The 2020 International Student Tall Building Design Competition ran on the theme of "Future of Humanity", which relies on the collective benefits of urban density; reducing both land consumption and the energy needed to construct and operate the horizontally dispersed city. Tall buildings must now be the vehicles for creating increased density not just through sheer height, but by connecting multiple layers of the city. Physical urban infrastructure, circulation, greenery, and urban functions traditionally restricted to the ground level would all, ideally, continue up and into the building, such that the buildings themselves become an extension of the city: a part of the two-dimensional horizontal urban plane flipped vertical. See more information on the five winners and projects below.
2020 International Student Tall Building Design Competition
Overview
1st Place
A Critical Approach to Vertical Graveyards
Nikita Klimenko and Nikita Shpakov, Yale University and Belarusian State University
The idea behind the design is embedding graveyard terraces into a continuous upward landscape, inspired by similar cemetery arrangements in rural mountainside temples. Unlike regular floors of burial storage facilities, each panel of the tower is a full outdoor garden where families can rent floorspace yet utilize it exactly the way they would use a real plot of cemetery land. At the same time, the breaking of the terraced landscape into separate mini-parks oriented at different angles reflects the nature of an urban cemetery – to gather a small community and foster local ties.
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2nd Place
Breathable Density
Allen Lai, Architectural Association School of Architecture
This project introduced the concept of breathable density in a Hong Kong climate. It aims to re-imagine what sustainable high-rise towers could be in the near future. This is achieved through careful consideration of climatic conditions, site context, and local culture to implement passive design strategies. The proposed design responds to the surrounding context by shifting the mass away from neighbouring buildings to minimize daylight obstructions while achieving high density. Due to the site’s proximity to waterbody, the tower design can take advantage of local micro-climate such as strong prevailing wind from the south-west.
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3rd Place
Med + Hubs
Karan Sharma, University of Calgary
Nearly 2 million could require care in an ICU. Adding to the challenge, the US has fewer hospital beds per 1,000 people compared to places like Japan, South Korea, and Italy, according to data compiled by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, or OECD. As a solution, MediHubs are a rapid-deployment health care skyscraper designed as a response to the current Coronavirus pandemic. The idea is to create temporary structures that could be deployed rapidly, like traditional hospital tents, but with a high level of biocontainment to prevent the spread of the virus.
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4th Place
Sky Alley
He Jin and Chanjuan Wang, Dalian University of Technology
The design of "Sky Alley" is aimed at this contradiction, dismantling and rebuilding old houses that have not been recorded as cultural heritage, and placing them in high-rise buildings. Through the analysis of the original behavior mode, the space of leisure sharing, self-operated shops, chess and card entertainment and the vertical traffic of high-rise buildings are integrated to form a new kind of air community. On the basis of retaining the original behavior pattern of high-rise buildings (elevators, equipment), new alley spaces are placed in “Sky Alley”. This not only restores the traditional living space of the original residents, but also preserves the cultural memory of the place.
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5th Place
Re-Plugged
Jaiman Jain and Urmi Panchamia, Aditya College of Architecture
Re-Plugged intents to rethink this urbanization as an opportunity to grow sustainably and help residents and farming community of Delhi. House confinements and lack of physical movement have increased trauma and stress. The crucial times make us realize what we essentially need and miss out on. People living in cities feel most isolated and have lost connection with nature. Re-Plugged uses architecture as a medium to fill these void. It is an approach to bring to life the forgotten nature. The design imagines a vertical approach to the otherwise horizontally spread out farm lands, mountains, lakes and lush forest.
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Funding Sponsor: Council on Vertical Urbanism
2025 International Student Tall Building Design Competition Winners
Funding Sponsor: AECOM
2023 International Student Tall Building Design Competition Winners
Funding Sponsor: Think Wood
2022 International Student Tall Building Design Competition
Funding Sponsor: TKE Aufzugswerke GmbH
2021 International Student Tall Building Design Competition
Funding Sponsor: Tetra Tech
2019 International Student Tall Building Design Competition
Funding Sponsor: New World Development Company Limited
2018 International Student Tall Building Design Competition
2017 International Student Tall Building Design Competition
Funding Sponsor: Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates
2016 International Student Tall Building Design Competition
Funding Sponsor: Plaza Construction
2015 International Student Tall Building Design Competition
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