tower-a-thousand-underground-plateaus/
~Thomas Mazich
