SkyPillar

SkyPillar is a supertall skyscraper proposed for construction as part of the Tenraku Ecocity Pyramid megastructure, in Surea by Tenraku Group, Surea’s largest conglomerate that is responsible in developing the famous Ryuponjo Ville.

Tenraku is in talks with several potential subcontractors which include Samsung Engineering & Construction (who built Burj Dubai), Japanese Shimizu Corporation and Australian Grocon. The proposed skyscraper would be 2,250 m (7,382 ft).

Architecture and design
SkyPillar, like all spire structures, participates in the symbolism of the axis mundi: a world centre where earth and sky meet and the four compass directions join. The building resembles the bundled tube form of the Willis Tower, but is not a tube structure. Its design is reminiscent of Takenaka Corp’s vision for Sky City 1000, a kilometre high skyscraper designed for Tokyo.

Originally designed to be an angular tower, the final design has changed substantially to a rounder, more curve-based design featuring the concept of the “Surean Wave”. It also transforms the historic meaning and image of a beacon mound on the mountain as a traditional measure of communications, to a flow of "light", which symbolizes a modern measure of communications, or the digital industry. The building's façade, joint to the top of the Tenraku Ecocity Pyramid, resembling a lighthouse is aimed at expressing a vision as a "light leading the new millennium."

The outward appearance of the building is to be made in a style reminiscent of the windows of traditional Surean houses. Its design specifies the installation of an exterior super skin containing 40,000 LED panels that emit light of various colours.

The repeated segments simultaneously recall the rhythms of an Asian pagoda (a tower linking earth and sky, also evoked in the Petronas Towers and Taipei 101), and a stalk of bamboo (an icon of learning and growth). The bamboo-type structure of the building, with the heart section left empty, increases its resistance to bending three-fold, thus enhancing its structural stability against earthquakes and vibration due to wind.

The tower's green rooftop will bring about a heat insulation effect. The installation of automatic ventilation windows on the surface of the building will aid the supply of fresh air and save considerable energy. A mirror installed in the building will direct sunlight towards the lower floors. That, along with the use of geothermal heat and a photovoltaic generation system, using the trusses of the pyramid, will make it possible to save considerable energy

More than 10,000 pieces of art will adorn the interiors of SkyPillar, while the lobby of SkyPillar will have the artwork of 196 bronze and brass alloy cymbals representing the 196 countries of the world. The visitors in the lobby will be able to hear a distinct timbre as the cymbals, plated with 18-carat gold, are struck by dripping water, intended to mimic the sound of water falling on leaves.

Appropriately it exhibits a number of technologically advanced features as it provides a centre for business and recreation. The original planed fibre-optic and satellite Internet connections permitted transfer speeds up to 5 gigabytes per second.

Tenraku Group has also engaged GHD, an international multidisciplinary consulting firm, to assist with the design, review and assessment involved in the construction process.

Interactive aquarium
At 30,000 m2 (320,000 sq ft), the interactive aquarium inside SkyPillar will be the largest of its kind. Unlike conventional aquariums, it will be fully interactive and paired with the latest high-tech technologies, allowing visitors to fully interact with it. It is the first foreign direct investment into SkyPillar, with approximately a billion dollar invested over the next 7 years. On 18th November 2009, the Managing Director of Tenraku Group signed an investment agreement with United States-based Acrylic Tank Manufacturing (ATM) to build the aquarium. Headquartered in Las Vegas, ATM has 100 years of experience in building large-scale aquariums and already built the Dubai Atlantis Hotel aquarium and the Seattle Underwater Dome.