Winners of eVolo 2016 Skyscraper Competition

John Hill

24. March 2016

First Place: "New York Horizon" by Yitan Sun and Jianshi Wu (All images courtesy of eVolo)

eVolo Magazine has announced the winners of the 2016 Skyscraper Competition, which asked entrants to "challenge the way we understand vertical architecture and its relationship with the natural and built environments."

The jury* of the 2016 Skyscraper Competition selected 3 winners and 21 honorable mentions from 489 projects received. The three winners are highlighted below; more information is available on the eVolo website.

Surprisingly, the first place winner – "New York Horizon" by Yitan Sun and Jianshi Wu from the United States – is more horizontal than vertical. The duo propose "a continuous horizontal skyscraper around the full perimeter of a sunken Central Park," per the eVolo website. Further, "The project would create 7 square miles (80 times greater than the Empire State Building) of housing with unobstructed views and connection to the park."

"New York Horizon" also turns Central Park into a mountainous landscape. But that's not created by the earthmoving required for the foundations of the new new buildings. Instead, "The soil removed from the original park is relocated to various neighborhoods, which will be demolished and moved into the new structure. This creates a new urban condition, where landscape can serve as an inherent part of the city."

First Place: "New York Horizon" by Yitan Sun and Jianshi Wu (All images courtesy of eVolo)

Second place has been awarded to The Hive, designed by Hadeel Ayed Mohammad, Yifeng Zhao, and Chengda Zhu from the United States. Their project "imagines a vertical control terminal for advanced flying drones that will provide personal and commercial services to residents of New York City."

Second Place: "The Hive" by Hadeel Ayed Mohammad, Yifeng Zhao, and Chengda Zhu

The third place recipients are Valeria Mercuri and Marco Merletti from Italy for the only non-New York City project of the three. Data Tower "envisions a sustainable skyscraper in Iceland designed for Internet servers."