This paper discusses the emerging need for vertical farms by examining issues related to food security, urban population growth, farmland shortages, “food miles”, and associated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Urban planners and agricultural leaders have argued that cities will need to produce food internally to respond to demand by increasing population and to avoid paralyzing congestion, harmful pollution, and unaffordable food prices. The paper examines urban agriculture as a solution to these problems by merging food production and consumption in one place, with the vertical farm being suitable for urban areas where available land is limited and expensive. Luckily, recent advances in greenhouse technologies such as hydroponics, aeroponics, and aquaponics have provided a promising future to the vertical farm concept. These high-tech systems represent a paradigm shift in farming and food production and offer suitable and efficient methods for city farming by minimizing maintenance and maximizing yield. Upon reviewing these technologies and examining project prototypes, we find that these efforts may plant the seeds for the realization of the vertical farm. The paper, however, closes by speculating about the consequences, advantages, and disadvantages of the vertical farm’s implementation. Economic feasibility, codes, regulations, and a lack of expertise remain major obstacles in the path to implementing the vertical farm.

The tall building is the most dominating symbol of the cities and a human-made marvel that defies gravity by reaching to the clouds. It embodies unrelenting human aspirations to build even higher. It conjures a number of valid questions in our minds. The foremost and fundamental question that is often asked: Why tall buildings? This review paper seeks to answer the question by laying out arguments against and for tall buildings. Then, it provides a brief account of the historic and recent developments of tall buildings including their status during the current economic recession. The paper argues that as cities continue to expand horizontally, to safeguard against their reaching an eventual breaking point, the tall building as a building type is a possible solution by way of conquering vertical space through agglomeration and densification. Case studies of some recently built tall buildings are discussed to illustrate the nature of tall building development in their respective cities. The paper attempts to dispel any discernment about tall buildings as mere pieces of art and architecture by emphasizing their truly speculative, technological, sustainable, and evolving nature. It concludes by projecting a vision of tall buildings and their integration into the cities of the 21st century.

Efficient vertical mobility is a critical component of tall building development and construction. This paper investigates recent advances in elevator technology and examines their impact on tall building development. It maps out, organizes, and collates complex and scattered information on multiple aspects of elevator design, and presents them in an accessible and non-technical discourse. Importantly, the paper contextualizes recent technological innovations by examining their implementations in recent major projects including One World Trade Center in New York; Shanghai Tower in Shanghai; Burj Khalifa in Dubai; Kingdom Tower in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; and the green retrofit project of the Empire State Building in New York. Further, the paper discusses future vertical transportation models including a vertical subway concept, a space lift, and electromagnetic levitation technology. As these new technological advancements in elevator design empower architects to create new forms and shapes of large-scale, mixed-use developments, this paper concludes by highlighting the need for interdisciplinary research in incorporating elevators in skyscrapers.

As cities cope with rapid population growth—adding 2.5 billion dwellers by 2050—and grapple with expansive sprawl, politicians, planners, and architects have become increasingly interested in the vertical city paradigm. This paper reviews and examines shortfalls of tall buildings found in the literature to inform future developments. The paper gathers a vast amount of fragmented criticism and concerns, and organizes them around the three pillars of sustainability: social, economic, and environmental. Mapping out the “unsustainable” aspects forms the foundation for addressing them in future research and tall building developments.

The greenery-covered tall building, an innovative building typology that substantially integrates vegetation into the design, promises to transform urban landscapes into more sustainable and livable spaces. This paper explores the concept of greenery-covered tall buildings. It achieves its objectives by offering an overall introduction to this building typology, mapping out novel projects to identify innovative ideas and design strategies, and reviewing the social, environmental, and economic benefits of integrating greenery into tall buildings. Examining prominent implementations distinguishes purposeful greenery integration from “afterthought” additions, providing insights for architects, developers, scholars, and the public. Additionally, the paper discusses the downsides and challenges of integrating trees and plants into tall buildings, including construction costs, maintenance considerations, and adherence to building and fire codes, and proposes remedies. This research fosters a deeper understanding of their transformative potential in creating greener, more resilient, and socially beneficial urban environments by contributing to the architectural discourse on this emerging building typology.

As cities cope with rapid population growth—adding 2.5 billion dwellers by 2050—and grapple with destructive sprawl, politicians, planners, and architects have become increasingly interested in the vertical city paradigm. Given the large-scale problems of skyscrapers, any improvements in their planning, design, and construction would be significant. This paper examines a new crop of skyscrapers that employs green design elements, including aerodynamic forms, greeneries, energy-saving systems, innovative renewable energy techniques, water-saving technologies, rainwater catchment systems, and the like. The examined projects illustrate foremost sustainable design features, strategies, and techniques that help to meet the functional requirements while resulting in attractive forms. They include towers that are completed, under-construction, on-hold, proposed and on the drawing boards. In an attempt to capture a wide-range of innovative ideas and concepts, this paper examines 30 major projects representing major world’s regions that have been active in constructing tall buildings including Southeast Asia and the Far East, the Middle East, Europe, and North America. The discussion section also engages the reader with additional buildings that have employed similar sustainable design. The paper concludes by identifying design approaches that could twin sustainability with iconicity, and highlights some of the shortfalls of intended sustainable design.