"UP!" - a steel tower

McGill University

Faculty Advisor:
Pieter Sijpkes

Amount: $2,000.00

From time immemorial, towers have been intertwined with the desire of the human race to escape the limitations of our earthly bonds. Through the construction of vertical structures we have sought to extend our reach towards the heavens, while at the same time, enabling ourselves to expand our visual mastery of the landscape to which we are so firmly rooted. Our earliest source of inspiration to gain an advantage over our surroundings is undoubtedly linked to the simple principle of a vertical cantilever as it is expressed in the functional form of a tree. The ability to move Up is intrinsically linked to structure, and therefore, to material.

Students are challenged to design a tower on a site of the designers’ choosing. While the purpose, scope and scale of the tower are left to the discretion of the designer, it is important to focus on what it means for us to engage and experience structure as ‘Up.’ The structure must be primarily steel, but otherwise, the material palette is open.