[M II A II R II K]

This weird doughnut skyscraper is the future of architecture

https://www.fastcompany.com/90648644...f-architecture

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- The pandemic exposed a hulking problem in cities around the world. Last spring, when cities imposed lockdowns and companies were forced to send office workers home, office buildings were left unexpectedly empty. Built specifically for work and business, these massive buildings became essentially useless. And as companies plan post-pandemic futures with less office real estate and more of their employees working from home, buildings designed just for offices are veering toward obsolescence. A radical new architectural concept offers a solution. Instead of designing buildings for specific purposes that may fade or disappear, architects and developers should create buildings that can accommodate a variety of uses, from offices to residential spaces to hotels to healthcare facilities. Towers should be designed to be neutral.

- That’s the idea behind the unTower, a proposed use-neutral skyscraper concept from B+H Architects. A Toronto-based firm with 10 offices around the world, the firm has been designing skyscrapers for decades. And now, as part of the Singapore-based global developers Surbana Jurong Group, the firm has tower and mixed-use projects in the works across North America and Asia. Developed in conjunction with a team of engineers and vetted for its economic feasibility, the unTower proposal envisions a new type of structure that can house a wide range of uses and be easily converted when new needs arise. Doug Demers, a senior managing principal at B+H Architects’ research and development-focused Advance Strategy practice, says the concept is about meeting the evolving demands of cities while also reducing the overall environmental impact of buildings themselves.

- Turning an office tower into residences or anything else is not a smooth process. From the layout of floors to the lack of natural light deep inside, buildings designed to be offices aren’t easily convertible to something one might consider a comfortable home. The unTower suggests a new approach. The concept is based around a simple doughnut-shaped building that has all its structural support at its interior and exterior edges, allowing the space within the doughnut to be configured for any type of use. Walls can be slotted in to divide the space into the rooms of an apartment or the separate units of a hotel, or removed completely for a large, column-free office. With windows outside and in, and the potential to add balconies or porches within the building’s atrium, the concept suggests a naturally lit building that could hold an office just as easily as a family home. “That’s the beauty of the doughnut,” Demers says.

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