Flying Skyscrapers

Individual &
Middle School Class
Category
Community
Date
Oct 2022

Flying Skyscrapers

Individual & Middle School Class
Community
Oct 2022


The 'Flying Skyscraper' is an activity designed for middle school students to allow them to experience building a community of their own. I worked hand in hand with my favourite middle school teacher and her class to execute this project. At the end, my mind was blown by what this class of middle school students were able to create. 

The activity was simple; students got together into groups and each person was given a piece of paper with a single task. The task was to "create a self-sustaining skyscraper".

As a kid, I've always wondered about the idea of having a flying house. I would imagine living in Beijing today, tomorrow in Paris, and New York the next, all from the comfort of my home. Everything I'd need to survive and live happily would all be onboard; it was a living house.

The students and their friends were tasked to create a flying skyscraper, where everything they'd need to survive and live happily would all be on onboard; it would be a living community. Each piece of paper contained a room, and each student created their own room. It was absolutely magical to see how students were able to connect and collaborate to complete certain "chores" to keep the skyscraper alive. One would be responsible for sustainable energy sources while their friend would find ways to create a home garden to feed everyone aboard.

In the end, when the separate pieces were taped together, a picture of a flying skyscraper was formed, and inside, a community who keeps it alive.


Students on their rooms:

Avery
“ I used a giant art balloon to fly into the air. There are airplace wings to hold the tower in the air and keep it balanced. Incase of thunderstorms, I added a lightning rod which connects to the power source room below mine. If I want to steer, there's a wheel I can use to change direction, and speed. ”
Amy
“ I incorporated the job my inserting water tanks to get rain water and filter them, and a tank to store all the water, which can send water to every room by pipes. I also got water by adding a sensor to the lower part of the skyscraper, and whenever it touched a body of water it would suck the water in while filtering it. ”
Ryan
“ I am the chef and I am supposed to take care of all the food for everybody on the skyscraper. in my room i have a kitchen and to my left is the farm, and to my right is a pantry full of snacks, and in the green house are foods that can be used for the kitchen like cooking potatoes. ”
John
“ My room duty is to deal with different kinds of waste. I included 2 containers for human and organic waste, the human waste and the organic waste goes to Remy to create energy. ”
Remy
“ My room duty was biomass power. I added a biomass power plant that also produces hydrogen gas that I could send to the ground transportation floor as well as the wind power floor. ”



Artworks created by class
Project designed by Yi
Special thanks to
The participants
Ms. Murphy