Hasta La Ideas

In 2014, the AMP Centre—formerly the tallest building in Sydney, Australia—was slated for demolition. After realizing the environmental consequences and CO2 output this would cause, the owners opened an architectural competition to see how the building could be “upcycled” instead. This year, the renewed building, designed by 3XN, opened as an expanded 49-story skyscraper that has been named World Building of the Year 2022 by the World Architecture Festival. Now dubbed the Quay Quarter Tower, the building retained 95% of the original skyscraper’s core as well as over two-thirds of its structure. The architects’ method involved erecting a new structure directly beside the old one and “grafting” them together, forming a larger, contemporary building unified by a glass facade. When compared with removing and constructing a new structure, this approach has been more sustainable and cost-effective, saving 12,000 tons of CO2 and $150 million AUD. Read more about it at CNN.

Image courtesy of AdamMork/3XN