Japan's Arcology

[Bailey]

http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/engineering/skycity/interactive/interactive.html

there'll be problems building this, but if they can pull it off...

[Red Fighter 1073]

there'll be problems building this, but if they can pull it off...it would be incredible. it would be like the perfect utopian kind of society. though, it would NEED a utopian society to build. what with terrorism and natural disasters. i would sure love to see it built, but im a little skeptical on how long it will last.

[Wolf99x]

Well, that was a nice pessimistic view, but also slightly realistic as well.

In all fairness, yes the Sky City will face problems. but mostly not in the form of terrorism. I think the only major Terror attack that has ever hit Japan was the Sarin Gas attacks in their subway.

Also, it's not like terrorists across the globe will see this city and say "let's knock it down". No, they need a politically motivated reason. Right now, I doubt that they have one. Of course, should terrorism take root wthin the city...but I digress.

As for natural disasters, I bet they're taking earthquakes into consideration. also, large mountains usually are only slightly affected by quakes, so I'm guessing the sheer size of the Sky City will play into it's resistance to natural disasters.

Also, it's not like their trying to create utopia per se, just make the world a slightly better place by doing numerous things.

Personally I think this is a good way to solve the urban crowding problem, and if it could be pulled off...then all the more power to 'em.

[Lockeownzj00]

How would it be a utopian society? Because it's in the air? That doesn't make sense.

It's not even about making the world a "slightly better place..." it's just another architectural advancement.

And why no terrorism? Remember that one Cowboy Bebop episode? Yes, it is fiction, but it holds a very real point: eco-terrorists, and those who view the expansion of cities to be a form of power-hungry consumption. I can see this being under fire.

[Wolf99x]

If you noticed, I changed my post to relflect that terrorism would possibly occur. Also, on that info page on the sky city they pointed out how it would have a decreased temperature profile, thus making global warming slightly less.

Ergo, world becomes slightly better place.

[Nique]

Meet George Jetson...
Jane, his wife!
His boy Elroy...

This is a really good idea. I would totally live in that, and work at (deep voice) 'The Core'

You would need deep anchors in the earth to support and protect the structure... We'd need some really advanced technology for some other big problems like falling debris etc..

[adamark]

I didn't see what scale they are planning to build this on, but what if they found a triangular mountain range, where each mountain would be the base of the foundation? that wouldn't be practical, it would take 100 years to build it.

if they were to build it, they should build it over thermal vents so that geothermal energy was it's source of all its energy needs. also, have parts of the outside covered with solar panels.

[MFD]

Three times as tall as the Eiffel Tower.

[Nique]

I didn't see what scale they are planning to build this on, but what if they found a triangular mountain range, where each mountain would be the base of the foundation? that wouldn't be practical, it would take 100 years to build it.


But it would be very, very awsome.

The scale is pretty large- i think they compared ONE of the cilendrical towers to the effiel tower, and it was like 2 -to- 3 times the height or more.

[Wolf99x]

yeah, and I don't think they're building it on top of mountains.

however they're going to build it, technological advances are definetely necessary, especially in building material.

[Dangerskew]

Reminds me of Coruscant.

[The_Phat_G]

This would truly be a wonder if they pulled it off. I'm sure earthquakes are the first thing on their mind, since that seems to be the most common natural disaster in Japan, followed closely by typhoons. With a projected population of 35,000, it wouldn't be so much a city as a massive town. In the sky. I'm sure that plenty of governments would like to get behind this, because if it works, it could solve lots of problems for lots of counties.

[MFD]

New plan:

1. Kidnap the Japanese architects.

2. Create New New Orleans.

3. Take over the world.

[Bailey]

technological advances are definetely necessary, especially in building material.
the program that I saw this on mentioned that they were planning on using something new called nanotubes which apparently
1) are very strong
2) build themselves under the right conditions

also, good to see you MFD.

[Wolf99x]

Yeah, I've heard a bit about nanotubes. If they could utilize those, that would solve about half the construction and durability problems right there.

[BitVyper]

How would it be a utopian society? Because it's in the air? That doesn't make sense.

Well, fantasy and science fiction have taught me a few things:

City underground: evil. Even if the denizens aren't totally evil, they're forced to do evil things.

City above ground: Baseline. Normal inhabitants with normal problems. Depends slightly on the region.

City on stilts: Not a utopia, but has generally pleasant people, and few problems. Occasionally the city on stilts is run by a 1984-esque government (See: Xenogears, Generator Gawl).

Flying city: Utopia. Even better if it has flying inhabitants. Do not confuse flying cities with flying castles, or space stations, as these follow their own rules.

City underwater: Often a utopia, but very easily destroyed.

Anyway, the taller you build something, the closer you get to heaven. Haven't you read the story of Babel? Duh.

[Nique]

City underground: evil. Even if the denizens aren't totally evil, they're forced to do evil things.

City above ground: Baseline. Normal inhabitants with normal problems. Depends slightly on the region.

City on stilts: Not a utopia, but has generally pleasant people, and few problems. Occasionally the city on stilts is run by a 1984-esque government (See: Xenogears, Generator Gawl).

Flying city: Utopia. Even better if it has flying inhabitants. Do not confuse flying cities with flying castles, or space stations, as these follow their own rules.

City underwater: Often a utopia, but very easily destroyed.

We'll have to test this theory sometime... Maybe we could have a life sim recreate such evironments.

[Wolf99x]

Well, Will Wright could just make another version of Sim City with all those available, and then we could test the theory with a minimal loss of real life.

...I think.

[Nique]

I can see it now...

"H4X! My Underground city just turned into morlocks, and also my sim lit himself on fire while cooking - D4mm1t!!1!

[Wolf99x]

"Now I must plead with death so that-OHMIGOD Burglar!"

"and to top it all off, i'm late for work. eh to hell with this I'll just strip down to my skivvies and pass out in the middle of the floor."

[Dragonsbane]

Of course, cities on stilts over a swamp are slightly eviler than a normal aboveground city.

Also, flying cities that soar high above a wretched populace of serfs are generally somewhat evil, in an aristocratic, oppressive manner.

[BitVyper]

Also, flying cities that soar high above a wretched populace of serfs are generally somewhat evil, in an aristocratic, oppressive manner.

True, but said cities are typically a utopia for the people who live there. Zeal is a good example of this. The only particularly nasty place was the castle, and like I said, flying castles follow a whole different set of rules. Then again, the kingdom of Zeal is more of a floating continent, but those usually follow the same rules as cities, so long as they're civilised. Ashuriana was on a floating island too, and it was pretty nice. Unfortunately, floating continents are as easily destroyed as underwater cities, sometimes even moreso.

[Danath]

Well this would take a heck of a time to build. But this building is plausable and it looks cool to boot. Although personally i would not want to live at the top or even possibly the middle of the building.

Dunno if this has been thought of but the attraction of skydivers to jump off the thing would most likely happen.

as for terrorism it could possibly happen. but im sure they will think of some sort of countermeasures if it does happen.