Until now, these cities have been the hosts of huge buildings, but now a new idea called archology by architecture to build Cities inside skyscrapers has been raised
Ideas Arcology It was first heard from the architect named “Paolo Soleri” in 1969. This word is formed from the combination of two terms architecture and ecology. Many science fiction stories have been adapted from Solari’s ideas. For example, movies like Dredd and Skyscraper are inspired by this idea. However, details about the construction and operation of cities inside superstructures have not been provided so far. It should be said that Solari sought to combine buildings with ecological philosophy. A year later, he started working on Arcosanti to build an experimental city with the same idea in America.
Now, however, Saudi Arabia, through an attractive project called “The Line”, plans to bring about 9 million people in one 170 km long horizontal skyscraper put “Khat” will use solar energy and wind turbines to provide its energy, but it will still need sources outside of this superstructure to meet some of its needs, including food.
Read more: The beginning of The Line project in Saudi Arabia; A 170-kilometer linear city of the Saudis on the Persian Gulf!
The challenges of building cities inside superstructures
nowadays Cities inside skyscrapers to one of the main foundations of human settlements in stories futuristic And it has become fiction. These residences have all the infrastructure needed for human life.
In order to examine as many archological samples as possible, a closer look should be taken South Pole to have; Where almost all human settlements function independently and self-sufficiently. for example McMurdo Station It houses about 3,000 researchers and crew, but nevertheless receives a large amount of its food and fuel needs from external sources each year.
The first challenge to build a building of this size is that in order to bear the heavy weight of the building, a huge infrastructure must be built for it. “Manika Insperger”, the construction engineer of BSP Consulting company, says about this: “The load of this building will be very high, but not to the extent that it will make it impossible to build, the construction of this infrastructure will only require more money.”
The next important challenge is the discussion energy production Is. technologies renewable energy Like Solar Panels And Wind turbines They are able to be placed comfortably on the exterior of an arcology, but supplying the power needed by an entire city is not something that can be done by renewable energies alone. Because these sources are available only sometimes, so other facilities should be used to generate energy as a backup and store excess energy.
Nuclear reactors They will be one of the alternative solutions for energy production. Small modular reactors (SMR), are among the reactors that are better than large reactors in terms of safety and can be used in these buildings. But this idea itself will bring the problem of nuclear waste. Fusion reactors Although they are safer and cleaner than nuclear fission reactors, they are not small in size and the cost of using them is high.
Wind effect will be a bigger challenge in a building of this height. Wind pressure is not a concern for normal buildings, but superstructures such as the Burj Khalifa in Dubai must be carefully checked before construction to measure its resistance to strong winds and the resulting sway. Taweh is the effect of wind on the surface of the building and creating a space with low pressure on the other side.
It should be noted that the Tacoma Narrows Bridge in Washington, USA, collapsed in 1940 due to strong winds that caused frequent oscillations of this structure. “Adrian Smith”, the architect of many great buildings including Burj Khalifa He said in this regard:
One of the ways to reduce the noise is to change the shape of the building from the bottom to the top. If you don’t change the shape of the building, it will have a chance to strengthen and create waves of movement. These waves coordinate with the structure of the building and provide conditions for its collapse.
Another problem to discuss food production Is. Common farming methods are not possible in a building, and one of the solutions is vertical water culture farming, but the light required for farming increases the demand for energy, and of course, the possibility of not having enough space to provide food for all people is a challenge in itself. is another Also, in order to supply water in these buildings, water purification in different ways can be a good solution.
Read more: Watch: Skyscrapers Designed by Midjourney’s AI!
The needs of building cities inside superstructures
Although it is possible to build an arcology on paper, at least from a construction point of view, it requires a lot of engineering innovations. One of the most important issues to be solved in this idea is ability Supplying the required energy and food residents of these buildings and providing a suitable plan for waste management. Critics of this plan claim that such an idea will not be economical at all, at least in the near future.
Regarding the necessary materials for the construction of these buildings, due to climate changes, we have to experience many changes in this field. Because the carbon pollution due to cement production is more than that of the aviation industry. One of the alternative materials for this purpose is probably wooden logs. Obtaining these timbers is done by planting trees which themselves cause Reducing carbon pollution are on the ground
In addition, some people say that living permanently in an enclosed and closed space cannot be an attractive experience, but it is encouraging to think that it is possible to build such buildings so that we can take refuge inside these giant structures in case of various disasters.
Manika Insperger added: “I never say that nothing can be built. Everything can be built, but there must be a specific purpose and need for it.”
Anyway, according to Increase in the population of the planetIt will not be possible to continue the horizontal development of cities forever. As a result, the development of cities towards the sky will be inevitable. But maybe it is better to connect several buildings using land bridges instead of building a giant superstructure. On the other hand, if many skyscrapers are to be built next to each other, the residents of the lower floors will be deprived of the blessing of sunlight.
It should be noted that not all countries seek to exploit this idea. In 2021, China announced a ban on the construction of buildings taller than 500 meters, and has also considered many strictures for the construction of buildings taller than 250 meters.
Read more:
What do you think about the idea of building cities inside skyscrapers? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section Technology News With duplicate follow.