Architect designs conceptual New York skyscraper to be "self-sufficient garden-city."
Like everyone on the planet, architects have been thinking about how we may need to live in cities, in the future. And, if it's going to be in a high-rise building, it definitely doesn't want to look or be like the vertical boxes of today. The good news is that Italian architect Piero Lissoni has designed a conceptual skyscraper in New York as a self-contained community and vertical urban farm that would provide a shining example of living in the post-Covid era.
He imagines Skylines, as the concept is called, to be a self-sufficient skyscraper by providing its own energy and resources as well as facilities for occupants to live, like school, sports facilities and a hospital.
Designed for an imaginary urban plot in New York City measuring 80 by 130 metres, the scheme uses geothermal energy and photovoltaic panels for power and would use a rainwater recovery system and water use management for water. A curtain of steel cables would form the tapered structure and would hold up hanging garden platforms that run around a glazed tower in the centre. According to the studio, the idea is that over time these platforms would be covered with trees and shrubs to create a "vertical urban forest".
"A system that produces, optimises and recycles energy, a perfect microclimate that filters the air, absorbs carbon dioxide, produces humidity, reuses rainwater to irrigate the greenery, in addition to providing protection from the sun’s rays and the noise of the city."
Within the glass tower, the living spaces would be arranged vertically, with public and cultural activities on the lower levels and the soilless vegetable gardens and sports facilities above this. Next would be the hospital "which is also immersed in greenery and well-equipped to face any health emergency".
Above this, there would be schools and a university and spaces for offices and co-working, which the studio argued would be an important part of the programme post-Covid.
Residences, meanwhile, are placed on the top floors to take advantage of the views.
Sounds like the ideal place for OGN's New York office!