Can skyscraper contribute to sustainability?

According to the World Population Prospect 2015, published by the United Nations, 66% of the world population will live in urban space by 2050. To solve the problem of high urban density, sustainable strategy is quite necessary. Vertical development might be one way. However, some challenges may be caused by vertical development. For example, the height (or tall buildings) may cause isolation and bring much danger. Also, when the building reaches specific height, the vertical transportation inside can be inefficient.

In the design of NYBILLBOARD, a new horizontal layer is proposed to add to Manhattan. An elevated link, separated from traffic and noise is constructed to connect two towers. In the linked part, plenty of public functions, such as bicycle lanes and walkways are located, which positively introduce the public life into skyline of Manhattan.

Moreover, the NYBILLBOARD Tower may also achieve great success in sustainable aspects. The 14,000 sqm-area PV-Panels on top is said to produce approximately 7,200,000KW hrs per year, and the 60m gap between the main functions will be equipped with helical wind turbine technology. That is to say, the tower may have potential ability to regenerate around 13% of its energy needs.

However, this design has not been brought into practice so far. It somehow reminds me of the design of Shanghai Center Tower. The spiral tower creates a garden in its double façade every three floors for potential users to relax after work. However, after the construction, the gardens (or the ‘sky lobby’ called by designers) seems to be quite boring and without any plantation and public infrastructures. Furthermore, there is no connection between gardens. Users’ activities may be limited into specific space. To achieve real public experience in tall buildings is still challenging.

The proposed sky lobby

The constructed sky lobby in Shanghai Tower

In addition, 270 wind turbine generators are built on top of the Shanghai Center Tower. 1,189,000 KW hrs. energy is expected to produce annually. Nevertheless, according to a report published by Shanghai Development and Reform Commission, since the land area of the city is relatively small, it has no advantages in wind power generation on land. Recent years, the wind power generation in Shanghai is gradually moved from land to sea. In consequence, it is quite doubtful whether the tower could achieve its target in energy supply. To some extend, tall buildings may naturally be contrast with sustainability. In the construction of Shanghai Centre Tower, over 400 cement trucks kept working for 63 hours to deposit the concrete foundation and 1049 concrete columns.

Building skyscrapers with high performance and potential sustainability seems to be a reasonable strategy nowadays. However, a great deal of time and attempt is still required to explore the most proper way to realize sustainability in tall buildings.

Reference: 

http://www.gooood.hk/_d271536419.htm?

https://www.chinadialogue.net/article/show/single/ch/6413-Is-the-Shanghai-Tower-the-world-s-first-eco-friendly-skyscraper-