Tag Archives: eVolo

This unique molecular city is comprised of different sphere-shaped neighborhoods with their own climates

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Designed as a proposed skyscraper city for Tiankeng in the Yunnan province, this molecule-inspired habitat helps boost the region’s ability to grow a variety of herbs as a way to accelerate its economy. The ‘Skyscraper City of Tiankeng’ was an entrant at last year’s eVolo Skyscraper Competition.

“The unique geographical conditions of Tiankeng have formed a microclimate suitable for the growth of different herbs”, say the designers. By turning the city into a cluster of interconnected biodomes, Tiankeng presents a new agricultural model of the “herbal industry” that integrates research, production, processing, and marketing, all within each individual dome.

The molecular city has a distinct visual appeal, with multiple domes connected to each other through truss supports. This unique arrangement isn’t just for the visual aesthetic, but rather also helps create individual microclimates required for each separate herb to grow and flourish. The separate domes run their own climates, relying on the sun and oxygen as external elements, while other parameters like humidity, temperature, soil-composition are all controlled within the dome itself. The dome-city also has its own infrastructure, including schools, hospitals, recreational and cultural spaces, etc.

This architectural approach also plays well with Tiankeng’s cultural background. Located in a sinkhole within the ground, the village was developed to be inaccessible so as to avoid war and conflict from neighboring tribes/clans. This, however, had its own literal and metaphorical pitfalls. The new architectural approach considers developing the village in three dimensions instead of just on the two-dimensional land it sits on. The different spheres exist on different levels, allowing the village (now city) to rise above the ground and exist in multiple planes. This helps the city occupy more area within the same plot of land the same way adding more floors to a building increases its liveable area. The distinct advantage here, however, is that it’s also a visual and architectural marvel, with the presence of multiple spherical habitats connected to one another!

Designers: Shuzhan Liu, Siang Duan, Yimin Gao, Jingyi Li, Shiliang Wang, Daxu Wei

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Proposed skyscraper concept captures CO2 from the air and turns it into starch

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This unique form of carbon capture is the result of a 2021 scientific study of synthesizing starch from CO2. The City Chloroplast skyscraper concept puts this research into practical use, doing the job of a massive plant that absorbs CO2 from the city air on a regular basis.

An entry at this year’s eVolo Skyscraper Contest, the City Chloroplast is a massive carbon-capture device inspired directly by nature. Following the Chinese Government’s proposed policy of “Carbon Peak” in 2030, and “Carbon Neutrality” as early as 2050, the City Chloroplast works by removing CO2 from the air. The CO2 reduced to methanol by a catalyst and then converted by enzymes to carbon sugar units, then to starch. “In our skyscraper design, we designed different parts of the skyscraper, combining the steps and processes of carbon dioxide collection and capture, transportation, storage, and eventually starch production,” say the designers behind the concept. The primary structure of the skyscraper is equipped with membranes that collect and divide CO₂, which will then be directed through a massive transverse pipeline to an expansive circular chamber for storage. A series of devices for the synthesis of starch from carbon dioxide (CO₂) and hydrogen are distributed within the tower’s large annular space, while solar panels located on the top of the tower help provide the clean energy required to power the City Chloroplast’s underlying tech.

Designers: Kaiyu Chen, Yong Lin, Ziyi Li, Zhipeng Tao

In September 2021, the Chinese scientific research team presented a chemical-biochemical hybrid pathway for starch synthesis from carbon dioxide (CO₂) and hydrogen in a cell-free system. The artificial starch anabolic pathway (ASAP), consisting of 11 core reactions, was drafted by computational pathway design, established through modular assembly and substitution, and optimized by protein engineering of three bottleneck-associated enzymes. Although the laboratory method is a long way from being sustainable, energy efficient, economically viable or a replacement for traditional agriculture, it’s a breakthrough in artificially synthesizing starch from CO2, which is a world-first.

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Interstellar-inspired futuristic ‘cylindrical’ city concept combines farmland with urban dwelling

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The ‘Urban Condenser’ was proposed as a concept to help cities become more cohesive units of society, allowing for farming as well as urban living to be done on the same plot of land in a way that allows both to coexist and benefit from each other. Although an entirely wild concept, it finds its roots and inspiration in ‘Cooper Station’ from the popular sci-fi movie Interstellar. Unlike Cooper Station, however, this cylindrical city doesn’t have a variable gravitational point. Instead, it features a curved land base for farming, and an arch-shaped floating city on top, complete with houses, commercial spaces, and other urban amenities. The unique shape of the Urban Condenser also opens it up to a lot of tourism, keeping the city lively and funded.

