You probably never thought the future would look like this.
New Orleans Arcology Habitat
In the effort to rebuild New Orleans in the wake of 2005′s Hurricane Katrina, the New Orleans Arcology Habitat has been proposed. The concept includes hotels, condominiums, commercial property, and even casinos, all of which could potentially breathe new life into the New Orleans economy. As currently depicted, the habitat would float on the surface of the water within an enclosed basin near the Mississippi riverfront and the central business district. How’s that for futuristic?
Spaceport America
Richard Branson’s dream is almost a reality with the completion of Spaceport America, Virgin Galactic’s hub for future commercial space travel and the first commercial spaceport in the world. The design is sleek and futuristic, with green technology built right in. Solar panels on the roof generate much of the building’s power. Located near Las Cruces, New Mexico, the facility has already seen 10 successful suborbital flights. In addition to ushering million-dollar flights into space, the company has already been awarded contracts with NASA to help resupply the International Space Station.
Mega-Pyramid City Design
Pyramids have been involved in human engineering designs since the days of the Egyptian pharaohs. But the mega-pyramid city concept would put even the largest Egyptian pyramid to shame with its size and grandeur. Imagine an entire city inside of a structural pyramid 12 times higher than the Great Pyramid of Giza. If that isn’t impressive enough, the concept is designed to hold up to 750,000 residents floating in Tokyo bay, with skyscrapers dangling from its skeletal structure. Apparently, floating cities are going to be a thing in the future.
Kingdom Tower
The Kingdom Tower, located in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, will be the tallest building on Earth if completed. At 3,280′ tall and a construction area of 5.7 million square feet, this is no simple building project. The building is to be the home of a luxury hotel, office space, luxury condominiums, serviced apartments, and the world’s highest observatory. The building will be serviced by a total of 59 elevators, the fastest of which will take visitors to the observatory at a rate of 10 meters per second. It could be the next best thing to an amusement park visit if you’re in the area!
Kuwait Airport
Construction of the new Kuwait International Airport is scheduled for 2012. This project takes an environmentally friendly stance that could put it at the top of the green airport list. Utilizing solar panels to capture the sun’s energy and glazed glass to reflect the sun’s rays, the building is designed to take advantage of the desert’s exposure to the sun while minimizing the effects of the heat. In addition, the project is aiming for an award no other airport has ever achieved: LEED Gold Approval.
Trio Vertical Garden
The Trio Vertical Garden, located in Sydney, Australia, is one of many projects by green architect and designer Patrick Blanc. The project was started in July 2009 by implanting seedlings into a felt canvas attached to the side of the apartment complex. Within a few months, the plants took off, and the rest is history. Part art and part functionality, this truly green building concept can help control heating and cooling costs as well as adding a unique visual element to the landscape.
Taiwan Tower
This unique design, called a „21st-Century Oasis,“ was the first-place winner in the Taiwan Tower International Competition. The 300-meter tower would provide a rooftop garden as well as a shaded outdoor space within its structure. The structural elements of the tower are inspired by the Taiwanese banyan tree. Green elements of this project include rainwater harvesting, solar hot water panels, wind turbines, ground source heat pump, and natural ventilation. The appealing, streamlined architecture and rooftop garden would be visible from everywhere within the city.
Ermitage House
What would you do with an alleyway space that was only 133 centimeters at its widest point? Until now, this particular alleyway, located in Warsaw, Poland, was unofficially just a place where trash ended up being tossed. However, with the design help of Centrala, this small space called the Ermitage House has the opportunity to become one of the most unique „houses“ in the world. It will function as a work studio for the Israeli writer Etgar Keret once completed. So why is this futuristic? With the geometric progression of the current world population, mankind may just be forced to make a home’s footprint as small as possible, at least in congested urban environments.
Project Utopia Floating Island
With our last entry, we’re back to the water and a floating design. This one isn’t big enough to be a full city, but it is equivalent in volume to a present-day cruise liner. Measuring 100 meters across and comprised of more than 11 decks, there is plenty of room on this luxury… yacht? Project Utopia isn’t designed to move or travel but rather as a stationary destination out in the wild blue yonder. With an observation deck rising 65 meters above sea level and providing a 365-degree view of the surrounding ocean, it sounds like quite a unique destination. Could this be a future port of call for cruise liners and private yachts?
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