Skyscraper Project
The Skyscraper project was an exploration in the form and impact of the building on the city of Philadelphia. The building created more green spaces through the use of cantilevered spaces with green roofs than would be possible by simply turning the entire site into an open field. The building allows the inhabitants to control the lighting and glare through the integration of smart glass as part of a double skin glazing system. The building creates an iconic form at one of the bridges linking University City to Center City Philadelphia, and creates a transition from the business district of Center City to the more mixed use University City.
Building Skin Section:
The portions of the building that cantilevered off of the outermost structure was wrapped in a double skin designed to reduce glare while still allowing natural light into the offices. The inhabitants of the offices could control the smart glass glazing which individual panels could transition from clear to translucent that would cause the facade of the building to change continuously throughout the day.
Green Terraced Design:
The skyscraper sits on the edge of University City and is surrounded by asphalt, concrete, and a rail yard. Through the design of the building, I strived to stack green spaces to allow occupants of the building to have access to green terraces nearly anywhere in the building and create a situation where the by stacking green terraces, more vegetation is possible than if the entire site was an open green field.
Section & Elevations:
In the skyscraper project, the goal was to successfully integrate multiple programmatic elements that would allow for the building to serve as more than an office tower. In the base, I placed indoor/outdoor mall that would creates many spaces for outdoor cafe's and as a green space sheltered from the surrounding urban chaos. The smart glass on the building would be controlled by a central system that would allow monochromatic art on the facades of the building that could be overridden by tenants to control incoming natural and sun light.
