UTOPIA CROWD

From sustainable skyscrapers to floating cities and colonies in the skies.

Utopia as far as the eye can see.

How is the architecture of the future going to look like? Are we going to build cities underwater like in the sci-fi TV series Seaquest, or we are going to completely destroy our natural environment like people of the future did in Ridley Scotts Blade Runner and Luc Bessons 5th Element. Maby (probably) we will finish with something like the futuristic world of the movie Minority Report, with gigantic vertical cities connected through a network of advanced transportation systems. Only the future will show! Here are some examples of future architecture that you can see around the world already today (or very soon). As I tend to think positive  I deliberately omitted those that would probably take us to the Blade Runner alternative.

Picture by Jacque Fresco

Green Towers

As our over-populated mega-cities grow to ever bigger scales, we need to look for viable solutions to bring mother nature back to our environment. One of the possible solution would be sustainable skyscrapers.Capable  to harvest water, heat, energy and agricultural products and creating a basis for new breed of society, less dependent on outsourced food production and  goods transportation. Some examples of such approach are already a reality:

Solair

Standing at 20 River Terrace in New York, these two buildings can hardly aspire to be called a skyscraper, with just 27 floors. But they could be called like that elsewhere. The building is consuming just half of drinkwater usualy consumed by a building of this scale and its cutting down 35 % from its energy consumption (65% in peak hours) . Both buildings feature a green roof planted using a special soil medium called “So-lite”. There are also some mirrors installed on top of the buidings to reflect the sunlight into the nearby park surrounded by tall buildings.

Vertical Farming

Vertical farms could be a solution to our ever greater demand for agricultural land and  create a pleasant oxigene rich atmosphere in our buildings.

Tour Vivante

This project of atelier SoA  is the best example of the Vertical Farm. Described as a “autonomous ecological machine” the tower will be able to produce great amounts of fruit, recycle waste-water and cover a part of electricity demand of the building by employing two wind turbines on the roof.

http://www.ateliersoa.fr/

Artificial Islands

Building artificial islands, like those in the city of Dubai may not sound like the best green idea, but in this particular case, there was no natural habitat destroyed. The Dubai desert continues underwater on the bottom of the sea. This kind of developments may protect the natural beaches elsewhere and it simply looks cool.

Underwater Cities

Yes,we are almost there. The first underwater hotel resorts are already in construction in Dubai, Turkey and offshore England. I wonder if  I will be ever able to afford them.

Poseidon Underwater Hotel

Hydropolis

Earthships

There have been a lot written about this organic structures made of recycled materials like cans, bottles and recycled tyres dumped with dirt.  Both  good and bad. Some may argue, that this is  not the best way to recycle the materials and that there are better and more environmentally friendly  building materials available on the market, but I still think that this may be a great environmentally friendly solution to deal with poverty and homelessness. From slams of Manila and Brazil to the gypsy-camps of Eastern Europe, this kind of  low cost architecture can be successfully deployed. There have been some reports of  people actually getting sick, due to the materials used on the construction, but I believe earthships are still way too much healthier and environmentally friendly  that the current alternatives on places I mentioned above.

Postmodernism

Such amazing  postmodern structures as Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao are completely transcending the mere functionality and creating a deep symbolism and sense of transformation and regeneration in our urban developments. I use to be a Guggenheim employee and I can assure you that you can hardly call it a green development, but there is no doubt about its positive influence on the economy and culture of the town and the entire region.

Floating Cities

This may be one of the constructions, that we will probably not see in our lifetimes. But they are looking just beautiful, doesn’t they? What a shame that we are spending our money to finance wars a manufacture weapons, rather that constructing places like this one.

lilypad floating city

Living Houses

Ok, once this thing gets on the market I’m going after it! What a wonderful sensation to live in the house, that actually breath and grows. This idea is just lovely. And it is so much better to let our homes to grow their own roots, instead of stuffing the ground with tons of concrete. My girlfriend would probably object, that she don’t want to live as a squirrel and there would be probably some insects problems in the house, but I would still love to own one of those.

Find out more about Fab Tree Hub on Inhabitat.com.Great Article and Video. Click

High in the Branches

These wonderful structures may be a way to coexist with natural habitats, rather than destroying them. I imagine whole cities build in that way; Reconstructing and regrowing post-industrial landscapes instead of attacking existing habitats. A new breed of human populated forests. A modern mans return to the tomb of mother nature. OMG, why do I have to wake up every morning in that square box I’m living in?

Solar Towers & Co.

Appart of a nice place to live we also need the energy to power up our consumerist way of life. This solar towers outside of the city of Sevilla in Spain are just looking so sci-fi fantastic. One tower is already standing and another six are to follow. This will make Sevilla the first city completely powered by green energy. I think I’m up for a trip very soon!

Outworlders

And finally; The final frontier. So this is what we are definitely not going to see in our lifetimes. Way too expensive for our greedy and blood thirsty species. Even-thou, maby there will appear some marvellous technology  in the near future, that will change everything. Never stop hoping.