How to Win Friends and Influence Engineers Part Three — Sky Hook Anyone?
Cities can be polluted, over crowded, crazy places to live — but now Architects and Designers are proposing that we live in towers suspended from Asteroids or even move to a magnetically levitated island complete with parks and trees.
Cities used to grow by accident, admittedly the location usually made sense, somewhere easily defended (on a hill or an island), near a port or major river or by a coal or mineral mine. The people who worked in the mines or the ports needed places to live and the ad-hoc cities sprung up and infrastructure became a vast network of improvisation. Yes there are planned cities like Alexandria or Haussmann’s Paris, but these were indeed the exception rather than the rule.
At the beginning of the 20th century things began to change, Cities started being planned on purpose. Take New York’s zoning laws in 1916 for example.
So let’s look into our Crystal Balls and see what some Architects envision for our future -
1. The Analemma Tower by Clouds Architecture Office
New York firm Clouds Architecture unveiled an amazing design for the Analemma Tower, a skyscraper that would be suspended from an asteroid. It would also be the world’s tallest building. Clouds Architecture proposes a system called the “Universal Orbital Support System” that involves placing a large asteroid in orbit above earth (at around 50,000km — 31,068 miles). This is way above the International Space Station (249 miles above earth). A strong cable would be lowered from the asteroid and a tower would be suspended from it.
The exact height of the Analemma has not been revealed, but it looks like it would be at least 20,000 metres tall (the Burj Khalifa is 828 metres high). Power would come from space-based solar panels and water would be recycled in a semi-closed loop with new water being harvested from rain water and condensate from clouds. Elevators would be electromagnetic with no cables.
Commercial and Entertainment spaces together with Offices would be near the bottom, then there would be garden and agricultural areas and private apartments would be higher up. The two highest parts of the tower (from 17,000–20,000 metres above Earth would be exclusively used for funeral services and a space for keeping religious artifacts. The top will get an additional 40 minutes of sunlight a day, but would be very difficult to live there due to the extreme pressure and sunlight.
The tower would travel daily between the north and south hemispheres. It would move along a figure 8 like path and pass over New York, Havana and Panama City.
“By placing a large asteroid into orbit over earth, a high-strength cable can be lowered towards the service of earth from which a super tall tower can be suspended,” says Clouds AO. “Since this new tower typology is suspended in the air, it can be constructed anywhere in the world and transported to its final location.”
The firm concedes that there are pros and cons to being so high up in the sky :- “For example, while there may be a benefit to having 45 extra minutes of daylight at an elevation of 32,000 meters, the near vacuum and -40°C temperature would prevent people from going outside without a protective suit.Then again, astronauts have continually occupied the space station for decades, so perhaps it’s not so bad.”
What if the asteroid holding this building up is hit by another asteroid? The Designers dismiss this fear and say that humanity is ready for such an innovation saying “it taps into the desire for extreme height, seclusion and constant mobility.”
Accessibility could also be an issue, Clouds AO’s video shows people parachuting out of it. Presumably little space cruisers would have to be invented as well!
“Manipulating asteroids is no longer relegated to science fiction. In 2015 the European Space Agency sparked a new round of investment in asteroid mining concerns by proving with its Rosetta mission that it’s possible to rendezvous and land on a spinning comet. NASA has scheduled an asteroid retrieval mission for 2021 which aims to prove the feasibility of capturing and relocating an asteroid.”
Clouds Architecture Offices
2. Heaven and Earth
Heaven and Earth was created by Chinese Architect Wei Zhao and won an honourable mention in eVolo’s 2012 Skyscraper Competition. Zhao proposes that we move to a magnetically levitated island in the sky, complete with forests, mountains and urban areas. Heaven and Earth would hold magnets on the underside that would repulse the Earth’s magnetic field and so the island would be held aloft. The platform would rotate generating energy and in theory fuel a completely sustainable society. Small magnetic suspension crafts would ferry people and goods to and from the surface.
3. Shimizu Mega-City Pyramid
The Shimizu Mega-City Pyramid will hover over Tokyo Bay in Japan. At 1.25 miles high the Shimizu Pyramid will be 12 times taller than the Great Pyramid of Giza. There will be housing for 1,000,000 people and offices provided in 30 skyscrapers suspended from the pyramids trusses attached with nanotube cables.
Transportation in the city will be via accelerating walkways, inclined elevators and a personal rapid transit system where automated pods will travel within the trusses.
4. Galactic Suites
Since 2001 the International Space Station has accommodated dozens of space tourists. Galactic Suite Limited has devised an orbital 3 Bedroom Hotel to meet the increasing demand for space holidays.
The Galactic Suite Space Resort was conceived by Xavier Claramunt. Early concepts had a central hub with a dozen modules extending outwards thus providing an indefinite number of bedrooms for several tourists at a time. Claramunt admitted that whilst it would be a challenge to design an bathroom that works in zero gravity, showers could be taken in a spa room with bubbles of floating water. Guests would wear suits made out of Velcro to stick to the module walls — similar to those worn by the astronauts in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey.
It’s predicted that a 3 day stay will cost US$34 million per customer, only about 40,000 people on Earth could afford such a stay. The space tourism experience would also include staying at a ‘James Bond’ style astronaut training centre and spaceport based in the Caribbean.
5. City in the Sky
City in the Sky is an imaginary tranquil oasis suspended above the mega cities of the future. It was developed as part of the ‘Megatropolis’ project which started in London. The design was inspired by the Lotus flower that symbolises the ability to rise above the troubles of everyday life.
“City in the Sky is a concept about a tranquil oasis above the mega developed and polluted city where one can escape from the everyday buzz, smog and dirt. The concept is inspired by the Lotus flower which is known for its ability to emerge above the murky waters pure and clean“.
Tsvestan Toshkov — Architect
Admittedly two of the projects I have featured Sky City and the Shimizu Pyramid do have supporting columns, but I had to include them as they are still ‘cities in the sky’. Who knows when these sky-high dreams will be realised? Modern technology still has a long way to go before commercially viable technical solutions and new materials will be available to build such ambitious projects.
So would you live in a city in the sky?
Call Claire — 011 025 4458
bluedesigns5@gmail.com
I love Architecture. I think it’s vital to talk about all aspects of Architecture — whether it be planning, construction, design or green building. I have written 3 E-Books & over 110 articles. Please feel free to let me know if you have any queries regarding architecture, lanning & construction & I will assist you.
I am originally from the UK and moved to South Africa in 1999. I started Blue Designs in 2004 after working as a driver for Avalon Construction on a luxury home in the Featherbrook Estate.
I am also an artist and writer (The Naked Architect).
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Other Articles I have written include :-
Building Green? Here are some tips.
Common Mistakes People make when Designing a House
The Advantages of Sustainable Building
Considering Buying or Renovating a Heritage Home? Pros and Cons
Renovation vs New Construction — which is Greener and Better for the Environment?
Bizarre Buildings Part Two — Space Age Fantasy
Weird and Wonderful Buildings Part Three — Three Buildings that make Music
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Sources :-
http://www.cloudsao.com/ANALEMMA-TOWER
http://whatson.ae/dubai/2017/03/analemma/
https://www.provada.nl/future/#/trend/the-floating-cities-of-the-future
https://www.wired.com/2015/09/design-issue-future-of-cities/
http://www.cracked.com/article_17597_5-amazing-buildings-future-and-how-theyll-kill-you.html
http://www.evolo.us/competition/floating-city/
http://futuristicnews.com/heaven-earth-flying-cities/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shimizu_Mega-City_Pyramid
http://www.geekwidget.com/shimizu-try-2004-mega-city-pyramid-346
