Final Presentations 2023
Highlights of the SOM Studio in the MTBVU Program at IIT
Studio Professor: Scott Duncan & Collaborating Architects: Jason Fisher and Jorge Rovira
The goal of this studio was to reimagine the tall building as the embodiment of emerging and entirely new uses that speak to new modes of working and the ecological imperatives we are experiencing today. Students chose from among the six “alternative” use the following cases for tall structures and develop both an architecture and a nova pro forma, the business case to support this new use: 1) Carbon Capture; 2) Energy Generation; 3) Energy Storage; 4) Food Production; 5) Server Farming; 6) Medicine; and 7) An amalgam of all the six cases to support multifamily housing.
CemEnergy
Joshua Krull
Texas consumes more cement than any other state in the US and imports over ¼ of it. This proposal places a supertall skyscraper in Austin, TX, with a primary program that includes a vertical cement plant and a thermal battery sys-tem with enough storage capacity to power the city for a week. Austin is projected to become the fastest-grow-ing city in the US within 5 years, providing a unique opportunity to supply raw construction materials and power directly to the user.
Data Green Hub
Janani Ganesan
The proposal includes labs for plant r&d, classrooms, offices, vertical farms, a data center, a fresh produce market, a composting unit, and residential units for disaster shelter. This building forms a self-contained ecosystem, revolutionizing how cities manage food and energy. Initially established in Asia for disaster response, vertical farms prevent food scarcity and radiation exposure fears. This super tall structure could be a beacon of hope during crises, potentially feeding half of Portland’s population with one tower.
E-Tower
Elena Conchillo
Innovative skyscraper that integrates a CO2 absorption system, known as Direct Air Capture (DAC), at its industrial complex base. This system captures CO2 from the air, initiating a chemical transformation that turns it into e-methanol, eventually converting into biodiesel. The middle section of the tower accommodates a long-stay hotel for local workers, fostering community engagement. At the tower’s highest part, large wind turbines harness the wind’s force for energy generation.
Five Jumps to Chicago
Davis Housman
Five Jumps to Chicago is a microwave network consisting of six guy-wired, mast structures linking the Chicago and New York Stock Exchange data centers. High-frequency trading is a competitive sector in which time, or latency, equates to millions of dollars considering the volume of trades occurring at rates down to the nanosecond. This network, when compared to the current fiber-optic infrastructure, reduces the round trip latency by over 3.5 milliseconds earning over $400 million annually.
Grow Net
Maria Carbonell
A cutting-edge skyscraper on the coast, in San Francisco, pioneering the future of sustainable urban living. Our innovative project focuses on cultivating algae using advanced vertical farming techniques, from aquaponics to hydroponics. We’re creating a sustainable production hub generating biofuels, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and nutrient-rich products from algae. Located strategically to capture humidity and harness nearby geothermal resources, this Net-Zero marvel optimizes sun exposure and wind patterns for efficient algae growth and water collection.
Grow in the Sky
Hang Yin Lee
Many pharmaceutical companies import opium from other countries, incurring various expenses, including shipping costs and taxes when importing poppy. In this high-rise building, there is a research hospital that collaborates with educational institutions and pharmaceutical companies to provide healthcare services, training programs, and research facilities. The building also offers long-term and short-term stays for patients. All of these programs have a direct or indirect impact on each other, maximizing their functionality within this high-rise building.
Medical Spire
Elias Gallegos
With the state of the human condition and the crisis of carbon emissions threatening the planet, this facility is an attempt to create a pillar to hold up both: a tall formidable structure housing all the needed facilities to operate a modern hospital, long term care, and a suite of facilities dedicated to research into human wellbeing and education in the medical field, all powered by a new, safe form of nuclear energy that will allow this facility to stand on its own and provide power in the worst that may come.
PhytoMed Hub
Omair Fuaad Godil
Amidst Urban Growth, envisioning a medical tower - a beacon of innovation, championing sustainable, plant based healthcare, poised to shape a healthier and more exciting future. An extensive research was done on High Altitude Me-dicinal Plants [HAMP's] that have promising medic- inal potential and are in great demand in United States as well as on a global scale in some cases like Ar- temisia annua. By going tall, we can imitate the natural habitats of these HAMP’s so that they can thrive in natural con-ditions.
The Carbon Drop
Sreeha Battini
This 1800ft tower actively cleans the air by capturing carbon using the building’s stack effect and direct air capture technology. The captured CO2 is injected into the mix and used to produce concrete on the upper levels of the building. By introducing carbon into the mixture we are using less cement and further reducing the carbon footprint. The finished concrete is discharged to the ground using gravity battery technology to produce electricity. We are able to create a self-sustaining circular economy within the walls of the building leading to a cleaner and more self-reliant future.
The Hive
Yeni Guarneros
The building is set to become the tallest structure in Las Vegas. It is specifically designed to meet the demanding requirements of high-per-formance gaming applications and the production of gaming computer chips. The building employs advanced drone technology to enhance the e-sport vertical experience by optimizing vision, sound, and movement. Additionally, it functions as a collaborative space for Garena offices while also featuring specialized floors for server production.
The Living Carbon Effect
Allison Drooger
The Living Carbon Effect, a sustainable tower soaring 762 meters in Chicago, redefines urban architecture. Beyond its status as a significant landmark, the tower integrates carbon capture systems, water purification, and revenue-generating residences. Strategically positioned between the river and slip, the building utilizes the two bodies of water to aid in the carbon capture system, returning the unused water back to the river cleaner than before. Utilizing the stack effect and a combination of Direct Air Capture and microorganisms, the tower efficiently captures and processes carbon.
Tropics on Michigan Ave
Cheok Chun Chong
The challenge is converting large office floors for residential use while ensuring natural light access. I propose a solution: repurpose the remaining space into data centers, addressing the rising demand for digital infrastructure. Efficiently harnessing excess heat from the data centers for all the programs, this proposal succeeds in sustainability, amenity, and energy efficiency, offering a compelling investment opportunity while directly tackling Chicago's real estate challenges, which will benefit both residents and investors.
Unmanned Building for Man
Jusang Lee
Wouldn’t it greatly benefit us if we could utilize this building wind rather than overcome it? Swaying buildings are uncomfortable for humans, so new programs are needed, not traditional tall building programs. Therefore, as a new program, I propose human-free data centers and power plants. Not only can data centers and power plants secure economic sustainability through the profits of the two programs, but they also create synergy by supplying electricity used in data centers directly from power plants and building a self-sufficient ecosystem.
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