Honorable Mention
2021 Skyscraper Competition
Lu Wang, Shuangjiang He, Ning He, Youjia Lv, Limin Wang
China
Due to the long-term global warming and “polar amplification effect”, the ice sheet formed naturally during the Arctic glacial period is much smaller than that reduced during the melting period, and the Arctic sea ice area has decreased by 95% in the past 40 years. Scientists predict that by 2040, there will be little ice in the Arctic Ocean in the summer. Sea ice is an important habitat, migration channel, and breeding place for polar animals, and plays a key role in regulating global climate.
Therefore, we propose a low-energy ice-making method: by reducing the salt content of seawater to make it easier for seawater to freeze naturally, using the method of “freezing a huge piece of ice layer by layer” to accelerate the freezing. When we use seawater, we also use pressure difference to make seawater enter the building naturally, so the whole ice-making process almost consumes no energy. In order to make it easier for the ice to form a complete ice surface, we design the ice cube as a regular hexagon. A regular hexagon is not only easy to assemble but also not easy to disperse. When a piece of ice forms, it is put on the sea and pushed to the shore of the ice sheet by an underwater UAV. Whether it is to make desalinated seawater freeze naturally or to transport seawater through pressure difference, it is our attempt to low energy consumption “environmental protection” building.
In order to minimize the impact on the environment, the energy for building movement and human activities is provided by the abundant solar and wind energy resources in the Arctic. In addition, we have installed a biofilter at the bottom of the water inlet to prevent the surrounding microorganisms from pressing into the water pipe. The glowing tentacles and sonar devices around the building also remind the surrounding organisms to stay away. Also, sonar keeps the building away from the danger of hitting the rocks.
