Proposal for the World's Second-Tallest Building

Proposal for the World’s Second-Tallest Building, Headquarters and Complexes consist of ceramic replicas of sponges — either suspended on a pole or stacked vertically. Based on SUPERFLEX’s years-long research into constructing human infrastructure that also accommodates other species, the works propose new forms of architecture: floating headquarters for unknown organization — corporate, governmental, or otherwise — and a skyscraper, the second-tallest in the world. Both are designed to resemble sponges, an ancient type of marine organism vital to ocean ecosystems.

To make the works, the sponges have been painstakingly replicated; even the tiniest, most delicate details have been copied. Whether floating or assembled into a tower, they suggest a new urban landscape built on the principles of organic life.

Buildings are typically designed to keep the elements out, but with these proposals, the porosity of the sponges would allow air and water to circulate through the structures, creating an unpredictable flow of matter and life. Because all spaces in a sponge are connected, visitors can move from room to room vertically, horizontally, diagonally, or in any direction—making the works infinitely traversable.