Assuming we reach the middle of this century without destroying civilization in nano wars, bio wars, nuclear wars, or something else, and assuming that global climate chaos has not reduced us to a nasty, brutish remnant of what we are today, then how and where will we choose to live? In floating ocean cities, in space, undersea, or on land in towering mega-structures?
This issue is fraught with questions—technical, scientific, and ethical questions, just for starters.
For example, is it ethical to build luxury housing in exotic locations for those who can afford it (the one-tenth of one percent at the richest end of humanity), while nearly half of the world’s populations can barely afford housing at all? Is it ethical to deny the rich something they legally choose to purchase? Also, is it probable that by the middle of this century emerging technologies will have largely banished hunger, poverty, and disease, despite all the gloom and doom worriers?
Would new, large-scale housing projects undersea, or on top of converted offshore oil platforms, or floating on the ocean, do unacceptable damage to marine habitats? Or could they be designed and operated to be less polluting than equivalent amounts of housing on land?
If a consortium of wealthy investors decides to build a series of privately-funded luxury housing complexes in Earth orbit, should they be allowed to do so? Should they also be allowed to create their own space-based navy and/or police force? If not, who is responsible to protect them from military or criminal attack?
Is there a better way to house bulging megacity populations than in spread-out suburbs and crime-ridden slums? Should we try going extremely vertical and exactingly planned?
That’s the idea of ambitious architects who have produced plans for super buildings in both Japan and the Middle East:
The Shimizu TRY 2004 Mega-City Pyramid is a proposed project for construction of a massive pyramid over Tokyo Bay in Japan. The structure would be 12 times higher than the Great Pyramid at Giza, and would house 750,000 people. If built, it would be the largest man-made structure on Earth in history. The structure would be 2,004 meters (6,575 feet) high and would answer Tokyo’s increasing lack of space. The proposed structure is so large that it cannot be built with currently available materials, due to their weight. The design relies on the future availability of super-strong lightweight materials based on carbon nanotubes.
The Ziggurat Project provides a harmonious, ecological and safe environment. Ziggurat is a city where people, nature and modern technology unite to harmonize family, work and entertainment. Ziggurat applies the latest engineering and technological advances in an urban environment. The building will feature parks, water channels, and lakes with climate zones becoming cooler at higher elevations.
The X-Seed 4000 is the tallest building ever fully envisioned, meaning that the designs for construction have been completed. Its proposed 4,000 meters (13,123 ft) height, 6 km (3.7 mi) wide sea-base, and 800 floor capacity could accommodate five hundred thousand to one million inhabitants. Unlike conventional skyscrapers, the sea-based X-Seed 4000 would be required to actively protect its occupants from considerable air pressure gradations and weather fluctuations along its massive elevation. Its design calls for the use of solar power to maintain internal environmental conditions.
Will any of these visionary projects ever be constructed? It’s hard to say, especially considering all of the questions we posed at the beginning. It’s also difficult to conceive how they could be built without significant progress in new technologies, most notably advanced nanotech, or molecular manufacturing. But when that comes about, then who knows? These projects might then be looked at as little more than child’s play.
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