2017 Skyscraper Competition

Editors’ Choice
Guan Wong

United Kingdom

The Living Thames Barrier and The Pursuit of Perpetual Power
This project tackles some of London?s polemic issues – the underdeveloped city and infrastructure of East London, the preparation of the estuary airport and the need for a new flood defence barrier. The current Thames barrier is under large stress due to the rising sea level and unexpected North Sea surges, a new Thames barrier is required to protect London from flooding. The Living Thames Barrier challenges the typology of a conventional barrier where enormous investments are solely spent on a defence system. Instead, the intention of the project is to enquire into the possibility of using the area over the river to create a new barrier city with renewable energy that can sustain or possibly payback these large scale defence investments. There is currently a heated debate surrounding the possibility of relocating Heathrow airport to a new airport terminal in the Thames estuary. The Living Thames Barrier would alleviate people?s concerns by providing the necessary transport, flood defence and workforce infrastructure required as a stepping stone to potentially make a new Thames estuary airport viable. This scheme would provide cheap and renewable energy for the working and living environments of the corporations that would inhabit this barrier. The Living Thames Barrier be a vital catalyst for the economic development of East Londo...