Architecture

Accordion-style unfolding tower takes out eVolo's 2018 Skyscraper Competition

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The winner of the 2018 eVolo Skyscraper contest, designed by Poland's Damian Granosik, Jakub Kulisa, and Piotr Pańczyk, is a skyscraper concept dreamt up to bring relief to disaster-struck areas
The winner of the 2018 eVolo Skyscraper contest, designed by Poland's Damian Granosik, Jakub Kulisa, and Piotr Pańczyk, is a skyscraper concept dreamt up to bring relief to disaster-struck areas
The winner of the 2018 eVolo Skyscraper contest, designed by Poland's Damian Granosik, Jakub Kulisa, and Piotr Pańczyk, is a skyscraper concept dreamt up to bring relief to disaster-struck areas
Earning second place in the 2018 eVolo Skyscraper Competition is the Jinja: Shinto Shrine Skyscraper designed by Hong Kong's Tony Leung
Earning second place in the 2018 eVolo Skyscraper Competition is the Jinja: Shinto Shrine Skyscraper designed by Hong Kong's Tony Leung
The Jinja: Shinto Shrine Skyscraper designed by Hong Kong's Tony Leung, is designed to rediscover the traditional connection between the Japanese Shinto Shrine and the local community
Third place, meanwhile, was taken out by Claudio C. Araya Arias from Chile with his Waria Lemuy: Fire Prevention Skyscraper
Detail and description for the Waria Lemuy: Fire Prevention Skyscraper
Honorable Mention in the 2018 eVolo Skyscraper competition: the Volcanic Tower, by China's Chunyang Li, Shuai Yang, Zhenhang Zhao, Ruize Xiao, Yuequn Wang
Description of the Volcanic Tower, by China's Chunyang Li, Shuai Yang, Zhenhang Zhao, Ruize Xiao, Yuequn Wang
Honorable Mention in the 2018 eVolo Skyscraper competition: The Amman Living Quary by Jordan's Baraa Kawasmi, Amal Tatfi
Description of the Amman Living Quary by Jordan's Baraa Kawasmi, Amal Tatfi
Views of Amman Living Quary by Jordan's Baraa Kawasmi, Amal Tatfi
Honorable Mention in the 2018 eVolo Skyscraper competition: Hong Kong 2.0 by Huy Bui, Howard Mack from the United States
Honorable Mention in the 2018 eVolo Skyscraper competition: The Earth Healer Skyscraper by China's Dong Jingzhe , Li Boyu , Zhang Zihan , Sun Zhe , Wu Yilun , Yu Yang , Zhang Haohao
Honorable Mention in the 2018 eVolo Skyscraper competition: City Rehab – Detroit by Jordan's Yassin Nour Al-tubor, Fawzi Bata, Boran Al-Amro, Yazeed Balqar Jordan
Honorable Mention in the 2018 eVolo Skyscraper competition: River Square: Water Purification Skyscraper in India, by South Korea's Kang Tae Hwan, Kim Min Jeong, Yun Seo Jun, Lee Se Won
Honorable Mention in the 2018 eVolo Skyscraper competition: River Square: Water Purification Skyscraper in India, by South Korea's Kang Tae Hwan, Kim Min Jeong, Yun Seo Jun, Lee Se Won
Honorable Mention in the 2018 eVolo Skyscraper competition: Civilization 0.000: Floating Power Station, by Dimo Ivanov, Switzerland
Honorable Mention in the 2018 eVolo Skyscraper competition: Sand Dam: Anti-desertification Skyscraper, by China's Jiangchen Hu, Yining Bei, Xiayu Zhao, Mingwen Zhang
Honorable Mention in the 2018 eVolo Skyscraper competition: The Urban Lung: Timber Skyscraper, by Ryan Gormley United Kingdom
Honorable Mention in the 2018 eVolo Skyscraper competition: The Urban Lung: Timber Skyscraper, by Ryan Gormley United Kingdom
Honorable Mention in the 2018 eVolo Skyscraper competition: The Urban Lung: Timber Skyscraper, by Ryan Gormley United Kingdom
Honorable Mention in the 2018 eVolo Skyscraper competition: Manhattan Ridge: Affordable Housing for Commuters, by Zhenjia Wang, Xiayi Li, United States
Honorable Mention in the 2018 eVolo Skyscraper competition: Manhattan Ridge: Affordable Housing for Commuters, by Zhenjia Wang, Xiayi Li, United States
Honorable Mention in the 2018 eVolo Skyscraper competition: Ever-changing Skyscraper for Post-capitalism World. By the UK's Ngai Hang WU, Han-Hsun, Hsieh, Man Nguyen
Honorable Mention in the 2018 eVolo Skyscraper competition: Ever-changing Skyscraper for Post-capitalism World. By the UK's Ngai Hang WU, Han-Hsun, Hsieh, Man Nguyen
Honorable Mention in the 2018 eVolo Skyscraper competition: Ever-changing Skyscraper for Post-capitalism World. By the UK's Ngai Hang WU, Han-Hsun, Hsieh, Man Nguyen
Honorable Mention in the 2018 eVolo Skyscraper competition: Saltscraper in India, by India's Kartik Misra, Krishan Sharma, Dewesh Agrawal, Kritika Kharbanda
Honorable Mention in the 2018 eVolo Skyscraper competition: Saltscraper in India, by India's Kartik Misra, Krishan Sharma, Dewesh Agrawal, Kritika Kharbanda
