Architecture that clings to cliff faces may not be the most practical or environmentally sensitive, but it sure is visually striking. A new proposal from Turkish designer and architect Hayri Atak takes the drama up a few notches with a vertigo-inducing cantilevered platform that juts out from the rock, complete with a glass-bottomed infinity pool.

The Cliff Concept Hotel is designed with Norways’ famous cliff Preikestolen in mind, overlooking the beautiful Lysefjorden body of water below. The lookout point itself resembles a pulpit, hence its name, and is the most popular tourist attraction in the Ryfylke area. Atak imagines the rock transforming into a boutique hotel with oval balconies, the rooms presumably carved into the rock beneath the plateau.

It would certainly offer a unique tourist experience, especially for those brave enough to venture out into the tip of the swimming pool, and the design itself is an intriguing one. However, it’s probably safe to say that people who like to visit the rock wouldn’t exactly appreciate it being taken over as a for-profit venture exclusively catering to deep-pocketed travelers, and would prefer to leave it as it is.

As fantasy architecture, or perhaps a project for another location, it’s pretty cool, and a great way for a young architect to call global attention to himself and his work. Hayri Atak is a graduate of Istanbul Technical University, Auburn University and the Nuova Academia di Belle Arti in Milan, and his projects include parametric pavilions and facades, retail and restaurant interiors and other hotel designs.

Each year, eVolo Magazine solicits visionary proposals for futuristic skyscrapers from architects around the world. Focusing on sustainability, innovation and technological advancements, the annual competition produces ideas that may not be ready to build in the immediate future, but can inspire us all to think bigger when we imagine possible solutions to common problems like overpopulation, pollution and wildlife habitat loss. The 2019 eVolo Skyscraper Competition winners and honorable mentions include everything from hyperloop transit networks in the sky to urban structures that efficiently dispose of our trash.

Methanescraper (First Place)

Taking first place is Methanescraper by Serbian designer Marko Dragicevic, a skyscraper envisioned for Belgrade that responds to problems of overpopulation, mass urbanization and pollution. Noting that our current means of “disposing” of waste is untenable and that the problem will continue to compound in the future, the proposal “changes the model of a typical landfill into a raw vertical infrastructure.”

“The towers are module-based, and every tower is consisted of waste capsules that are attached to the concrete core. Firstly, city waste is being delivered to sorting facility, where it is categorized by type (glass, plastic, organic matter, paper, wood, metal), after which it is sent to temporary landfill. The recyclable waste is taken to recycling facility, and organic matter, parts of wood and paper materials are gathered and disposed into modular waste capsules. These capsules are attached to the tower core by cranes. Every capsule is equipped with inhaler and pipeline that connects to the methane tank, and when organic matter rots, methane produced by the process is drawn from each capsule and later transformed into energy. When the matter in a capsule decomposes completely, the capsule can be taken out, cleaned and refilled.”

Airscraper (Second Place)

How can we reduce deadly levels of air pollution in increasingly congested cities? “Airscraper” by Polish designers Klaudia Golaszewska and Marek Grodzicki envision a skyscraper that wraps around a chimney structure like a sleeve. The interior tube sucks polluted air from the surrounding area and sends it through a complex filtration system consisting of an air intake module, solar gain module and green garden module to move and clean the air before sending it back out to the city.

“Many megacities have emerged across China in the recent decades. Beijing’s population will increase by 30% in the next 15 years. This means that some of Beijing’s densest districts such as Chaoyang will reach a population of 2250 inhabitants per km2. In order to create compact cities, reduce car emissions and improve health conditions, Mega cities will have to build higher towers. Our idea is to facilitate this forecasted trend by introducing a new super structure that fits the needs of a megacity by providing healthy living quarters, while helping to alleviate the air pollution. The Airscraper can house 7500 people, which is equivalent to 3 km2 of residential urban Sprawl. It also includes recreational, educational, commercial, and cultural facilities. The tower stands as a healthy vertical city.”

Creature Ark: Biosphere Skyscraper (Third Place)

Decrying the current sense of apathy over the state of our planet, U.K.-based designers Zijian Wan, Xioazhi Qi and Yueya Liu say we have to reevaluate how human activity contributes to habitat degradation and do something about it. “Creature Ark: Biosphere Skyscraper” is a vertical nature reserve and research station internally divided into five levels representing climates on Earth, each populated with endangered animals.

“The proposed skyscraper is willing to recall the close relationship between human beings and their mother nature by the form of architecture. Every component in the ecosystem could hardly behave or survive as an individual literally, hence all living creature should appropriate the gifts from nature and they should be treated and valued equally. In modern society, the form of a skyscraper, carrying multiple functions, is expected to be one of the carries that making a better future.”

