NEW TYPOLOGIES OF SKYSCRAPERS: THE CONTRAST OF CONCEPTS By Ufuk Uğurlar This paper submitted to the course of Issues in Contemporary Architecture, Department of Architecture, Faculty of Architecture Instructor Prof. Dr. Berin Gür Submitted on 9 July 2018
T his paper is questioned the skyscrapers typologies which change in time. The questions how a new skyscraper typology can be, what can be different typologies to apply onto the skyscrapers, can two contrary elements create a combination in the context of skyscraper typologies are answered. In nowadays, existence of only typical skyscrapers pushed me to the research about the skyscraper typologies and how a different skyscraper in terms of the form, program and other parameters exists. The paper is an answer to these questions by using the technique of exemplification. Ufuk Uğurlar
The city of Chicago founded in 1837 was grown rapidly in early years with developments in the transportation and the construction field. Chicago society which expanded numerically since 1830 came across the Great Chicago Fire in October 1871, and this disaster destroyed the all of the city layout from the different parameters. The nature of construction was one of those affected by the Great Chicago Fire. With the disappear of many building in the city of Chicago, this fire caused to the birth of a new typology which is named as skyscraper. After skyscrapers found a place for themselves in the city, their forms started to shape over time. Skyscrapers and other high-rise buildings are large and complex structures, which are located in intensive urban contexts. 1 In general from past to today, for providing the efficiency of the construction, skyscrapers are limited to flat floors, and also, in their façade, glass material is used to experience the city vistas. Besides, skyscrapers did almost never allow to change their typologies throughout the 21 centuries. However, some examples show that there is a seeking of new typologies in skyscraper construction. This pursuit can be provided with a small alteration on features of a skyscraper or the new typologies can be defined with the integration of two contrary elements to each other. In other words, there can be discussed a rupture about high-rise buildings, and this changing can affect skyscrapers in terms of the physical appearances and design programs. There are some examples of skyscrapers which represent the combination of concepts that require the needs of different typologies: Sky Village by MVRDV is one of the example of new typology steps for skyscrapers. The design which is located in Rodovre, Denmark is questioned how a village can be in the sky. Elena Sommariva states that designers combines the two distinctive typologies, the single house and the skyscraper and while using the pixels. 2 By adding 60 square meter pixels to each other, sustainable design is formed in vertical axis and these pixels creates main 3 cores which are services to houses, offices, hotel & restaurants in the skyscrapers. 3 According to Winy Maas, this pixilated design approach provides an environment for efficiency and flexibility, so every floor of the building becomes a unique to 1 Anholts, 2012, p.19 2 Sommariva, 2008 3 ADEPT, 2008
every user, that makes the generic specific. 4 This strategy creates many gardens in the sky, and it helps to carry the green and the village from the ground to the sky, too. About this topic, one of the founder of MVRDV, Winy Maas says like that: Instead of stacking apartments on a green plot, we designed a building in which residential space is literally mixed with green space (p. 28). With his statement, the importance of the green position in the high-rise buildings opens to discuss, and this discussion results in a new skyscraper typology which is design of Sky Village by MVRDV. Ecological skyscrapers are other new typologies for the ordinary ones. Ken Yeang who is the world's leading architect in ecological and passive low energy design supposed that: The skyscraper is not an ecological building type and the skyscraper can never be a truly green building (p. 2). Therefore, he works on the ecological designs to reduce the negative environment impact on the buildings rather than contradicting to the statements. Therefore, he designed the EDITT Tower in Singapure. The program of the tower is defined some spaces such as retail areas, offices, auditorium, exhibition spaces, etc 5 The design approach comes contrary issues together such as vertical place marketing, different high level connection with pedestrian way, urban context, and ecologically sun and wind control, vertical landscaping, recyclability, etc 6 Shin emphasizes that the connection of the floors with each other is weak in the skyscrapers, so the EDITT Tower solved this problem with huge pedestrian way and its relationship with the plants add to the design high efficiency and expanse. 7 With the material selection, the design set a balance between embodied and operational energy. As a result, although skyscrapers have not an ecologic type according to Ken Yeang, the EDITT Tower achieved to carry the traces of an ecological design, and created a new typology between skyscraper and ecology with his design. In addition to this, Ken Yeang produced many designs in parallel with this purpose and exhibited these projects as a base for future of other projects developments. 4 Maas, 2010, p.38 5 Yeang, 2008, p.6 6 Johnston, p.78 7 Shin, 2008, p.691
