While the proposed Phoenix Towers and the one-kilometer tall behemoth Kingdom Tower are looking to knock Dubai’s Burj Khalifa off its perch as the world’s tallest building, architecture magazine eVolo has embraced the more abstract qualities of skyscraper design.
Rather than doting on the tallest, the eVolo Skyscraper competition praises concepts and designs that push the envelope in terms of sustainability and innovation, which in turn, help set a path for dynamic, more interconnected cities of the future.
To commemorate the competitions’ ninth anniversary, we’ve compiled a list of all nine past winners, dating back to its inception in 2006.
Submissions for the 2015 Skyscraper competition are now officially underway with the winners to be announced in March.
2006 Winner: Reciprocal Conjugation by Changhak Koi (United States)
Instead of designing a static and unresponsive structure, Changhak Koi’s Reciprocal Conjugation is a skyscraper composed of multiple layers that can move and respond to its environment.
2007 Winner: Para-City by Somnath Ray (India)
Para-City challenges the traditional idea of a skyscraper as a vertical structure and instead, proposes one that continuously evolves and “grows in the entire three-dimensional space of its host.”
2008 Winner: Leyered Interiorities by Elie Gamburg (United States)
The 858 foot tall skyscraper would be built atop the existing Belorussky Train Station in Moscow, and would feature an arched path through which vehicles and trains can run through uninterrupted.
2009 Winner: Neo-Arc by Kyu Ho Chun, Kenta Fukunishi, JaeYoung Lee (United States)
Conceived as a response to world’s worsening environmental conditions, the skyscraper’s exterior would be fitted with solar panels to generate power. At its base, a giant reservoir would deliver purified water to its residents.
2010 Winner: Vertical Prison by Chow Khoon Toong, Ong Tien Yee, Beh Ssi Cze (Malaysia)
Elevated high above the ground, this prison in the sky was designed as the ideal environment to rehabilitate criminals. By taking them out of the cramped cells of a conventional prison into open full-fledged communities, which remain isolated from general public living in the world below, prisoners are better positioned to put their criminal past behind them.
Winner 2011: LO2P: Delhi Recycling Center by Julien Combes, Gaël Brulé (France)
Conceived for Delhi, India, the mega-structure would be built from recycled car parts. Its giant turbine-structure would serve as a rotating filter that both purifies the polluted city air while also driving the production of biofuels.
Winner 2012: Himalaya Water Tower by Zhi Zheng, Hongchuan Zhao, Dongbai Song (China)
Imagined to take shape deep in the Himalayan mountains, the towers would harness the mountains’ water reserves through six stem-like pipes and effectively function as a giant freshwater store. In today’s increasingly risky and volatile environment, the towers would help freeze, purify and regulate the distribution of water “when the climatic conditions aren’t able to do so.”
Winner 2013: Polar Umbrella Skyscraper by Derek Pirozzi (United States)
The structure’s far-reaching canopy would shade the polar ice-caps from the scorching sun and reduce further depletion of the arctic region. Inside the skyscraper, research laboratories, renewable power stations and dormitory-style housing units would help preserve the natural landscape against worsening climatic conditions while also transforming the notoriously harsh region into one that’s habitable for humans.
Winner 2014:Vernacular Versatility by Yong Ju Lee (United States)
The skyscraper takes inspiration from Hanok, a traditional Korean housing style known for its eco-friendly design and ability to accommodate for shifting temperatures. The skyscraper features an adjustable roof system that controls the influx of light into the building and in true Hanok fashion, incorporates a tile roof and wooden structural system into its design.
