Tower Infinity 

      A new technological trend that came up in 2013 was the invisible skyscraper. This new technology almost seems unbelievable. However, invisibility  is seen in nature quite often through the disguise of camouflage. Using this concept, engineers were able to come up with a design to implement this in a building. It seems as though many architects have been trying to come up with the next best building to design to put them on top. For example, there has been an obsession of  claiming the tallest building. Usually that city takes pride in that title as well. Currently, the tallest tower in the world is the Tokyo Sky Tree tower that stands at six hundred twenty five meters tall. I believe that the invisible tower is the next best innovation in building technology. Although it will not break the record of being the tallest tower, it will be the only building that has this certain unique feature.

     The designers behind this building are from GDS Architects which is an international business that has offices in Pasadena, California, Seoul in South Korea and Taipei in Taiwan. This company is interesting because they do business for both private and public clients. They design things from organizing urban centers to designing skyscrapers to even planning out airports. Their goal is to better the lives of people and their standard of living. The current president Charles Wee, directs multiple projects and one of them is building the largest and tallest residential highrise in Korea. He is well known for his work since he has been published in several magazines and even has been showcased in exhibits.

     The infinity tower just got approved to start the building process on September 04, 2013. The building will be located near the Incheon International Airport located by Seoul South Korea. The infinity tower will stand at four hundred fifty meters tall. Wee explains, “ ‘Instead of symbolizing prominence as another of the world’s tallest and best towers, our solution aims  to provide the World's first invisible tower, showcasing  innovative Korean technology while encouraging a more Global narrative in the process. We  are elated that the many years of design, testing and coordination have led us to that all important step of beginning the building process. We look forward to providing Korea and the World with a completely new model for what it means to be an observation tower.’” (Collins, 2013). I like that Wee is trying to come up with a new technology instead of just trying to better something that already exists. He also explains that he “took this idea, kind of as rebels, to take the concept and reverse it. We wanted to redefine what it meant to be a landmark. From our perspective, Korea is an advanced nation. It doesn’t need to show off. It doesn’t need to fall into the meaningless race of building the tallest building...So, we thought, we’d do the opposite – make it disappear!...We thought we could use this to showcase Korean technology – it would be a magical thing to make such a large building disappear”(Knapp 2013). The idea of a landmark being invisible is contradictory to what the definition of a landmark is.

     This new type of technology could have a large historical impact to the world. Landmarks are usually known for its distinctive features to a specific area. Before technology, landmarks were known for distinctive natural features of an environment. Now, landmarks are essentially going to be showcasing technology based features. The infinity tower will look very futuristic being made of mostly glass. The tower will hold the third highest observation deck. These features will bring tourism to South Korea and it will hopefully have a positive impact on that area. It may seem unnecessary to have a building that will appear to be invisible, but it will definitely be interesting to look at. The building will be mostly used for public amusement and entertainment. There will be a movie theatre, roller coasters, a water park, and multiple food places to choose from. It seems like it will be a highlight of South Korea where everyone will want to hang out. The estimated completion date is still to be determined.

     Many years of research have been spent into designing this tower. Some of the technology involved in this tower are high definition cameras and LED technology. The LEDs are positioned in such a way that the tower will only appear invisible from certain vantage points. Concerns about the proximity of the tower to the airport have been addressed. The tower will not appear invisible to airplanes and it is not in the way of any flights coming in. There will also always be a flashing red light due to the LEDs. There will be a total of eighteen HD cameras that will be split up into three different sections depending on height ranging on six different sides of the building. The images taken from the HD cameras will be processed into one large panorama that will be reflected on five hundred rows of LED lights to the opposite side of the building creating a phenomenon making the building seem invisible. The LEDs also play an important role in resolution according to their pitch. A short pitch corresponds to a higher resolution. Near the ground, the LEDs have a low pitch of 150mm and as you go farther up the pitch increases to 300 mm. This provides necessary resolution at a cheaper cost. As you go farther up in altitude, there is no need for a high resolution because no one will be able to see it anyway.

     This technology will affect society due to the fact that we are able to create such a building. It is a reminder that with the right technology, anything is possible. I predict that many people will travel to South Korea just to see this building and take pictures around it. It will be an upcoming tourist attraction similar to the Empire State Building in New York City. This technology trend may also inspire other countries to build similar types of buildings.