Retrofitting our Skyscrapers For Food and Power
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 03.23.08
Nicolai Ouroussoff writes about all the new glass towers architects are designing in New York these days; they are lovely things, but what will power them or feed their occupants in years to come? Green roofs won't do it, they are too small. Daekwon Park has a great idea, seen in the 2008 Evolo skyscraper competition: a way to reunite the isolated city blocks and insert a multi-layer network of public space, green space and nodes for the city.
Clipping onto the exterior of existing buildings, a series of prefabricated modules serving different functions would be stacked on top of each other, adding a layer of green space for gardening, wind turbines or social uses to make new green façades and infrastructures.
There are modules for vertical gardens and connections to other buildings through a network of skywalks;
Wind turbine units and program units that could serve many public functions.
The concept of adding a layer of complexity and usefulness to the under-insulated glass dinosaurs that are sprouting up everywhere may save them and their owners from the inevitable hike up 24 flights of stairs with their meagre rations. via ::Pruned and ::Archinect
I think this is an interresting take on a modular type skyscrapper. Is this a proposal for the whole city or just a particular site? The idea of being able to connect to other structures mid-air excites me. This project reminds me of a classmates proposal for an Innovative steel competition where parasites are attaching to the hosts, but the parasites are helpful rather then hurtful.
Are you thinking of symbiosis Nick?
Though this also excites me, I couldn't help but think of the security nightmare that would arise having so many different connections to other buildings.
How would this connectivity also hurt the street level community. All the businesses that thrive off people walking by?
You could have prefabricated modules for businesses...
How much fun would it be to have spiral slide modules? After a stressful day in the office, nothing could be more fun than a fast slide down four stories!
This is idiotic.
As cool as it looks, you are simply creating less open space and more building. The economics of this are unfathomable. Open structures hundreds of feet in the air, next to towers are windy, dirty and dangerous, not Eden-like. Wind turbines are noisy and dangerous. This is more unrealistic happy-thinking that gives the green movement a bad name.
I like the idea of adding say, a dozen or two of these towers to the central core of any large city. Adding this much green space to a city center would improve air quality and reduce the heat island effect. The (glass) building owners themselves could operate them as an added benefit to their tenants.
As for security, cities like Calgary in Canada already have significant elevated walkway systems and it seems to work fine:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%2B15
Just think of mall-like security instead of a guy sitting in the lobby by the elevators. Besides, individual tower owners could always choose to not connect to any other towers.
One concern (mentioned by Security, above) would be a possible reduction in street-level activity, but in any sufficiently dense area (I'm thinking New York or Chicago) I don't think it would really be an issue. The streets still give people more options for getting around.
Well, given that buildings sway in the wind, I doubt this proposal if very realiistic. The strain of building compressing, twisting, and bending these structures will turn them in the safety hazards.
Neat idea though.
-Lego
LA: that is true, and probably its biggest problem though not I think the most valuable component, I like the towers better than the horizontal connections. Without those, they would be as safe and stable as a tower crane in New York.
Well, given that buildings sway in the wind, I doubt this proposal if very realiistic. The strain of building compressing, twisting, and bending these structures will turn them in the safety hazards.
Neat idea though.
-Lego
reminds me of an anime called blue gender.
looks like its missing the solar powered monorail.
but honestly that looks terrible. and youll still have shade issues. you might as well assign sunny areas inside the building for green growing areas, all the wind on the roof, we already know that buildings get a strong updrafts, harness that. thin film on the afternoon top side of the scrapers. and if you want another layer of transport between the buildings. then just build walk ways on the second level. no sway, less traffic congestion. most of the side walks are covered inner city, instead of roofing make it side walk.
I like it and I wish my office had one. What about a climbing wall and maybe some waterfalls?
Why don't you just raise the first floor by one level.... get rid of the sidewalks and there are more lanes or parking area on street level. Then put stores on the second level with thick glass and/or solar panel array as a sidewalk. Its the same concept as the subways or the El trains. Plus pedestrians will have the same amount of space as the road takes up at street level... and with the street level as an almost tunnel u can use the captured CO2 to grow plants and algae to use for making electricity. The cities already waste CO2 by way of idling cars so why not reuse it to power the building it is delivering to?