There’s no doubt that Cape Town’s latest proposed skyscraper, The Modern, is a far cry from what’s planned for Japan.

When we first shared news about The Modern with you last week, perhaps you could sense my disapproval.

I wasn’t impressed – and neither was anyone else in the office, for that matter. We aren’t architects, but what’s up with the weird dent and what looks like a backpack attached to it?

Seriously, take a look for yourself.

Comparing it to the images below of Japan’s not-so-soon-to-be 70-storey skyscraper made almost entirely out of wood, you can see why we want something a little bit more “out there” built in the City.

You see, Japan’s W350 tower is set to be a flagship of sustainability, thanks to its unique construction that uses some 185 000 square metres of wood, and only 10% steel, reports HuffPost:

Every single level will feature trees, gardens and foliage, and the building will contain up to 8 000 homes.

Oh, and get this: unlike concrete and steel buildings, which emit carbon into the atmosphere and ultimately contribute to global emissions, the building will absorb carbon.

Sure, wooden high-rise buildings certainly aren’t new, but they are complex and expensive. In fact, the estimated cost of the W350 is expected to be around £4 billion (R65 billion), almost twice the cost of a conventional skyscraper at the same height.

However, the cost of the process, designed by architecture firm Nikken Sekkei, is expected to drop as advances in construction techniques allow the cost of wooden skyscrapers to decrease. Here’s holding thumbs.

You want to know the real curveball, though? The building will only be completed by 2041, and is set to commemorate Sumitomo Forestry’s 350th anniversary.

Sorry, I’m confused, are they planning to grow the tower? That would be epic.

[source:huffpost]