Honorable Mention in the 2018 eVolo Skyscraper competition: Saltscraper in India, by India's Kartik Misra, Krishan Sharma, Dewesh Agrawal, Kritika Kharbanda
Honorable Mention in the 2018 eVolo Skyscraper competition: Levitated Broadway – Los Angeles, by Kaiyu Xi, Fan Wu, United States
Honorable Mention in the 2018 eVolo Skyscraper competition: Levitated Broadway – Los Angeles, by Kaiyu Xi, Fan Wu, United States
Honorable Mention in the 2018 eVolo Skyscraper competition: Vertical Cemetery by China's GuoChao Deng, QingMing Xiao, Yuan Feng, Liwei Shen, Qin Xiong
Honorable Mention in the 2018 eVolo Skyscraper competition: Vertical Cemetery by China's GuoChao Deng, QingMing Xiao, Yuan Feng, Liwei Shen, Qin Xiong
Honorable Mention in the 2018 eVolo Skyscraper competition: Vertical Cemetery by China's GuoChao Deng, QingMing Xiao, Yuan Feng, Liwei Shen, Qin Xiong
Honorable Mention in the 2018 eVolo Skyscraper competition: The Reincarnation: Buddhist Skyscraper by China's QiLong Wu, WuHong Fang, HuiFang Duan, HuiChen Bao
Honorable Mention in the 2018 eVolo Skyscraper competition: The Vapolator: Seawater Extraction Skyscraper, by South Korea's Seunghwan Jung, Ryeojin Jeon
Honorable Mention in the 2018 eVolo Skyscraper competition: Manhattan of the Desert, by France's Estelle Filliat, Charlotte Ferreux, Duc Truong, Elias Vogel
Honorable Mention in the 2018 eVolo Skyscraper competition: Manhattan of the Desert, by France's Estelle Filliat, Charlotte Ferreux, Duc Truong, Elias Vogel
Honorable Mention in the 2018 eVolo Skyscraper competition: E Mare Libertas: Skyscraper on Water by Austria's Alexander Nikolas Walzer
Honorable Mention in the 2018 eVolo Skyscraper competition: Additive Effect: 3D-printed Skyscrapers by China's Jinzi Wei, Yiliang Shao
Honorable Mention in the 2018 eVolo Skyscraper competition: Additive Effect: 3D-printed Skyscrapers by China's Jinzi Wei, Yiliang Shao
Honorable Mention in the 2018 eVolo Skyscraper competition: Community as a Cloud by Keon Hee Lee, Dong Hyun Kim, Elicia Jiwoo Eom from Australia and South Korea
Honorable Mention in the 2018 eVolo Skyscraper competition: Northern Anticline: Arctic Skyscraper-City by BoSheng Liu, Jon Rankin, Bryan Daily from the United States
Honorable Mention in the 2018 eVolo Skyscraper competition: LAX 2.0: The Vertical Airport by Jonathan Ortega, United States
Honorable Mention in the 2018 eVolo Skyscraper competition: LAX 2.0: The Vertical Airport by Jonathan Ortega, United States
Honorable Mention in the 2018 eVolo Skyscraper competition: the Liulin Skyscraper Communist Experience Center, by China's Peitong Liu
Honorable Mention in the 2018 eVolo Skyscraper competition: the Liulin Skyscraper Communist Experience Center, by China's Peitong Liu
Honorable Mention in the 2018 eVolo Skyscraper competition: Icemill Skyscraper: Pure Water for Global Sustainability, by Poland's Katarzyna Przybyła
Honorable Mention in the 2018 eVolo Skyscraper competition: Icemill Skyscraper: Pure Water for Global Sustainability, by Poland's Katarzyna Przybyła
Honorable Mention in the 2018 eVolo Skyscraper competition: Revealing the Boundries by Jun Ho Han, Yungi Jung from the United States
Honorable Mention in the 2018 eVolo Skyscraper competition: Revealing the Boundries by Jun Ho Han, Yungi Jung from the United States
Honorable Mention in the 2018 eVolo Skyscraper competition: LAX 2.0: The Synctopia: Air Purification Skyscraper for Tehran, by Iran's Golnaz Mayel Afshar, Faranak Momeni Azandaryani
Honorable Mention in the 2018 eVolo Skyscraper competition: Project 1111: Sustainable Vertical City, by Russia's Philip Nikandrov Stepan Kukharskiy, Aleksandr Muraviev, Ivan Mylnikov, Vadim Zamula, Vladimir Travush
Honorable Mention in the 2018 eVolo Skyscraper competition: Project 1111: Sustainable Vertical City, by Russia's Philip Nikandrov Stepan Kukharskiy, Aleksandr Muraviev, Ivan Mylnikov, Vadim Zamula, Vladimir Travush
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Past awardees of eVolo's annual skyscraper competition have included concepts that reimagine New York's Central Park contained within massive wall structures, and self-contained cities in the sky. And this year's instalment doesn't disappoint in terms of creative ideas, with an origami-inspired skyscraper designed to be folded up and transported to different disaster zones winning out ahead of similarly out-of-the-box ideas.