The case that the designers behind the ‘Urban Condenser’ involves accepting migrant workers as a part of a singular community that bridges the rural and urban divide. Migrant workers form the main chunk of the workforce responsible for helping develop urban communities, but they seldom enjoy the benefits of these communities. “They work in cities but do not have urban hukou, or household registration, and do not enjoy social security,” say the designers. “They make great contributions to the city, they yearn for the city, but are not accepted by the city and are free from mainstream society.”

The large cylindrical community (one might call it a literal representation of a ‘pipe’ dream!) houses these migrant workers in its unique design, while being located within the city that they wish to be a part of. The lower part of the city is connected to the land, making it perfect for agriculture, while the sides and the upper elements are ideal for dwelling, amenities, and commercial/cultural parts of the city experience. “With community, city, migrant workers, residents, and other dimensions of identity as the object, and with lifestyle, tourism, community mechanism, and other connections within the community as the link, the Urban Condenser builds a super community to stimulate social development”, the designers mention.

Designers: Yunheng Fan, Baoying Liu, Rongwei Gao, Junliang Liu

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This tsunami-blocking coastal city draws inspiration from the shape of mangrove roots

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The volcanic eruption of Tonga on the 14th of January in 2022 created a major tsunami hazard for the entire pacific rim. The pacific rim is said to be the most prone to tsunamis, given its connection to all four major tectonic plates. It’s only natural for the architecture of the area to evolve to match this unique threat, and that’s what the Tsunami Park Skyscraper aims at doing. This eVolo Skyscraper Award-winning architectural design models itself on the shape and layout of mangrove roots that help break waves and currents by almost instantly slowing down water currents to help distribute their impact.

“Mangroves are woody plant communities in the intertidal zone of tropical and subtropical coasts, with developed root systems and staggering growth, which have the best effect on tsunami mitigation”, mention the designers. “Therefore, the skyscraper is inspired by the principle and mechanism of mangrove resistance to tsunamis, and consists of a single unit aggregated to form a vast complex along the coastline. Each cell consists of a bottom pillar and a top multi-level platform. The bottom pillar is made up of thick concrete columns that form a porous structure to dissipate the enormous force of the tsunami, while the upper platforms are of varying sizes, heights, and interconnections to carry people’s lives.”

Designers: Wang Jue, Zhang Qian, Zhang Changsheng, Li Muchun, Xu Jing

The skyscrapers have two functional states – a normal state, and a disaster state. The large towers hover many meters above the coastline, and while they created an elevated city-of-sorts to live in, the base of their massive vertical columns create the perfect area for tidal fishing and water-based bazaars (like the ones found in Thailand). This is where people gather for recreational activities like fishing, swimming, and boating.

However, in the face of a tsunami alert, the lower areas are immediately evacuated. As the tidal wave hits the skyscraper, it’s immediately broken into much smaller waves that instantly dissipate as the water is slowed down by the mangrove-root columns of the skyscraper park. Water is also absorbed by these columns and is channeled down into an underground desalination area for treatment (this happens on a daily basis too, during high tide). “Our solution strategy is therefore to turn a disaster into something, which means conforming to the tsunami, rather than fighting it. Transforming the catastrophic nature of the tsunami into a gift from nature to mankind,” the designers mention.

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This skyscraper concept uses genetically modified trees to grow into a living architectural structure

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The Living Skyscraper was chosen among 492 submissions that were received for the annual eVolo competition that has been running since 2006. One of the main goals of the project is to grow a living skyscraper on the principle of sustainable architecture. The ambitious architectural project has been envisioned for Manhattan and proposes using genetically modified trees to shape them into literal living skyscrapers.

The building will function as a green habitable space in the middle of the concrete metropolis. By analyzing the active process of urbanization and a decrease in the percentage of green spaces, the Living Skyscraper is looking to solve a number of environmental and urban issues. “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,” says the Ukraine-based design team.

Think of it as a skyscraper tree, it is a separate living organism with its own root system, irrigation, maintenance mechanisms, and features focused on how it can be adapted in the traditional architecture-heavy city. The structure is formed with unique fast-growing and tall hardwood deciduous trees that are planted in groups in specially prepared soil. As these trees grow they also form a one-of-a-kind shape for the skyscraper while providing 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.

