The In-Between: A Vertical Urbanism Approach to Mixed-Use Skyscraper Design

As urban environments become increasingly dense and complex, new architectural solutions are required to bridge the spatial, social, and ecological divides that characterize contemporary cities. The In-Between, a visionary vertical mixed-use skyscraper located between Noida and Delhi, India, tackles these pressing urban challenges head-on. Designed by Laura Isabella Campos Vanegas and recognized as an Editor’s Choice entry in the CityScraper competition, the project presents a compelling vision for how architecture can mediate between seemingly opposing forces—old and new, dense and dispersed, natural and urban, local and global.

India, with its rich cultural heritage and rapidly urbanizing landscape, serves as the perfect context for this proposal. The site represents a transitional zone: a liminal space situated between the historical core of Delhi and the rapidly expanding peripheries like Noida. This in-between territory is characterized by issues such as residential overcrowding, environmental degradation, and socio-spatial segregation. The In-Between aims to reclaim this fractured landscape by transforming it into a site of connection, community, and continuity.

A Vertical Urban Strategy

The design employs a twin-tower strategy to distinguish and integrate different functions—public and private, communal and individual—within a single vertical infrastructure. These towers are not identical but complementary, mirroring each other visually while accommodating contrasting programs. A dramatic vertical void carved between the two structures frames the sky and symbolically reconnects the earth with the celestial, grounding the structure in both the physical and metaphysical realms.

This framing element also functions practically, offering framed views of the surrounding urban and natural context. At the ground level, the towers open generously to the public, inviting the surrounding community to engage with the structure through a series of plazas, marketplaces, and open green zones. Here, the idea of a 15-minute city is actively implemented: residents, workers, and visitors can access essential services such as co-working spaces, health and wellness centers, gastronomy hubs, and educational facilities within a short walking distance.

The form of the building, generated through folding strategies and dynamic surface treatments, allows it to harmonize with the landscape while maintaining a distinct sculptural presence. It reflects both the tradition of monumental Indian architecture and contemporary design techniques aimed at fostering flexibility and resilience.

Vertical Connectivity and Public Integration

A defining feature of The In-Between is its innovative circulation system. Diagonal elevators, rarely seen in conventional towers, are deployed to connect disparate functions across vertical layers. These elevators act as social conduits, enabling continuous movement not just between floors but between ideas, cultures, and ways of life. They physically and symbolically traverse boundaries—between work and leisure, solitude and community, learning and living.

The towers contain a diverse mix of programs layered vertically: starting from bazaars and sports facilities at the base, followed by co-working zones, community gardens, student and single housing, all the way up to social and residential lookouts. Multifamily residential units are interspersed with communal terraces, encouraging interaction and reinforcing a sense of vertical neighborhood.

Structural clarity is achieved through a refined diagrid framework, combined with a tensile metallic mesh that creates a second skin around the towers. This double façade provides both thermal performance and dynamic visual interest, shifting in transparency and texture throughout the day. It also serves as a medium for passive climate control, optimizing natural ventilation and reducing energy consumption.

A New Urban Prototype

The In-Between is more than just a vertical structure; it is a speculative prototype for a new kind of vertical urbanism—one that responds to the urgent demands of urban equity, sustainability, and resilience. By building up instead of out, and by layering diverse uses in a compact form, it resists the binary logic of expansion versus preservation. Instead, it champions synthesis.

This vertical mixed-use skyscraper articulates a new narrative for Indian cities, where built form becomes a framework for coexistence rather than separation. It champions the idea of a building as a connective tissue that stitches together fragmented parts of the city—geographically, socially, and programmatically. Rather than imposing a singular identity, it embraces multiplicity and change.

Ultimately, The In-Between reframes what it means to inhabit a city. It demonstrates how thoughtful design can mediate tensions and foster inclusive growth, all within a sculptural, efficient, and human-scaled architectural solution. In an era of rapid urban transformation, this project serves as both critique and catalyst, offering a hopeful blueprint for future vertical developments.

Project by: Laura Isabella Campos VanegasRecognition: Editor’s Choice entry of CityScraper