In the celebratory spirit of its recent 2015 Skyscraper Competition, eVolo has compiled a list of the contest's most innovative submissions. 20 skyscrapers from 13 countries rose above the rest in terms of their unorthodox forms and imaginative solutions to socio-environmental issues. The avant-garde designs, which range from self-sustaining micro-climates to extensive sky-bound bicycle networks, address the cultural, social, and sustainable contexts of the future through groundbreaking means.
See all 20 innovative skyscrapers after the break.
Breeding Clouds Skyscraper / Davide Coluzzi (Italy)
To account for increasing aridity and the accompanying decrease in resources, this structure uses ionization technology to foster a controlled, vertical ecosystem.
Migratory Lantern Flock: Nostalgia Across the Formosa Strait / Cai Zeyu and Du Dikang (China)
Migratory Lantern Flock aims to inspire a common cultural identity for the Taiwanese people by reusing a discarded vernacular structure as the framework for a glowing tower.
The Oculus: Regenerating Life Through a Vertical Topology / Rodrigo Carmona (United States)
Implementing a digital weather system, the Oculus is a self-sustaining mixed-use tower that aims to reinforce a sense of community in Manhattan and resolve imminent environmental concerns.
Xerophyte Tower / Allstair Lillystone and Shonn Mills (United Kingdom, Singapore)
This tower draws inspiration from desert plants that have adjusted to their climates, and implements a system of modular units to achieve a structure with similar adaptive capabilities.
Floating Waterfront Village: Trees of Life / Yi Wang and Jin Wei (China)
In an effort to preserve the traditional features of China’s Pearl River Delta, Floating Waterfront Village proposes a vertical shift to maintain the vernacular style through a suspended community.
A Thousand Splendid Suns / Bart Chompff and James Park (Austria)
This project employs technological strategies to utilize the power of the sun, harvesting the latent energy from its rays to be distributed for thermal control and energy production within the tower.
Bicycle Skyscraper Network / Si Hoon Choi, Do In Kim, Tae Joon Jeong, Chang Han Lee, Seong Hyun Yoon (South Korea)
To promote a healthier environment and decrease congestion at street level, the Bicycle Skyscraper Network redirects bicycle traffic into an elevated road system for a safer and faster commute.
Go Vertical: A City Designed for Volume / Margaret Rew, Taylor Hewett, Karilyn Johannesen (United States)
A City Designed for Volume reimagines the conventional highrise layout as a web of overlapping public and private spaces that redefine the lifestyles of mixed-use skyscraper occupants by creating new opportunities for interaction.
Favela Skyscraper / Rodrigo Carranca Hernandez (Mexico)
A future look at informal settlements, this skyscraper applies a methodical growth pattern to favelas to improve inhabitants’ standards of living and provide them with a self-sustaining environment.
Water Skyscraper in Somalia / Nurzhanat Kenenov (Singapore)
Driven by the scarcity of safe water in Somalia, this project proposes a series of towers connected by an aqueduct system that desalinate water from the Indian Ocean, transport it as needed, and in the process generate hydroelectric energy.
Elegy of Skyscrapers: Museum of Manhattan Skyscrapers / Yike Peng, Fan Wu, Youyi Wang (Hong Kong)
The Museum of Manhattan Skyscrapers presents a method of preserving today’s skyscrapers as concrete memories and tourist attractions for future generations.
The Habitable Obelisk / Jun Hao Ong (Malaysia)
Returning to the sanctity of ancient rock-cut dwellings, the Habitable Obelisk creates a unique social experience within the tower’s interconnected carved spaces.
Hi-Rise Waterfall / Gigih Nalendra, Nadia Vashti Lasrindy, Reza Arya Pahlevi (Indonesia)
This highrise addresses Jakarta’s annual flooding caused by insufficient infrastructure by introducing rooftop reservoirs that supply hydroelectric energy for the structure's occupants.
Re-scraper / Zhou Ping, Yang Dongqi, Xie Mingxuan, Chai Wenpu, Sun Wei, Yang Hui, Liu Chengming, Qi Shan, Deng Honghao (China)
A solution to the problems associated with blasting demolition, the Re-scraper suggests reusing existing infrastructure as the basis of new construction, simplified by a top-down 3D printing system.
Termite Skyscraper / Chong Wang, Mingwei Sun, Zhen Wang (China, United Kingdom)
This structure aims to counteract food scarcity in agriculturally deprived areas by sustaining a regenerating supply of nutrient-rich termites in a vertical farm.
Capture Wind: A Wind Farm in the Tropopause / Jiaqi Sun, Chang Liu, Mingxuan Qin (China)
Seeking to lessen climate change caused by fossil fuels, this wind farm proposes a system of towers that harvest and store the high-velocity winds of the troposphere for clean, dependable energy.
Land Liberator Skyscraper / Ming Liu, Chen Chen, Chao Nie, Hua Deng, Yinhan Zhou (China)
The Land Liberator seeks to combat Beijing’s growing air pollution problem by incrementally absorbing the city, shifting its population vertically to allow ecological regeneration at the ground level.
Cloucity / Juerg Burger, Ge Men, Qingchuan Yang, Yin Li, Wei Hou (Switzerland)
A complement to existing infrastructure, Cloucity proposes three interconnected residential towers with a central void for recreational activities and public gathering.
Re2iffel Equalizer Skyscraper / Teemu Holopainen, Tomi Jaskari, Tuomas Vuorinen, Simon Ornberg (Finland)
Re²iffel examines a multipurpose structure that emphasizes adaptable public space and adapts to the predicted swings in climatic conditions.
Diffused Boundaries Skyscraper / Satavee Kijsanayotin, Ben Novacinski, Hannah Mayer, Haydar Baydoun, Mingxi Ye, Zhifei Chen (Thailand, United States)
This highrise investigates how “to blur the boundaries that create separations between public and private spaces, but also how to bring the rich civic and communal lifestyle that currently exits on the ground up into the sky.”
To read the full project descriptions, visit www.evolo.us