During development, the branches of nearby trees will be grafted at different levels and form a network structure – a kind of conjugation that will strengthen the structure and continue its growth. The branches of hybrid “trees of the future” will form the structure of a living skyscraper, form even, separate biomorphic structures, and feed on soil, water, and sun resources, forming an ecosystem that is essential for large agglomerations. As it grows, a living skyscraper can connect with nearby buildings and form green overhanging communications over a block. The functional purpose of skyscrapers can vary depending on the need. Our skyscraper in the center of New York City will serve as a lookout tower with its own flora and fauna, as well as ecological communication between office buildings with a green recreation center.

Living Skyscraper won first place in eVolo’s 2021 Skyscraper Competition.

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

These ‘inverted skyscrapers’ harness a new type of energy from deep within our oceans

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The idea of completely rejecting fossil fuels isn’t new, although there are multiple alternatives to take. Electricity, solar energy, hydrogen combustion, all prove to be incredible substitutes for ‘dirty’ fossil fuels, although some believe there’s another abundantly available alternative – combustible ice.

Combustible ice is found in large quantities at the bottom of our oceans. These ice-shaped masses are made when water and natural gas get frozen together. Also known as methane hydrate or flammable ice, this white snow-like mass burns to release water and methane as by-products, and some believe its abundance could help offset our current carbon crisis by shifting us to the next best thing.

The Drilling Water-Scraper is a conceptual architectural design that recieved an Honorable Mention at the 2020 eVolo Skyscraper Competition. The water-scrapers extend downwards to the ocean bed, mining it for combustible ice, while the upper half gathers plastic waste from the ocean, effectively cleaning it. There are two main moving lines in the building, the downward materials, and the upward energy. Among them, the energy tower transforms the plastic waste on the sea into 3D printing materials, and prints the building and energy tank down along the core cylinder, turning itself into a building with growth. Mined ice is pressurized and liquefied before being stored in the water-scraper’s energy tanks. Cargo ships make their way to the scrapers and collect this energy, bringing it to the cities.

Designers: Xuejun Bai, Chucheng Pang, Lei Zhai, Yuyang Sun & Dianao Liu

Award-winning skyscraper designs that aim to protect earth from humanity’s mistakes

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Skyscrapers have long been a symbol of status and power. I mean, who wouldn’t want to be quarantined in a skyscraper right now with a beautiful, uninterrupted view of the skies to help them pass time? But eVolo’s Skyscraper Competition aims to give these status symbols a whole new purpose. Established in 2006, the annual Skyscraper Competition is one of the world’s most prestigious awards for high-rise architecture. It recognizes outstanding ideas that redefine skyscraper design through the implementation of novel technologies, materials, programs, aesthetics, and spatial organizations; along with studies on globalization, flexibility, adaptability, and the digital revolution. It is a forum that examines the relationship between the skyscraper and the natural world, the skyscraper and the community, and the skyscraper and the city. With the 2020 winners just released, we picked the best designs from the winners to show how each design is aimed at solving a problem, healing the planet, and creating a better future for all of us.

Designed as an entrant for the 2020 eVolo Skyscraper Competition, the 737 Max Tower turns one of the world’s most controversial aircraft of modern times into housing. The Boeing 737 Max made headlines after its launch in 2016 when it was revealed that the aircraft’s own internal software was causing the plane to malfunction and take nosedive. This malfunction caused two 737 Max planes to fatally crash with passengers on board, throwing the entire line of planes into question. “What about the planes that have already been made though?”, thought designers Victor Hugo Azevedo and Cheryl Lu Xu. The 737 Max Skyscraper leverages the architectural potential of an aircraft, converting it into a series of budget residences for the homeless. The aircrafts are stacked vertically and trimmed to form the basic shape of a literal Jenga-tower of airplanes.

Climate change, global warming, and rising sea levels sound like a certainty given our lifestyle. Granted, COVID-19 has given us a pause, but what happens when we resume life? The Coast Breakwater by Charles Tzu Wei Chiang and Alejandro Moreno Guerrero is a solution for our sea-facing cities that are being threatened by extinction! St. Louis, Senegal, located in the northwest part of the country, near the mouth of The Senegal River, has been home to fishermen for generations. It is a hostile territory where there are constant confrontations with the neighboring countries regarding the established fishing boundaries and territories. In addition to the political and social problems, the region is affected by the rising sea level. Such natural phenomenon has forced the community to move inland, away from the shore. This proposal is based on traditional pillar structures, which are used to prevent erosion. These structures will serve as a foundation for the new vertical housing units. The project is also inspired by Senegal’s traditional wooden architecture that uses a complex arch system with tensile structures. The system allows a high degree of adaptability and extendibility to create a new community by the sea challenging the rising sea level. This idea won them third place in 2020 eVolo Skyscraper Competition.