Now in its 13th year, the eVolo Skyscraper Competition looks to drive innovation in vertical living, celebrating ideas that seek to make clever use of technology, materials, aesthetics and space, while exploring the interplay between natural and manmade environments.

The 2018 winner, designed by Poland's Damian Granosik, Jakub Kulisa, and Piotr Pańczyk, is a skyscraper concept dreamt up to bring relief to disaster-struck areas. Imagined as a multi-purpose hub, Skyshelter.zip is meant to take the place of the tents and containers that would typically be used in disaster-relief scenarios, except the team says its footprint is on average over 30 times smaller by comparison.

This means both that it requires less cleanup before installation and can be placed closer to areas in need. What's more, the team says their tower can be installed with little preparation, even on unstable soil. Basic supports are anchored to the ground and then a large load-bearing helium balloon inside is released, unfolding the tower like an accordion as it goes.

When this processed is reversed, the tower can be collapsed into a box that can be carted off by rescue teams and military in helicopters. Without the need for trucks, the team says the structural components for the tower can be transported faster and more easily. On top of this, the height of the tower can be adjusted simply by altering the amount of gas poured into the balloon.

The Jinja: Shinto Shrine Skyscraper designed by Hong Kong's Tony Leung, is designed to rediscover the traditional connection between the Japanese Shinto Shrine and the local community

Earning second place in the 2018 eVolo Skyscraper Competition is the Jinja: Shinto Shrine Skyscraper (pictured above) designed by Hong Kong's Tony Leung. This tower is designed to rediscover the traditional connection between the Japanese Shinto Shrine and the local community, with the structure playing host to rice-farming and storage warehouses for harvested crops on a busy street corner in Ginza, Tokyo.

Third place, meanwhile, was taken out by Claudio C. Araya Arias from Chile with his Waria Lemuy: Fire Prevention Skyscraper. This tower was dreamt up in response to the fires that devastated southern Chile in the summer of 2016/2017. The tower uses a facade system that stores captured water in pockets placed strategically to slow down ventilation and promote humidity as fire prevention measures.

Following these, 27 concepts earned Honorable Mentions in the 2018 eVolo Skyscraper competition. Check out the gallery for a peek at them all.

Source: eVolo

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1 comment
Rustin Lee Haase
So many levels. So few elevators. Far from practical. Designers need a healthy dose of practicality.