Vertical Sustainable City (Honorable Mention)

Urban environments present certain constraints, most crucially in terms of available space, that must be overcome by architects as cities continue to evolve. In the near future, we may no longer have a choice but to radically transform our ideas about what urban architecture should look like in the face of climate crisis. The U.S.-based BKV Group presents “Vertical Sustainable City,” a supertall tower with a small footprint, as an example of what could be to come as we prioritize limiting urban sprawl and preserving natural environments for forests and wildlife. It contains commercial areas on the ground floor “framed within a vertical mall concept,” as well as a food production area, a vertical farm and housing.

“Having access to the vertical farm are residences in the upper half of the tower that also feature access to drone landing pads. There, electric and solar-powered drones can dock at or near the elevated housing units – taking traffic off the congested street-level, and into the air. Rising to the very top of the tower is the Office Area, arranged around wind turbines generating energy, reducing the tower’s carbon footprint, and creating water collection systems for the farming, living, and working programs. En masse, the Vertical Sustainable City creates a holistic live/work/play environment for urbanites, effectively responding to the context and elements impacting modern-day cities.”

Horizontal City of No Nation (Honorable Mention)

The world is witnessing the highest level of displacement on record. As war and climate change drives millions of people from their home nations, the urgent need to house refugees in settlements that maintain normal societal functions has never been greater. Zichen Gong, Yong Chen, Tianrong Wu, Yingzhi He and Congying He of China offer “Horizontal City of No Nation” as a means of providing refugees with shelter, security and development opportunities along international borders.

“The core part of this proposal is how to conserve their original environment and provide adequate space. Based on the narrow buffer zone, the skyscraper introduced here should not be simple stack of broken layers, but a transformation from a horizontal lifestyle to a vertical one. In this skyscraper, people can follow their previous habitats in stable societies and get adequate education, training and jobs. On the other hand, neighbouring countries will not bear too much of population influx when they provide.”

“By presenting the unusual lifestyle, we try to seek a new direction in dilemmas. Living in a world where we can not choose where we are born, we would still have a place to go. We don’t have to consider which side we’re going to be on, we can have a new one, retaining rights, identities and languages. We envision that some people will choose to return to their homeland, and they will be able to use the relevant skills learned during this period to rebuild their homes. Moreover, where will this skyscraper go after the war? Because of its normal development during the war, it may become a new and complete society.”

Connection One: Skyscrapers Network (Honorable Mention)

What if we could free up an enormous amount of space on the ground by moving transportation up into the sky in a controlled way? “Connection One: Skyscrapers Network” by Thomas Gössler of Austria addresses both congestion and pollution with a reimagining of modern transportation systems using new technologies like hyperloop. Noting that transportation could take place either below or above street level, the designer proposes towers that act as central transportation hubs while also offering space for apartments, shopping centers, offices, schools and recreational facilities.

“The top floor is part of the hyperloop infrastructure. How does hyperloop work? The pods in the pipes move forwards, accelerating until they reach a speed where they lift up, and are guided by magnets. Hyperloop One says its 670mph system will be “automated by the most advanced systems in the world, allowing a safe and efficient journey that is never delayed or overbooked.” Hyperloop or conventional trains are usually bound to the ground. However, this presents big challenges, especially in mountainous countries and densely populated areas. Therefore, the network is floating in the sky by gas-filled pillows referencing an airship. This can be achieved sustainably by using the methane produced by farm cows or even pump greenhouse gases from the atmosphere into the loop. Approximately 1000m³ of gas are needed in order to lift a metric-ton, so the construction has to be very lightweight.”

Humans have been carving architecture into rock for nearly our entire history on this planet, so it’s a little surprising we don’t see more modern marvels mimicking spectacular ancient wonders like the city of Petra in Jordan. Relatively easy to carve, sandstone offers an ideal medium for sculptural architecture that adapts existing rock formations into habitable spaces.

A new series of concept images by Shanghai-based architect Amey Kandalgaonkar makes that leap. “House Inside a Rock” combines colossal sandstone formations with minimalist concrete and glass, carving out spaces within the rock formations and adding new horizontal planes for outdoor living spaces. Taking inspiration from the rock-cut tombs of saudis Arabia’s Madain Saleh, the 3D renderings envision a new way to fuse human-created structures with nature.

“Considering the visual complexity the rocks at Madain Saleh, it was imperative to use simple planes and cubes in order to achieve a visual balance,” Kandalgaonkar tells Designboom. “I started out creating the rock in 3D software which in itself was a sculpting process. Later when inserting the house into this rock, I tried to keep its visual impact from eye level as minimum as possible and only when observed from a bird eye, the real extent of the intervention is revealed.”

There’s something a little villainous about the result, and if such an idea were ever to take off in real life, it may stir concerns about the degree to which we’re altering and developing our natural surroundings. But as a concept, it’s pretty cool. You can see more of Kandalgaonkar’s fantastical work on Instagram @ameyzing_architect.

Sets and scenes from the Harry Potter series are reimagined as miniature cardboard models by architecture students from the Melbourne School of Design. Created as part of a summer intensive called Smoke and Mirrors, the project brings Gringotts, The Burrow, the Shrieking Shack, the Chamber of Secrets and other key buildings and interiors to life, each one appropriately a little off-kilter, its details rendered in the monochrome of the material.

