Vertical voids – the big, the bad and the ugly

Simultaneous to the emergence of ever higher, more spectacular and highly iconic skyscrapers in economic hotspots all over the world, more and more high-rise developments of earlier generations fall into disuse. Failed housing estates, vacant hotels, abandoned office blocks and commercial investment ruins are furnishing the urban topography. Once signs of civic pride and indicators of urban prosperity these structures have become symbols of urban decline and signify the lack of economic resources, investment and maintenance. The big architectural gesture of vertical presence collapsed into a bad reputation of a failed typology.

What can be done with these vertical voids when, due to the lack of demand and financial resources, conventional reprogramming and refurbishment are no realistic options. How can the discipline of architecture readdress its own creation without simply demolishing it?

The project suggests an alternative form of spatial intervention within the typology of the skyscraper by speculating about its properties and potentials as an iconic and sculptural urban element.