In terms of the scale, skyscrapers and courtyards are formed in the direction of different axis. While skyscrapers tent to expand their border in y axis, courtyards enlarge in the x axis. However, terms of court scraper or sky court lead up new typologies with meeting up of different forms which are courtyards and skyscrapers. VIA 57 West which is design by Bjarke Ingels in United States is one of the example of this combination. The design showed up the idea of combining the density of a Manhattan skyscraper with the courtyard communal space traditionally found in residential buildings in Denmark. 8 Bjarke Ingels says that: Located at the northern tip of the Hudson River Park, VIΛ continues this process of greenification allowing open space to invade the urban fabric of the Manhattan city grid. In an unlikely fusion of what seems to be two mutually exclusive typologies the courtyard and the skyscraper, the court scraper is the most recent addition to the Manhattan skyline. Thanks to the unique form which shaped from combination of courtyard and skyscraper, the building relationship with nearby environment as vistas, sunlight and people changes from the side to side. It becomes the building a dynamic position in terms of some aspects. According to Jason Pomeroy, these typologies can be a solution for increasing of open spaces provide a health, recreation and amenity in spite of to be a lost within the inner city centers in time. 9 Furthermore, he summarizes their thought like that the open spaces in the high-rise buildings should be advocated as a new seeking against the loss of public spaces from the ground. 10 8 Metal in Constuction, 2017 9 Pomeroy, 2007, p.16 10 Pomeroy, 2007, p.19
Examples written above were more attractive fluctuation on the skyscrapers, but also, the new typologies for skyscrapers can be explored with superficial alterations. Deep Skins skyscraper can be an example of it with the design approach on the skin of the building. The building façade was designed by inspiring from the shark skin, and the macro and micro scales of it awaked the idea of Deep Skins. 11 According to the program of the building, accumulated volumes constitute the tower instead of flats floors. In the core of the skyscraper, vistas are created itself where vertical volumes can be found and this large opening plays a role as an outdoor sky lobby in the tower. 12 It also increases the communication of a skyscraper with the outside, and gives a new dimension to the discussion of new skyscrapers typologies. Finally, Deep Skins designers declare on their competition posters that: The idea of this tower is a counterpoint to the much ingrained transparent and spectacular qualities of glass towers that are perpetuated throughout the modern skyscraper architecture. In other words, Deep Skins opened a way to recreate a skyscraper from the different aspects while changing its typology. In conclusion, there are many examples in the world in terms of the combination of contrary terms, forms, concepts, etc In this paper, the skyscrapers that are open to growth and development on the y axis are analyzed how a skyscraper typology can change from effects of the combination of contrast concepts. These encounters can be a contradiction of forms, programmatic foundation, superficial, etc While Sky Village example shows the how a village and a skyscraper come together in terms of the design program and greenery, the VIA 57 West discussed the integration of a courtyard and a skyscraper. In addition to them, Ken Yeang s EDITT Tower is an example of the idea of ecological skyscraper typology. Besides, Deep Skins skyscraper shows the superficial alteration on the façade and its effects to the skyscraper typology. As a result, all of these examples is questioned the new typologies of skyscrapers by considering the conceptual and foundational breaking. 11 Choung, Zhang, & Wang, 2015 12 Choung, Zhang, & Wang, 2015
References 1) Anholts, T. (2012). Rethinking The Skyscraper, 15-20. 2) Sommariva, E. (2008). Sustainable Skyscraper by MVRDV. https://www.domusweb.it/en/news/2008/11/04/sustainable-skyscraper-by-mvrdv.html 3) ADEPT. (2008). Sky Village. http://www.adept.dk/project/sky-village 4) Maas, W. (2010). Talking Tall: Winy Maas, MVRDV. CTBUH Journal, 36-38. 5) Yeang, K. (2008). Ecoskyscrapers and Ecomimesis: New tall building typologies. CTBUH 8 th World Congress, 2-11 6) Johnston, L. (n.d.). Scraping the Green Sky, 76-81. 7) Shin, S.W. (2008). Sustainable tall building and Vertical compact city, 677-695 8) Metal in Constuction. (2017). 20-24 9) Pomeroy, J. (2007). The Sky Court A Viable Alternative Civic Space for the 21 st Century? CTBUH Journal, 14-19. 10) Choung, Zhang, & Wang. (2015). http://www.evolo.us/competition/deep-skins-newskyscraper-typology-in-nyc-as-an-adaptive-organism/