Imagine a skyscraper without an elevator…Like Thor’s hammer, only those who can reach the top of this skyscraper by walking up the flight of stairs deserves to own this luxurious landscape. The Egalitarian Nature skyscraper by Yutian Tang, Yuntao Xu imagines a new building typology driven by the human urge for nature instead of capital. The traditional skyscraper is reimagined as a mountain range that provides a new way to experience nature within an urban environment. A zigzag-climbing path is developed along with abstract spaces that encourage an unexpected engagement between people and nature. And with no elevators but a 50th-floor high-rise apartment instead, getting groceries will be the new workout!

How many of you are aware of combustible ice? Typically a frozen mixture of water and concentrated natural gas, it can be lit on fire in its frozen state and is believed to comprise one of the world’s most abundant fossil fuels. While we dig into the seas to fuel our consumption, the problem of marine garbage is becoming more and more serious. Because of plastic’s structural characteristics, it will not be easily corroded by the seawater. Therefore, designers Xuejun Bai, Chucheng Pang, Lei Zhai, Yuyang Sun, Dianao Liu came up with the idea of using local materials, turning plastic waste into 3d-printed materials, as our own building materials, and filling cracks in the seabed caused by combustible ice mining to prevent secondary disasters. “In order to solve the energy and environmental problems to the greatest extent, we install the location with the highest coincidence of combustible ice and marine waste as the building site. There are two main moving lines in the building, the downward materials, and the upward energy. Among them, the energy tower transforms the plastic waste on the sea into 3D printing materials, and prints the building and energy tank down along the core cylinder, turning itself into a building with growth. In addition, the energy tower exploits the combustible ice from the seabed and stores it in the energy tank after being pressurized and liquefied, and then transports it to the cargo ship through the equipment such as track and a mechanical arm, and finally brings it back to the city, becoming new clean energy in the city.”

2020 arrived, bringing with it Corona that started in Wuhan and spread across China with the Chinese government building an entire hospital in just 10 days to support the sick. While this battle is ongoing, the future looks scary and solutions are needed to resolve such urgent requests. As global citizens and architects, Ngo Thanh Ha Tien and Dao Duy Tung were thinking of a system of pandemic emergency supply station, whose target is to brave a situation like this of a virus’ outbreak. Its main function will be urgent care service in order to fill in the inadequate hospital resources with a program of diagnosis room, intensive therapy, treatment room, bed-care area with medical equipment… Especially, to meet the emergency requirement, the building has to use modularization technology (kind of like stacking LEGO bricks to quickly build up a tower) in order to be assembled in a very short time. Vertically configured buildings facilitate more efficient infrastructure in the case of metropolises, which also are primary zone in case of a pandemic outbreak. This emergency supply station is capable of adapting to many terrains, especially in areas with poorly prepared for an epidemic, such as Africa, Asia, South America…

The Floating City design by Zijie Nie, Chen Shen, Jian Zheng is based in Kiribati, an island country in the South Pacific. This reef-preserving country is particularly vulnerable to the rising sea level issues, and its territory is thought likely to disappear within the next 60 years. The design proposes to constructs a series of wall-like skyscrapers in the offshore waters and combats the problems caused by rising sea levels in three aspects. First, by studying the erosion of the coast and the direction of the ocean currents, the design of the architectural massing is used to slow down the speed of the ocean currents flowing around the building. With such a method, the sand and mud in the water are able to deposit as sediment and gradually cultivate the new islands over time. Second, with the design of skyscraper, land area submerged by seawater was transferred to the air, and thousands of residential units were built in the air to provide a place for people to live and use, protecting them from natural disasters such as hurricane and flood. Thirdly, while constructing a vertical ecosystem to provide greening for people living in it, it can also become a seed bank for retaining plant diversity in Kiribati and other South Pacific regions. Meanwhile, a large number of artificial components located between underwater structures can be a place for coral reef protection and regeneration.

