eVolo Magazine is pleased to announce the winners of the 2014 Skyscraper Competition. The 2014 edition marks the ninth anniversary of the competition established in 2006 to recognize outstanding ideas for vertical living through the novel use of technology, materials, programs, aesthetics, and spatial organizations.

Launchspire – These designs for the skyscrapers of the future put tall buildings to use for something more than just housing people. This supertall building uses an electromagnetic vertical accelerator to help launch airplanes, so they can save fuel on takeoff.

Henry Smith, Adam Woodward, Paul Attkins

Most skyscrapers don’t do much more than house people or offices, but one day, they could also help solve problems like urban pollution and waste collection. For the last nine years, eVolo Magazine has held a competition for the problem-solving skyscrapers of the future. Here are a handful of this year’s ideas, selected from over 600 entries from around the world. Scroll through the images above for more solutions.