Design

A Sunken Skyscraper in Central Park Is the Worst Idea in History

This year’s winning entry in the eVolo Skyscraper Competition would require digging up the entire park.
"New York Horizon," the winner of the 2016 eVolo Skyscraper Competition.eVolo

Never mind that tearing up Central Park is a non-starter. Set aside the fact that it’s one of the most beloved parks in the world. Disregard all the structural and infrastructural reasons why it would be next to impossible to strip Central Park down to bedrock.

Consider, for a moment, a proposal to do exactly that: to remove Central Park and the earth underneath Central Park in order to reveal the firmament below. A submerged, mirrored, horizontal skyscraper would be erected, or rather laid out, to frame this raw terrain in the heart of Manhattan. That’s the winning proposal in this year’s eVolo Skyscraper Competition.