Tesseract by Bryant Lau Liang Cheng proposes an architecture system that allows residents to participate in not just the design of their own units; but the programs and facilities within the building itself. This process is inserted between the time of purchase for the unit and the total time required to complete construction – a period that is often ignored and neglected. Through this process, residents are allowed to choose their amenities and their communities, enhancing their sense of belonging in the process. Housing units will no longer be stacked in repetition with no relation whatsoever to the residents living in it – a sentimental bond between housing and men results. The architecture system proposed can only be completed and realized by community participatory design; enabling possibilities that go beyond what computational design allows, highlighting the value of human creativity. High rise buildings now become a medium for the individual to express themselves; giving the power back to the residents, instead of being dictated by capitalistic agendas alone. By breaking the conventional centralized sky garden down into smaller components and spreading it throughout the entire vertical height of the building, the ‘invisible’ space caters to expansion in accordance with the lifestyle changes of the residents through time. These conditions allow modular units to expand or subdivide for either rent or sale, providing residents with incentives as time goes by. With this set-up, residents no longer have to move out for better accommodation; a longer duration of stay in their original homes and communities is encouraged, leading to a better sense of ownership and belonging.

NASA developed a concept presenting the creation of an artificial magnetosphere located at the specific site, called Lagrange L1, which is between Mars and the sun. At this specific site, it is necessary to create an object that generates a magnetic field with an intensity between 1-2 teslas that is capable of protecting Mars from cosmic rays. In comes MAGNETIC by Adam Fernandez! This colossal “space-scraper” project will allow us to create an atmosphere for Mars that would make the planet inhabitable. MAGNETIC is a spaceship in the form of an airtight cylinder that is more than one kilometer in length and 650 meters in diameter placed in orbit between the two stars. This spaceship will be self-sufficient and generated by renewable energy by means of panels that can capture solar energy. Part of the solar panels that cover the hull of the spaceship will be responsible for producing enough energy to generate the magnetic field in order to terraform Mars. Another part of the panels will be used to maintain the energy required by the inhabitants of the spaceship and to satisfy their domestic and leisure needs. The MAGNETIC spaceship will welcome a diverse population of about ten thousand people for the future colonization of Mars that will be principally charged with the maintenance of the space center. The heat and light will be transmitted through six gigantic columns in the heart of the island such as the filaments of a bulb. Once on-board the spaceship, the living spaces will be organized between the surface and subsurface.

Focusing on the flood as a global issue, the Mudtrapper by Surush Ameli, Sharareh Faryadi, Laya Rafianezhad, Soroush Attarzade has tried to exploit it naturally. Generally, the destructive and antithesis issue in the flood is the existence of garbage, mud, and the aquatic, which enter the residential areas by the pressure of the water, then after facing the obstacles, start to settle and become a threat to the environment. Removing these destructive ingredients from the flood, this project reduces its destructive power and allows nature to make its way. By placing the tower in the path of the flood, the animals are first rescued, then the garbage in the flood is removed, and finally, the mud enters the tower area with the flood and the exploitation operation begins. Balls made of several layers of sieve separate the mud from the water and enter the processing and store loop. In this loop, the operation of processing the mud, which is now our production material, is formed. Finally, as the balls exit the tower, the storage, and transfer operations take place. The flood, passing through the confines of the tower, is converted to a calm, refined stream which has used its destructive power to produce material and help its process, and then continues on its way.

Algae as energy resources are in their beginnings and are seen as high potential. Extensive research work has dealt with algae as an energy source in recent decades. As a biofuel, they are up to 6 times more efficient than e.g. comparable fuels from corn or rapeseed.The Tubular Bioreactor Algae Skyscraper focuses on the production of microalgae and their distribution using existing pipelines. Designed by Johannes Schlusche, Paul Böhm, Raffael Grimm, the towers are positioned along the transalpine pipeline in a barren mountain landscape. Water is supplied from the surrounding mountain streams and springs, and can also be obtained from the Mediterranean using saltwater. New, empty pipes will be drawn into the existing pipeline. On the one hand, these serve to distribute the sea or mountain water, on the other hand, the microalgae produced can be transported both south to the seacoast and north. The energy for transport is to be obtained from environmentally-friendly hydropower.

