- Unique US skyscrapers push architectural boundaries, defy gravity
- Designs range from a Big Bend to a “poop emoji” HQ
- Critics debate practicality versus architectural innovation in skyscrapers
A skyscraper that is shaped like a horseshoe and that arcs back to scrape the ground.
Dizzyingly top-heavy structures that appear to defy gravity.
Additionally, there is Amazon’s intention to establish a headquarters that is reminiscent of the “poop emoji.”
Architecture firms have proposed an extraordinary variety of bewildering “statement buildings” for cities throughout the United States to achieve, as one architecture professor put it, “a shot of true beauty, and maybe a bit of nonsense.
Some designers aspire to establish a reputation by presenting an extravagant, viral proposal, such as a 60-story, city-long snake or a “bat cave” lair.
Others aspire to encourage city planners and the public to reconsider the nature of buildings, reimagining how residences and offices can be more sustainable and responsible, such as high-rise urban farms and eco-friendly bendable concrete.
The following are six of the most extraordinary, reality-defying architectural plans currently available for construction in the cities of the United States.
Manhattan, NY – The Big Bend
Oiio Studio’s ‘The Big Bend,’ at 4,000 feet, is expected to be the world’s most extended structure. It is situated in Manhattan’s Billionaire’s Row, adjacent to Central Park.
The studio marketed its designs as a clever approach to shatter architectural records without advocating for rewriting New York’s stringent regulations regarding maximum construction heights.
“We would be able to construct one of the most prestigious buildings in Manhattan if we can bend our structure instead of bending the zoning rules of New York,” as Oiio’s team elucidated.
Ioannis Oikonomou, the project designer, stated that he was motivated to design the Bend’s U-shaped rollercoaster arch after reading about new elevator technology that could “travel in curves, horizontally, and in continuous loops” when the proposal was announced.
Oikonomou has been seeking investors for the project since 2017, but not all of The Big Bend’s prospective neighbors are impressed.
Layla Law-Gisiko, a local community council chair, characterized Oiio Studio’s design as “out of touch” and “silly.”
Arlington, Virginia, is the location of Amazon’s second headquarters.
The initial phase of ‘HQ2,’ which has been in the works since 2018, was unveiled by Amazon in Arlington, Virginia, last June.
The e-commerce giant’s new $2.5 billion headquarters is expected to be housed in the twisting edifice.
However, the most visually striking structure on the site, a spiraling, tree-lined superstructure known as “The Helix,” is still in the design phase, despite the Arlington County Board’s approval of construction more than two years ago.
The Helix, which was previously characterized as a “glass poop emoji covered in trees,” may be a design that Amazon or its billionaire founder Jeff Bezos have reconsidered.
The company is marketing Helix as an “alternative workspace.” It will feature more vegetation, meeting space, and artist residency studios than the more conventional office space in the three 22-story buildings surrounding it.
According to Dale Alberda, the architect compensated to create the tumultuous headquarters; it will be reminiscent of a Garden of Eden throughout the year.
Alberda stated, “You experience the sensation of being in a lush garden amid winter in Washington, DC.” That is, of course, provided that the Helix is ever constructed.
The Sarcostyle Tower in Manhattan, New York
The renderings of a 688-foot New York skyscraper in the sci-fi style produced by an architecture firm based in Turkey are genuinely remarkable. The towering frame is encased in spiraling tube-like structures, which appear to have been sculpted from Play-Doh.
Hayri Atak Architectural Design refers to their proposal as the Sarcostyle Tower, which is named after a sinewy filament found in the muscle tissue of most animals.
The firm’s objective with the proposal was to establish a “transparent, ghostly presence” in the city horizon. However, no official plans must be made to construct the otherworldly waterfront structure.
However, the Turkish design firm has established a reputation for its equally sophisticated yet breathtaking designs. This includes the breathtaking concept for a gravity-defying hotel that hangs off the 1,982-foot-high Preikestolen cliff edge in Norway in 2019.
Bricktown Boardwalk in Oklahoma City, OK
This past December, the California design firm Architects Orange (AO) proposed a moonshot for a modest metropole in the heartland of America: construct the second-tallest structure in the United States in Oklahoma City.
Just two blocks from the proposed future stadium of the Oklahoma City Thunder, the city’s hometown NBA franchise, the 1,750-foot skyscraper would dominate a $1 billion entertainment district.
A local real estate developer, Scot Matteson, informed the city’s ABC affiliate, KOCO, that the project would be constructed in phases.
Matteson stated, “We evaluated the market, demand, and population and employment growth in Oklahoma City.”
Suppose city planners approve the mixed-use megastructure known as Boardwalk at Bricktown. In that case, it will feature a hotel, two condo towers, an LED-lit multilevel, tree-lined Highline, a pool, and other publicly accessible pedestrian areas.
However, it is uncertain whether the area’s residents, officially designated as “Tornado Alley” by the National Weather Service, will desire a structure of this magnitude.
Matteson informed KOCO that the project could be constructed with a tower that holds fewer records.
The Waldorf Astoria Miami is located in Miami, Florida.
The Waldorf Astoria Miami, a 1,049-foot-tall skyscraper in southern Florida, will provide 100 stories of space and is Miami’s inaugural attempt at a skyscraper that satisfies the industry’s definition of “super tall.” The building is named after the renowned luxury hotel and condominium complex in New York.
By its name, Waldorf Astoria Miami will feature a five-star Waldorf Astoria hotel and private residences, similar to its sibling structure in New York.
Sieger Suarez Architects collaborated with Uruguayan-Canadian architect Carlos Ott to develop the building’s convoluted ‘nine cube’ building block design.
The Waldorf in Miami has been authorized for construction, in contrast to some equally wild designs proposed for major American cities. It is anticipated to commence operations in 2026 if it adheres to its established schedule.
As of October last year, a Miami penthouse in the building is currently available for pre-sale for $50 million.
Additionally, the developers of this proposed structure emphasize the scenic view in their marketing efforts, as no other structure in the wealthy city of South Florida approaches its height.
Ryan Shear, a managing partner with the building’s developer, told CNN, “Even with the great skyscrapers of the world—in Dubai, Hong Kong, New York—there’s a lot of towers.”
He stated that the Waldorf Astoria Miami provides an opportunity to be situated at the summit of a world-class city.
Affirmation Tower in Manhattan, New York
Perhaps the Affirmation Tower’s top-heavy structure, a 95-story skyscraper proposed for the midtown-area ‘Hudson Yards’ development in New York, would be unique and never-before-tried.
The tower, which appears to be a stack of boxes that are acrobatically balanced and progressively increase in size and volume, is reminiscent of a proposal that was ultimately quashed for Two World Trade Center. This proposal was to rebuild the structure that was destroyed on 9/11.
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According to the design firm Adjaye Associates, the Affirmation Tower’s height of approximately 1,660 feet would accommodate hotels, offices, and an observation deck.
However, planners may also be reconsidering the potential impact of a building’s center of mass in a crisis, such as the unexpected 4.8-magnitude earthquake that occurred in New York and New Jersey this spring.
This past March, Peebles Corporation published a proposal to redesign the structure developed by the architectural firm OMA.
Aaron Betsky, an architecture professor and critic at Virginia Tech, has contended that the industry needs to go farther, even though some of these proposals may appear absurd to the average individual.
Betsky stated in Architect Magazine that “Even McDonalds […] looks decent now, and most developments follow all the correct rules as to how to make something that functions and does not curse its surroundings.” He also called for more “nonsense.”
He stated, “The results are profoundly depressing, engulfing us by sameness.
“It is important to remember that designers also create beauty.”
