World's most influential architectural bureau plans to build hemp skyscrapers

Skidmore Owings and Merrill have announced the launch of the Urban Sequoia high-rise concrete building project, an elegant modern structure that, in addition to its primary function, will capture and recycle carbon dioxide throughout its life.

One of the most influential architecture firms in the world is proposing the use of carbon-capture hemp building materials as a vital foundation for the normalization of the international built environment. 

Skidmore Owings and Merrill (SOM) has announced the launch of the Urban Sequoia high-rise concrete building project, an elegant modern structure that, in addition to its primary function, will capture and recycle carbon dioxide throughout its life.

The proposed skyscraper project, built of fire-reinforced concrete, can capture up to 1,000 tons of CO2 per year, which is equivalent to the “work” of removing carbon dioxide from the air from 48,500 trees. 

“The main message of the Urban Sequoia project is that a human-created environment that is comfortable for living is capable of absorbing and utilizing CO2. SOM's proposal is transforming buildings into a solution to one of the world's major environmental challenges by radically rethinking how buildings and cities are designed and built, ”the company said in a statement. 

According to the architects involved in the Urban Sequoia project, reinforced concrete is just one of the building's carbon traps. The building materials developed for the SOM project also included biobricks, timber and algae, which fully replace the concrete and steel traditionally used in the construction of skyscrapers, reducing the negative carbon footprint during construction by 50%. In particular, according to SOM employee Chris Cooper, "Our proposal for the Urban Sequoia project - and, eventually, dozens of similar multi-storey buildings implemented in the future will make human habitats part of the solution to the problem of climate change."

The multi-storey building proposed for implementation will, among other things, use air currents moving inside the building due to the “stack effect” allowing CO2 to be absorbed by means of direct air capture devices, which will subsequently be able to utilize carbon dioxide.

Commentary of the specialists of the Association "Ukrainian technical hemp"

The American architectural firm Skidmore Owings and Merrill presented the design of the developed project Urban Sequoia at the climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland in November 2021.