Architecture magazine eVolo has announced the winners of its annual skyscraper competition, a contest that calls for futuristic design concepts that challenge the way we think about tall buildings. The 2020 crop includes plenty of imaginative ideas, including a manmade vertical park, a housing community for fishermen and a “healthcare skyscraper” to deal with disease outbreaks.

The 2020 edition of the eVolo 2020 Skyscraper Competition attracted 473 projects in all, each looking to push the boundaries in the way architects use technology, materials, aesthetics and spatial organization.

Taking out first place was Epidemic Babel, designed by China’s D Lee, Gavin Shen and Weiyuan Xu. Conceived in response to the coronavirus pandemic, the tower consists of programmatic boxes catering to different healthcare needs that can be attached to the steel frame. The team prioritized simple construction and rapid response, mindful of the fast-moving nature of disease outbreaks and how they can overtax healthcare infrastructure.

Earning second place in the competition was a vertical green park called Egalitarian Nature, by Yutian Tang and Yuntao Xu in the US. This design reimagines the typical skyscraper as a mountain range, featuring a zig-zagging path that climbs upward and other abstract spaces that promote the connection between people and nature.

eVolo

Coming in third was an interesting look at how architecture could be shaped by rising sea levels. Coast Breakwater by Taiwan’s Charles Tzu Wei Chiang and Alejandro Moreno Guerrero is a tower designed in response to the plight of fishermen in Senegal, who are moving inland in response to the threat of rising sea levels. It uses traditional pillar structures to prevent erosion and features traditional Senegalese wooden architecture relying on complex arch systems to form vertical housing units.

In addition to these three winners, 22 projects earned honorable mentions in the eVolo 2020 Skyscraper Competition. Get a glimpse at the more interesting concepts in our gallery.

Source: eVolo