The annual eVolo Skyscraper Competition is a forum for the discussion, development, and promotion of innovative concepts for vertical density. It examines the relationship between the skyscraper and the natural world, the skyscraper and the community, and the skyscraper and the city.
The Hotel Complex in Grand Canyon
Suspended Tower
Although the 20 st century was the time of great Utopias and concepts, the beginning of 21st showed that it is going to be on contrary the place for realization. The project of Suspended Tower in Grand Canyon is the new way of looking at the architectural material first of all, an attempt to design advanced computational material together with robotic production which will change architectural possibilities and will help to shape better the environment.
The approach to material for the Tower is the development of composite materials. We propose to weave fiber on site using robots, which led us to shift from double process of moulding, the last is expensive and wastes a huge amount of material.
For that particular project we implement 3d knitting technique for forming carbon fiber and developing pultrusion method to harden the material with shape memory polymer resin matrix . The design/production of material involves advanced computing (scripting/parametric tools) and robotic systems.
The new knit material allows to make the skin of the Tower's body continues without joints on contrary with regular composite materials those imply panels. For connection of skin to the bigger elements of structure we implement the stitching technique and the whole shape remains one continues thing, that provides much more strength compare to the conventional methods and makes the idea of suspended building more real and suits well with the concept.
The goal is affordable freeform fabrication without wast of material together with opening new ways and dimensions of leaving.
The structural system of the Tower we designed as high performance device capable to adopt the extreme environment of Grand Canyon.
The self stabilizing cable system include bigger tubes "bones" and cables which connect bones between each other and go through them up at the top of the Tower where the special machines gets the data from sensors (such as wind direction and wind pressure) and pull the cables from particular side of particular bone and rotate a little bit the building and react to the wind pressure by that. Also the system can pull all the cables up in order to resist to the additional tension. Cables connected to the Grand Canyon and carry the whole structure.
The form was generated by means of algorithm (rhino script) which translate the environmental data from the graph. For that particular design we used two parameters: rotation and scale of Tower's parts and the day lighting analyze information.
We introduce the dynamic flexible system able to receive data and provide the feedback in order to create buildings better integrated into the environment.
Program: the Hotel Complex in Grand Canyon includes five towers, 36 floor each, with suits, sport and entertainment facilities and a three level bridge system with parking, service, and park.
We deserve a second shot at glory and our project deserves to win.