A team consisting of university students in Gwangju has been awarded at the 2023 eVolo Skyscraper Competition with an honorable mention for their project ”The Whale: Corallium Forest”. Among the 309 projects received, the jury selected three winners and 15 honorable mentions. The imagined design is a piece of work that indicates the severity of marine plastic pollution. Targeting the largest reflux zone, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, as a site, the whale is a skyscraper that is expected to remove the plastic and upcycle the gathered garbage in various ways. Devised from the characteristics of a whale and coral, which are the main creatures of the marine ecosystem, its foremost intent is to reform the destroyed ecosystem.

     Kim Ji-hyo (Fifth Year, Dept. of Architecture), a member of the project said, “Since international contests offer a great deal of opportunities, you should challenge yourself with confidence. That act itself has a significant meaning. When I had difficulties preparing for the contest, I referred to the previous winning projects that won awards and studied what the jury valued the most.” First established in 2006, the annual competition was founded to recognize visionary ideas that understand the relationship between vertical architecture and its connection with the natural and built environment.

By Jeong So-rin, Reporter