Winner: UP-LIFT TECHNOLOGY TOWER

“The city of Charlotte ranks dead last (50th out of 50) among America’s largest cities in Upward Mobility. This means that for a child born in poverty in Charlotte, it is harder to get out of poverty than any other large city in the United States.” – FORCLT

Charlotte is largely known as the 2nd largest banking city and is rapidly establishing the foundations of the next “Silicon Valley” being 2nd largest in tech-industry growth across the country.

UP: toward a higher place or position. LIFT: raise to a higher position or level.

[Up]–LIFT will be an urban community tower that responds to changes in the local industry by incorporating a major factor limiting social mobility – access to education. The basic growth of a tech-hub requires the foundation of educational services to help incubate start-ups. Located in the heart of uptown, the tower will contain programs to provide training in fields related to technology and spaces for tech businesses to take a foothold locally. The tower will be designed in such a way to create a direct flow from training to working in the industry by providing on site connections between low income students & companies. The idea is that mixing academic research & industry practices will foster next-generation technologies of the future. With start-ups related to eco-technologies and environmental concerns becoming more prevalent, the tower will accommodate these positive shifts in ideology by allowing the building and its envelope to become a research & development playground for prototyping & testing. A public laboratory, so to speak, for displaying innovative concepts & solutions.