Skyscraper Grows Crops, Produces Clean Energy, Cleans the Air

The winning design at this year’s eVolo Skyscraper competition was a giant, ferris wheel-like structure that worked as a greenhouse, recycling plant, filtration system, and clean energy installation.

eVolo’s website states that “the award was established in 2006 to recognize outstanding ideas for vertical living.

These ideas, through the novel use of technology, materials, programs, aesthetics, and spatial organizations, challenge the way we understand vertical architecture and its relationship with the natural and built environments.”

The LO2P: Delhi Recycling Center was desidned by Atelier CMJN of France, with the aim of building it in New Delhi to reduce pollution in the city’s atmosphere.

Related article: Vertical Forests Being Built in Milan to Battle Smog

The structure would be built out of recycled cars. Traffic pollution is a major cause of emissions in the city, and as public transport, such as the CNG (compressed natural gas) buses, and fuel efficient vehicle become more popular, the old, inefficient, and polluting cars will be dumped. This design aims to make use of those old cars, recycling them for the parts and materials needed to build the circular skyscraper.

Waste products will enter the recycling loop, and be converted into clean air, energy, and food. The greenhouse will be used to grow crops, fed by waste products from the city (and the building itself), as a large plant at the base of the tower will collect waste heat and carbon dioxide, to produce food and biofuel. In the centre of the giant hoop there will be a large wind turbine, and numerous photovoltaic solar panels that will help generate clean energy for the city.

Inhabitat notes that “LO2P is one part recycling center, one part power plant and one part air filter - waste goes in and clean energy, air and food come out.”

By. James Burgess of Oilprice.com