China's Futuristic Farmscrapers

Architects are often turned to when people search for a potential answer to our future cities and lifestyle. People like Leonardo da Vinci, Buckminster Fuller, Le Corbusier and Frank Lloyd Wright had all attempted to paint a picture of what our future might look like on their canvases.

Usually grand scheme are conceptualized whenever there is an undeerlying social problems that are waiting to be resolved. Shenzhen in China is one such city that is currently plagued by over crowded population, increasing pollution and chaotic uncontrolled development.

Asian Cairns, a masterplan featuring sustainable ‘farmscrapers’ or horticultural towers is the solution from Belgian-born, Paris-based architect Vincent Callebaut which he believes would solve all these issues. His concept is nothing new which is basically to incorporate sustainable design strategy into a highly sophisticated high tech building. 

Callebaut and his team are famous for their fancy building design such as their scheme for 1000 passive houses in Haiti and a twisting tower block for Taipei, Agora Garden.

Their proposed towers for Shenzhen has drawn inspiration for its design from cairns, those small piles of stones hikers like to make to mark their mountain trails. Each ‘pebble’ like module is constructed of steel rings and represents an ‘eco quarter’ with hanging gardens. These quarters are held in place by the building’s central spinal column. A conventional-looking block peaks out of each tower’s summit to house the planned apartments and offices. Wind turbines perched on the pebbles’ ledges to generate power for the building to be self sustainable.

Perhaps the architect's idealistic intention is best described through his words: “The Asian Cairns project synthesises our architectural philosophy that transforms cities into ecosystems, quarters into forests and buildings into mature trees, changing thus each constraint into opportunity and each waste into renewable natural resources!”

As I mentioned before, the concept is nothing new but its form is mind boggling and thought provoking if even just one of these towers is managed to be constructed in the near future.

800m Tower by MAD Architects

Another fluid building by MAD Architects which would be great if it is built eventually.

Solaris Singapore

Solaris designed by Dr. Ken Yeang has won multiple accolades for its integrated eco design such as top honours at the Skyrise Greenery Awards held by the Singapore Institute of Architects and National Parks Singapore and its top achievement of being awarded the BCA Green Mark Platinum Award. It also managed to clinch a Green Good Design Award for Architecture in 2010.

We could easily understand why Solaris managed to clinch so many awards once we study the green design features within the building. Solaris is a vast business space complex that is fully sustainable with a continuous spiral landscaped terrace that winds its way up to lush roof gardens, a green corridor with central courtyards, and a unique solar shaft that helps create a daylit and naturally ventilated atrium. The 15-storey building is also fitted with sun shading devices to reduce solar heat gain 

However, the greatest green feature of this building has got to be its rainwater harvesting strategy to minimise water consumption. On rainy days, water will take 3 days before it completely travel from the top of the building down to the water bank at basement. As the water flowing downwards like a waterfall from the hill, the plants along the spiral landscape areas are irrigated naturally. When there isn’t any rain, stored rainwater would then be pumped from the water tank to the irrigation copper pipes installed all over the landscaped area to water the plants. This is indeed a brilliant idea of recycling rainwater instead of letting it flowed away into the ocean.

This state-of-the-art facility is an integral part of the renowned Fusionopolis cluster which is designed to house MNCs from the info-communications, media, science and engineering R&D industries.

Conceptual Perspective

Spiral landscape

India Tower

FXFowle Architects’ India Tower, to be built in South Mumbai to house a new Park Hyatt Hotel will be India's answer towards green architecture. Its designers claim that India Tower will be the greenest skyscraper in the entire country with rainwater harvesting, green materials, and a possible US LEED Gold rating.

Coincidentally reminisces Tianjin’s ‘Pile of Boxes’, the 60 story, 301 meter tower is divided into different modules, each slightly rotated to the next. Each module manifests a change in function of the tower namely a hotel, high rise residential units, a retail component and so on. Among its green features include shaded windows, natural ventilation, ideal site orientation, rainwater harvesting and eco-friendly building materials.

Futuristic Hotel for Ancient Cambodia

Whenever we think of Cambodia, Angkor Wat automatically come to our minds. The ancient towers of this great temple complex has attracted tourists from around the globe. But a nation cannot be frozen in time without any progress. Finally, what might be the greatest project Cambodia has ever seen since the Angkor Wat could actually be realized. A $93 million project by Amarapura sited on the present Cambodiana Hotel at the confluence of the Mekong and Tonle Sap rivers. The 3.5ha site offers absolute riverfront views  and is in the prime cultural and civic centre of Phnom Penh.

Imperial Tower

The Imperial Tower designed by Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture will be Mumbai’s tallest building, a slender 116-story, 400-meter residential skyscraper. Sky gardens of the tower are designed to "dampen" wind force around the tower helping the structure to stand strong against any lateral movements. 

The skyscraper is designed to incorporate environmentally friendly features such as rainwater harvesting, gray water recycling and exterior cladding that can limit solar heat gain. The design also includes the possibility of the apartments’ kitchens and bathrooms to be prefabricated by a local factory.

Urban Forest Skyscraper

Today's advance technology has given rise to mind-boggling architecture that is unthinkable just 20 years ago. One of the most dramatic proposal in recent years comes from MAD Architects of Beijing with their design for the ‘Urban Forest‘. The proposal is for a commercial high-rise building in Chongqing city centre, China. The off-centred stacked floor design was inspired by the mountainous landscapes of China. The 70 floor building rises above the urban clutter surrounding it with vertical landscaping all around its fluid facade.

The fascination of this building does not stop in its unprecedented facade but is evident in its interior spatial design as well. Floor-to-ceiling glass windows cover each floor to allow maximum light exposure into the internal spaces. Each Levels are distinctly unique with multilayer sky gardens, floating patios and well-lit nesting spaces, providing various experiences for all who use it. Perhaps MAD's design statement summarizes the uniqueness of this building  succinctly, “The Urban Forest will not be a piece of mediocre urban machinery, but an artificial organ that lives and breathes new life in the steel-and-concrete-filled city center.” 

Urban Forest was inspired by the Chinese landscape.

Sky courts and gardens scattered throughout the skyscraper.

Urban Forest engages with activities on the street.