Teams of students selected characters from J.K. Rowling’s series of books and researched their choice in all available source materials, including the movies and the author’s interactive website, Pottermore. The idea is that this character is their “client,” and rather than reproducing associated locations according to how they were seen on film, the students had to reinterpret them in a fun way, as if the client had commissioned the design based on a wacky Pinterest board.

Led by architect Jannette Le and tutors Michael Mack, Mond Qu and Denis Vieghe, the students used 1mm and .6mm cardboard along with tracing paper for windows, LED lights and motors connected to Arduinos to create their models. They only had 11 days to design, build and fabricate the models using hand modeling, digital fabrication techniques and laser cutting. They used in-camera effects like forced perspective to give each set its cinematic feel.

Visions for the homes of China’s future actively transform, adapt, provide greater comfort when sharing small spaces, grow food and even prepare for extraterrestrial lifestyles. The theme of this year’s HOUSE VISION exhibition is “NEW GRAVITY,” focusing on finding solutions for practical problems in China’s living environment while combining “human wisdom with modern science and technology to explore the ideal way of living in the future.”

Designers were encouraged to think about elements like the sharing economy, artificial intelligence, energy consumption and communication while producing their full-scale prototypes. All ten models will be on display outside Beijing’s iconic “Bird’s Nest” National Stadium by architects Herzog & de Meuron through November 4th, 2018.

Founded in 2011 by Japanese graphic designer and curator Kenya Hara, HOUSE VISION is “a cultural research project that combines architects and companies to build a future home with the concept of ‘’new common sense of the future’… The project hopes to use ‘home’ as a medium to think about the future lifestyle and even the development of the world.”

Company Housing for MUJI by Go Hasegawa and Associates

How can you give multiple occupants of a single living unit more comfort and privacy without actually walling off any space for bedrooms? Japanese retailer MUJI teamed up with architect Go Hasegawa to find inspiration for a future shared housing concept within China’s history. In Shanghai, the upper floors of residential buildings are often a little too tall for single-story housing, but not tall enough to fit two levels inside. For spaces like these, the company envisions micro apartments for staff working at its Shanghai office, who are currently commuting up to three hours to get to work every day.

The shared area is open and spacious, with amenities that are hard to come by for single occupants on a budget in a big city. There’s plenty of space for storage, relaxation, cooking, dining and bathing on the ground floor. Meanwhile, private bedroom units are lofted up toward the ceiling in open-ended cantilevered boxes, allowing them to look out onto the city through the windows. Their orientation gives them privacy from each other and from the common space below.

Infinite Living Pavilion by Crossboundaries

Theoretical inhabitants of the Infinite Living Pavilion by Beijing-based firm Crossboundaries could use yet-to-be invented technologies to infinitely shape their living space. Instead of being stuck in a static grid like most residential interior layouts, ‘Infinite Living’ offers seven zones in which to “recharge, refill, refresh, update, standby, energize and entertain” using a variety of interior partitions, pop-out elements and transforming furnishings. Smart floor, ceiling and wall elements slide, rotate and retract to create pockets for certain activities or open up the entire volume. Produced in collaboration with electronics company TCL, the house uses televisions as virtual reality interfaces to expand “all the functions of the modern mobile device and integrating them with the spatial dimension of everyday life [sic].”

Urban Cabin by MINI LIVING and Dayong Sun

“Big Life, Small Footprint” is MINI LIVING’s motto, so naturally its contribution to HOUSE VISION is compact, innovative and playful. Within a surface area of just 15 square meters, the cabin explores how to create a sense of community in a small space while also maintaining maximum quality of life. Taking inspiration from China’s historic hutongs, which are residences arranged around courtyards and alleyways, the cabin features folding windows and tables that open or close the interiors to the outdoors, while protrusions on the roof channel daylight into the space. The golden mirrors give the oddly-shaped home a sunny disposition.

Living Garden by MAD Architects

MAD Architects seek to ground us by reconnecting our daily lives to the outdoors. Their ‘Living Garden’ does away with enclosed interior spaces entirely, with floating, organically shaped roof dipping down toward the ground on one side to create a shelter. The roof is covered in translucent waterproof glass to protect the space from rain, and integrates enough solar panels to power the daily needs of a family of three. While this proposal is probably a little too open to be realistic as it is, it emphasizes some of the coolest aspects of tropical en-plein-air architecture commonly found in places like Singapore.

400 Boxes by BLUE Architecture Studio

Any building can remain infinitely reconfigurable when its interiors aren’t defined by doorways and walls, preserving its utility for a wide variety of occupants far into the future. BLUE Architecture Studio inserts wooden boxes into a large open space to add furniture, planters, bedrooms and other private areas, closets and more. If your needs change – say, you decide your kitchen could be a little bigger and you aren’t really using your second bedroom – you simply swap out some of the volumes for new ones, or expand the ones you have. No need to renovate or move. Plus, the volumes act like room dividers.

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