I am interested in skyscrapers.
 |
The Coruscant Skyscrapers of Star Wars, an example of skyscraper design that most people are familiar with. (Source: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Skyscraper?file=Coruscant_skyscrapers.jpg)
|
BRIEF INTRO: WHAT SKYSCRAPER IS ABOUT.
A skyscraper is a type of building that covers vertical dimension to provide habitable spaces, usually for commercial, office and residential use. Dating back to the 26th century BCE, the evolution of tall buildings started off as uninhabitable structures that functioned as cultural, social and religious emblem (the Great Pyramid of Giza). It was not until the 30th century BCE when multi-storey buildings were used as living spaces, although almost impractical and highly uncomfortable considering the great numbers of stairs to climb and the insufficient water pressure technology used at that time. The design of tall buildings eventually developed its practicality due to the inventions of water wheels, cast-iron structures and elevators (19th century Oriel Chambers).
Starting from the 1930s, skyscrapers began to be built at a global scale, with the help of steel-framed structures and reinforced concrete frameworks with curtain glass and/or stone walls. The modern skyscrapers embrace the international style, and remain to function as commercial and residential complexes that act as an economic rationale for high land-value regions.
WHAT SKYSCRAPER ISN'T ABOUT:
Since the production of skyscrapers represents a great amount of embodied energy and emits a considerable amount of greenhouse gas, the poor engagement and objective of its existence cannot be taken lightly. The "form follows function" agenda in skyscraper design in the contemporary context prohibits the use of irrelevant motives, while recommends practicality to the extent of environmental friendly approach.
 |
| Retrieved from Ivor Richards "T. R. Hamzah & Yeang: Ecology of the Sky" (2001). |
As we have understood in the design progress of the skyscrapers, technology is clearly the catalyst of building design evolution through which contemporary and future issues are dealt with. It is inevitable then, that in the late 20th century, sustainable architecture emerged as the forefront of the architectural movement, responding to ecological distortion that threatens the sustainability of future generation. This brought me to the concept of eco-friendly skyscrapers and one of the leading architect in this movement that is of my interest, Ken Yeang.
 |
| Yeang 1995: Model of a system and its environment and the exchanges between the two. (Richards, 2001) |
KEN YEANG'S "ECOLOGY OF THE SKY"
The slides from my week 2 presentation:
I wanted to understand how the architects respond technologically towards eco-friendly skyscrapers, so I studied the design of Ken Yeang's Tokyo-Nara Tower in his vertical landscaping approach, since Ivor Richard claimed in his book T.R Hamzah and Yeang: Ecology of the Sky (2001), that the building is the most significant theoretical project of the mid 1990s; the dawn of sustainable architecture.
The Nara Tower is an energy efficient building that applies concepts of vertical landscaping mixed with ecodesign. The spiraling tower serves as well as holding ground for a large mass of planting that is used as a cooling system for the building. The mechanical systems and the foliage will work in a symbiotic relationship, where the hanging gardens, sky courts, terraces and other green areas will filter and clean the air, improving interior ventilation, while robotic arms will maintain the plants.
The amount of vegetation used on the building and its height (880m, which is almost double the height of the Petronas Twin Tower) brings one to question the structural system of the building. I therefore proceed to study the structural details of the tower through plans and elevation.
The chief difficulty with this post is that it diverges quite sharply from the methodology set out in the Module Outline we discussed on Day 1. The initial focus should have been to identify research questions arising out of wide reading which can be engaged with to the end of the assignment. At the moment you have extracts from published sources without enough discussion of your own thoughts on how they help you formulate research questions.
ReplyDeleteYou need to write in your own clear words to convey discrete points. A line such as the following is a little puzzling, particularly as you had just stated that high rise started in 26 BCE: "It was not until the 30th century BCE when multi-storey buildings were used as living spaces, although almost impractical and highly uncomfortable considering the great numbers of stairs to climb and the insufficient water pressure technology used at that time."