The stated aim of the architecture and design magazine eVolo is to “to promote and discuss the most avant-garde ideas generated in schools and professional studios around the world“, and is concerned with “technological advances, sustainability, and innovative design for the 21st Century”. In line with this objective and its theme, the publication is organising a competition for skyscraper architectural projects. The competition, first held in 2006, “recognizes visionary ideas that through the novel use of technology, materials, programs, aesthetics, and spatial organizations, challenge the way we understand vertical architecture and its relationship with the natural and built environments“.
On 2nd May, the publication announced the three winners of the 2022 competition and the 20 projects that received honourable mentions out of a total of 427 entries. Given the nature of these projects, it is safe to say that the three winning skyscrapers, whilst tackling real problems, are a form of “architecture fiction“. As we shall see, the architects let their imaginations run wild beyond practical constraints, unconcerned with the fact that architecture is not only about designing buildings, but also about building them.
Architecture against climate change
“How can we prevent, through architecture, desertification and persistent natural disasters?” This question was answered by architects Kim Gyeong Jeung, Min Yeong Gi and Yu Sang Gu from South Korea with their design for the Climate Control Tower (CCT), which won first prize in the eVolo competition. They designed a tower around 4 km high that would house a complex system for generating clouds by transforming seawater. You can find a detailed explanation of the process through our source.
Architecture to cushion the force of tsunamis
In the case of the second prize-winning design, Chinese architects Wang Jue, Zhang Qian, Zhang Changsheng, Li Muchun and Xu Jing developed it as an architectural solution to the destructive power of tsunamis. They were inspired by mangroves, which form “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“. So, the Tsunami Park Skyscraper is formed by aggregating into a unit or cell, until it becomes a vast complex along the coast. Each cell is supported by a lower pillar, composed of thick concrete columns. These columns form a structure that dissipates the enormous force of tsunamis. In contrast, the upper platforms, of different sizes, heights and interconnections, are intended for people’s daily lives. For more details, see our source.
Architecture for food security
The project awarded third place by eVolo magazine is by Polish architects Michał Spólnik and Marcin Kitala. Their design is a response to the ” lack of crop diversity that poses a threat to global food and nutrition security“. Their proposed skyscraper consists of a set of overlapping landscaped modules, each belonging to a particular biome, with different soil, flora, micro-organisms, small animals and microclimate. Organised according to the principles of agro-ecology, each “proto-garden” is a field for experimentation, bringing together plants that are not found together in the natural environment. The core supporting the structures of each of the modules is intended for practical and service functions: seed banks, laboratories, conference spaces, data centres, warehouses, high-tech composting facilities, etc.
The three winning skyscraper projects in the eVolo competition could perhaps be considered as examples of architectural fiction. It is very likely that if they could be built today, they would not be so inspiring. Perhaps that is their value, and that is why it matters little whether or not they could ever be built.
Through the link to our source, you can enjoy more architecture fiction, in the projects that have received a special mention in the competition, as interesting as the three previous ones.
