for their first-prize entry to the atX design of the year 2021 award, students thanat prathnadi, nathan ngo, and liva sadovska introduce ‘the glo-cal experience’, a modular skyscraper system that brings the travel experience of tourist destination countries to a dedicated site in a host city, domesticating international travel by going glocal. while technology has revolutionized the way we travel in the 21st century, the wake of the coronavirus pandemic has exposed our inability to sustain economies domestically. 

‘the glo-cal experience’ in tokyo, japan
all images courtesy of thanat prathnadi

the students presented ‘the glo-cal experience’ as a systematic and scalable solution to the receding travel industry, bringing local experiences and economies to the forefront of a global travel revolution. the project’s main idea is to showcase participating guest countries for a limited period, in which they rotate their modules to various host cities based on travel data, such as popularity, attraction diversity, and seasons.

glo-cal india overlooking hyperloop plaza in tokyo, japan

this rotational model enables visitors to experience an array of international travel destinations while ensuring visitors return in anticipation of the next destination. to guarantee that an authentic experience is preserved, local businesses of participating guest countries tour along with the modules, being able to rent a space and run their business, providing their service or products to the visitors of the host cities. the host cities are selected based on their location in proximity to surrounding cities, infrastructure, and population, and demographic.

glo-cal india, tokyo, japan

visitors would travel domestically to their closest glo-cal tower, reducing their contribution to aviation emissions, where they can stay for up to a week and contribute to the travel industry of another country from the convenience of their own. the glo-cal system applies a modular approach across three scales, that of the plug-in module that contains the experience, the structure that encapsulates them, and lastly the stackability of the three structure sizes.