Ryan McQueen | Design Engineer

When I learned about a design contest for a festival in New York, I submitted two designs.  The contest was for model towers, which were then printed out and displayed at a maker festival.  It was fun to work on a project that allowed me to think creatively and design something so large-scaled.  I tried to create towers that were feasible both for 3D printing and real-world construction, but would stand out in a skyline.

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One tower is called the "Hole Spire".  I wanted a design that combined a traditional skyscraper profile with a more interesting, streamlined one.  I liked the idea of offering two very different profiles depending on the viewing angle.  With that in mind I created a swept-teardrop shape on one side, but basically a rectangle from the other.  To add a little extra juxtaposition, I created a round hole through the rectangular face, and a triangular one through the teardrop face.  In actual construction, the triangular opening would provide a space for a beautiful atrium with a vaulted ceiling, and the circular passage could be used to create rooms with amazing and unique views.

The other design is the "Rockstack Tower".  I found inspiration for this design from  rock balancing.  There are many photos showing impressive structures created by stacking loose rocks just right so they form a tower without any binding or adhesive.  I thought this would produce a unique building that would really stand out in a skyline.  It was also a fun challenge to try and evoke the source material while staying within the design challenge's parameters.
 
To add some character to it - and more importantly, to make it a bit more like a building instead of just a stack of rocks - I created angular features.  This also made it more feasible to construct than including odd surfaces.  To further distinguish it as a man-made tower and give it some texture, I created some vertical and horizontal lines on some of the "rocks".