Looking Forward

The future will be built on the ruins of the past. Doesn't that sound grim? When you think about it, most people are so stuck on what they know that it's hard for them to embrace change until what they know is gone. So, where better then to look to the future of architecture and city design than in the places that seem to always need rebuilding due to huricanes and earthquakes?

E. Kevin Schopfer, AIA (American Institute of Architects), RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects), has come up with the following design for an archology in New Orleans. The biggest question is would people be willing to give up their private homes to live in a complex such as this, and who would it be affordable for the average citizen?



NOAH: New Orleans Arcology Habitat

http://www.ahearnschopfer.com/schopfer/planning/noah/index.html
http://www.yankodesign.com/2009/08/17/heavenly-abode/

In Tokyo, where land is at a premium and is under threat of earthquakes, tsunami, and volcanos; the Takenaka Corporation has proposed the Sky City 1000 archology project. The problem here is money and coming up with the raw materials needed to build it.

Tokyo Sky City 1000


One project that is looking to the future in a not so disaster prone area (depending on how you look at deserts) is the Masdar Initiative. This is a planned city in Abu Dhabi, UAE, a location with a enough wealth and forsight to put together and implement a plan for a city of the future. Masdar City would be an off the grid city that generates it's own power, cleans it's water supply, recycles it's waste, etc. It's quite a move for a country that built it's wealth on the oil industry, to now look to become a leader in renewable energies.

Masdar City

http://www.masdar.ae/en/home/index.aspx

With any luck, the cities, as we know them today, will become roadside attractions like the old ghost towns and reenactment villages, while we live in green cities powered by the sun, wind, geothermal, and/or the waves.