The levels of a building are traditionally stacked upon one another with stairs or elevators used as a means of moving between them. A new design by Sure Architecture, however, takes a different approach. The Endless City in Height instead features two low gradient ramps that spiral upwards.
The Endless City in Height concept aims to show how buildings need not necessarily use traditional compartmental levels. The design does away with the breaks between floors to which we have become accustomed, replacing them with two intertwined low gradient ramps. In this way, argues Sure Architecture, the building becomes merely an extension of the street or sidewalk below and of the city as a whole. In addition to providing a means for people to move up or down the building, the ramps are interconnected with bridges. This allows for greater access throughout the building.
Sure Architecture suggests that the ramps themselves might be of irregular and varying sizes, thus creating a variety of different environments and spaces within the building. The building, it suggests, could be a complex and rich system like a real city, featuring "commercial and vibrating streets, innovative and technologic spaces, huge parks or public places which communicate with auditorium, inside or outside areas, dynamic exchange places or intimate quiet areas."
Beyond its spiral ramps, it is proposed that the building would minimize water loss by reusing water where possible, would maximize passive energy use and reduce artificial lighting, ventilation and cooling needs. Six vertical tubes would support the ramps and would provide vertical transport spaces for people, energy, waste, water and prefabricated modular steel elements for the skyscraper's growth.
The Endless City in Height was designed with a location in London in mind, though it remains to be seen whether it will ever make the jump from design concept to construction.
Source: Sure Architecture
