Skyscraper Built With Living ‘Ecological Facade' Wins Visionary Contest
A New York City skyscraper concept designed as a sanctuary for both people and endangered pollinators has taken first place in an international design contest known for highlighting forward‑looking architecture.
The annual Skyscraper Competition, organized by architecture and design journal eVolo, received 149 project submissions for its most-recent edition. From these entries, three winners were selected along with 14 honorable mentions.
According to eVolo, the annual award, established in 2006, recognizes “visionary ideas” that use new approaches to technology, materials, programs, esthetics and spatial organization to “challenge the way we understand vertical architecture and its relationship with the natural and built environments.”
First prize was awarded to Changsi Wang of the United States for a project titled “The Living Refuge: A Symbiotic Sanctuary For Humans And The Vanishing Pollinators.”
The proposal envisions a skyscraper in Manhattan in New York City designed as “a habitat for humans and endangered pollinators.” Rather than functioning solely as a building for occupation, the tower reframes the idea of a skyscraper as what the project describes as a vertical ecological, scientific and educational infrastructure.
The Living Refuge focuses on what the project defines as one of the most-urgent ecological challenges in dense urban environments-"the accelerating endangerment of pollinator species.”
In Manhattan, the description notes, habitat fragmentation, chemical exposure and intense urbanization have intensified pollinator decline. In response, the project operates through three integrated strategies-restoring habitat, advancing scientific knowledge and raising public awareness-while repositioning vertical architecture as an active participant in ecological repair.
Central to the proposal is an effort to reconstruct stable and continuous habitats for pollinators high above Manhattan's ground plane, which the project describes as heavily treated with chemicals and increasingly fragmented.
The skyscraper features a 3D‑printed “ecological facade” that forms a “vertical ecological landscape.” The complex geometry of this facade creates pockets capable of retaining moisture, accumulating organic matter and slowing air movement, resulting in microclimates that become hotspots for vegetation colonization. Initial species such as mosses, lichens and fungi are intended to establish within these conditions.
As vegetation expands across the facade, reduced wind speeds are designed to support pollinator landing, foraging and nesting. Small openings in the façade allow pollinators to move freely between exterior vegetation zones rich in nectar and interior cavities designed specifically for habitat use. These internal spaces are described as tree‑stump-like cavities created through 3D printing that replicate natural hollow stump nests suitable for larval development.
By separating these environments from chemical pollutants and stabilizing their microclimates, the project envisions the skyscraper transforming into a protected “vertical sanctuary where plants, microorganisms and pollinators can gradually colonize and co‑evolve.”
In its mature state, the project description says, “The Living Refuge becomes a site of ecological colonization and symbiosis. Vegetation takes root across the façade, microorganisms enrich the substrate and pollinators occupy the interior cavities, forming a dynamic and evolving network of habitats.”
Positioned well above pesticide exposure and insulated from ground‑level habitat fragmentation, the skyscraper can operate as “a regenerative ecological engine for Manhattan.”
The Living Refuge imagines a future in which skyscrapers no longer function solely as symbols of urban density, but instead actively support and regenerate ecological systems within the city.
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This story was originally published April 17, 2026 at 6:53 AM.