HIGH-LiGHT

The Architect Bassilios Babouguios in cooperation with the Architect Spyridon Moustakas, took part in the "eVolo 2012 Skyscraper Competition" organised by eVolo, an architecture and design journal.

"Established in 2006, the annual Skyscraper Competition is one of the world’s most prestigious awards for high-rise architecture. It recognizes outstanding ideas that redefine skyscraper design through the implementation of novel technologies, materials, programs, aesthetics, and spatial organizations along with studies on globalization, flexibility, adaptability, and the digital revolution. It is a forum that examines the relationship between the skyscraper and the natural world, the skyscraper and the community, and the skyscraper and the city."

Presentation board 1

"HIGH-LiGHT" is the proposal of the team, which is a system of tall buildings located in the central ports of each island of the Cyclades. Our goal is the symbolic unification of the islands by high-lighting their entry. For this reason we choose our buildings to act as lighthouses that will shape a network of light defining the interconnectedness of the Cycladic islands.

Skyscrapers are the structures whose existence changes the overall skyline. Consequently, the height of our skyscrapers depends on the geomorphology of each island.

Our skyscraper consists of two parts.

In the front part we place the vertical movement of the building, both the staircase and the elevator, surrounded by glass which acts as a vertical linear light (contrasting to the light of traditional lighthouses). This vertical powerful light means to high-light the central port of each island.

In the rear part there is an inclined conical tube that acts as a funnel. The shell consists of many panels with wind sensors that open or close depending on the direction and intensity of the wind and which import the necessary air into it. A system of wind turbines is placed horizontally at different levels to produce the required energy for the lighthouse. The energy requirements of the building are finally covered by a hydrokinetic turbine mounted on the base of the skyscraper.

Both near the base and underwater, there are public multipurpose spaces, while at the top of the "HIGH-LiGHT" there is a center controlling the port operation.

Presentation board 2

The project submission deadline was on the 24th of January 2012 and the results of the competition will be announced on the 27th of February 2012.