Ferris Tower

Mechanical Skyscraper

TIME: 2011

LOCATION: Manhattan

STATUS: Proposal

It was such a great invention of elevator that makes skyscrapers come into being. It improved the efficiency, mean while, established a hierarchy embedded into every high-rise building. How to reintroduce equality to skyscrapers?

Inspired by Ferris wheel – a rotating wheel carrying capsules delivering the same up-to-bottom experience to every single passenger, this proposal is intended to optimize the gear mechanism, and adapt it into an vertical high-rise scenario. The moving floor capsules are kept upright with mechanical gear system, pulled by the weight on the other sides which minimizes the energy consumption. Mechanical designs expresses in a way of structure and component, integrates the form and function. Recalling Le Corbusier’s idea of building as a living machine, this proposal is to emphasize the aesthetic of mechanism.

Mies Tower

The prototype of high-rise buidling has been created of elevators. It is able to increase the land use density, on the other hand, introduce a hierarchy floor to floor.

Ferris Wheel

Ferris wheel provides rotating capsules equivalent experience from top to bottom with an gentle movement. However it requires a huge space occupancy.

Ferris Tower

The hybrid design to combine skyscraper with Ferris wheel, turns floors to capsules that are able to rotate gradually keeping upright.