The problem of deforestation is publicly known and can be defined as the loss of trees induced by both humans and other causes. Big problems need big solutions, and the Reforestation skyscraper by Thomas Gössler could help to reverse the damage. It recreates forests out of cow grazing areas, soy fields, and destroyed landscapes by centralizing all necessary processes into one structure. At the top, seeds are inserted into an aquaponic system which – once large enough – slowly slide down a winding ramp whilst continuing to grow. After a few weeks, the seedling has grown and gradually slid towards the bottom and can subsequently be planted into the surrounding fields by mechanical arms and drones. The tower also houses a laboratory, a seed stock, water storage, a fire station for forest fires, sleeping cabins for temporary workers, a control center, several farming spaces, technology, and exhibition spaces. Large semi-transparent solar sails make it energy self-sufficient and are slowly moved with an electrical chain drive and mechanical arms. The tower is 70 meters high and its design is biophilic and inspired by nature itself.

The 737 Max skyscraper vertically stacks Boeing’s planes to turn them into residential complexes

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“An airplane is a building that flies – so why not use it as a building material?”

Designed as an entrant for the 2020 eVolo Skyscraper Competition, the 737 Max Tower turns one of the world’s most controversial aircrafts of modern times into housing. The Boeing 737 Max made headlines after its launch in 2016, when it was revealed that the aircraft’s own internal software was causing the plane to malfunction and take nosedive. This malfunction caused two 737 Max planes to fatally crash with passengers on board, throwing the entire line of planes into question. Just as Boeing was rectifying this issue and placating the countries and airlines that had placed orders, the novel coronavirus outbreak completely halted air travel. Needless to say, the company saw a mass cancellation of orders, forcing Boeing to entirely suspend production of the 737 Max.

“What about the planes that have already been made though?”, thought designers Victor Hugo Azevedo and Cheryl Lu Xu, who’s entry into this year’s Evolo Skyscraper Competition got them an honorable mention. The 737 Max Skyscraper leverages the architectural potential of an aircraft, converting it into a series of budget residences for the homeless. The aircrafts are stacked vertically, and trimmed to form the basic shape of a literal Jenga-tower of airplanes. The fuselages are structurally sound, waterproof, and relatively sound-proof to, making them pretty suitable for living, and providing shelter for the thousands of homeless people around Los Angeles. Way to solve the homelessness problem and the surplus discontinued aircraft problem with one stone, eh!? While you’re at it, use their jet engines to power the building’s HVAC too!

Designers: Victor Hugo Azevedo & Cheryl Lu Xu.

What a vertical carousel-shaped airport for LA would look like

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A concept entry for the eVolo Skyscraper Competition 2018, Jonathan Ortega’s LAX 2.0 envisions creating a ground-breaking, space-saving vertical layout for one of America’s busiest airports.

He believes the current system of taking off and landing requires a massive airstrip onto which only one plane can engage in one of those activities at a time, resulting in a waste of space and a mismanagement of time. LAX 2.0 is built for planes with vertical take-off abilities, reducing the need for a landing strip, and therefore allowing the airport to assume a non-linear shape, in this case, circular. The entire periphery is lined with landing bays on which anywhere near 50 planes can dock, with more than one plane entering and exiting the airport at the same time. The new system allows airports to shrink in size yet quadruple in efficiency… it also looks positively Jetsonian!

Designer: Jonathan Ortega

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Skyshelter.zip is like a compressed bellow that opens into a skyscraper

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What these designers proposed was ground-breaking enough to win them the Golden Prize at the eVolo Skyscraper Competition 2018. The premise? Instant Skyscrapers. The technique? Compressing them to make them easy to transport, and then expanding them on site.

The Skyshelter.zip is literally the physical manifestation of a zip file. The compressed building gets transported via helicopters to disaster-zones. The zip is as wide as a building, but remains vertically compressed until it’s ready to expand. This compressed building is tethered to the ground to make it secure, and then a load-bearing helium balloon on the top of the building rises upwards, expanding the building like a bellow expands with air. As the balloon rises and the building increases in height, fabric panels used to create the external and internal walls would unfurl rapidly, and 3D printed plates would be lifted in succession by the balloon, creating floors and different zones. Depending on how tall you want the building, you’d fill more gas into the balloon and add more floors.

The Skyshelter would come with a lobby, first-aid bays, temporary housing, a storage unit, and even a vertical farm. What’s incredibly interesting is that while it’s easy and quick to deploy, it can be compressed back too, making it perfect for temporary use on sites that need rehabilitation, and moving on once the job is done!

Designers: Damian Granosik, Jakub Kulisa & Piotr Pańczyk.

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