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Arcology, a portmanteau of "architecture" and "ecology", [2] is a field of creating architectural design principles for very densely populated and ecologically low-impact human habitats.
The term was coined in 1969 by architect Paolo Soleri, who believed that a completed arcology would provide space for a variety of residential, commercial, and agricultural facilities while minimizing individual human environmental impact. [3] These structures have been largely hypothetical, as no large-scale arcology has yet been built.
The concept has been popularized by various science fiction writers. Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle provided a detailed description of an arcology in their 1981 novel Oath of Fealty . William Gibson mainstreamed the term in his seminal 1984 cyberpunk novel Neuromancer , where each corporation has its own self-contained city known as an arcology. More recently, authors such as Peter Hamilton in Neutronium Alchemist and Paolo Bacigalupi in The Water Knife explicitly used arcologies as part of their scenarios. They are often portrayed as self-contained or economically self-sufficient.
This section possibly contains original research .(August 2023) |
An arcology is distinguished from a merely large building in that it is designed to lessen the impact of human habitation on any given ecosystem. It could be self-sustainable, employing all or most of its own available resources for a comfortable life: power, climate control, food production, air and water conservation and purification, sewage treatment, etc. An arcology is designed to make it possible to supply those items for a large population. An arcology would supply and maintain its own municipal or urban infrastructures in order to operate and connect with other urban environments apart from its own.
Arcologies were proposed in order to reduce human impact on natural resources. Arcology designs might apply conventional building and civil engineering techniques in very large, but practical projects in order to achieve pedestrian economies of scale that have proven, post-automobile, to be difficult to achieve in other ways.
Frank Lloyd Wright proposed an early version [4] called Broadacre City although, in contrast to an arcology, his idea is comparatively two-dimensional and depends on a road network. Wright's plan described transportation, agriculture, and commerce systems that would support an economy. Critics said that Wright's solution failed to account for population growth, and assumed a more rigid democracy than the US actually has.
Buckminster Fuller proposed the Old Man River's City project, a domed city with a capacity of 125,000, as a solution to the housing problems in East St. Louis, Illinois.
Paolo Soleri proposed later solutions, and coined the term "arcology". [5] Soleri describes ways of compacting city structures in three dimensions to combat two-dimensional urban sprawl, to economize on transportation and other energy uses. Like Wright, Soleri proposed changes in transportation, agriculture, and commerce. Soleri explored reductions in resource consumption and duplication, land reclamation; he also proposed to eliminate most private transportation. He advocated for greater "frugality" and favored greater use of shared social resources, including public transit (and public libraries).
Arcosanti is an experimental "arcology prototype", a demonstration project under construction in central Arizona since 1970. Designed by Paolo Soleri, its primary purpose is to demonstrate Soleri's personal designs, his application of principles of arcology to create a pedestrian-friendly urban form.
Many cities in the world have proposed projects adhering to the design principles of the arcology concept, like Tokyo, and Dongtan near Shanghai. [6] The Dongtan project may have collapsed, and it failed to open for the Shanghai World Expo in 2010. [7] The Ihme-Zentrum in Hanover was an attempt to build a "city within a city".
McMurdo Station of the United States Antarctic Program and other scientific research stations on Antarctica resemble the popular conception of an arcology as a technologically advanced, relatively self-sufficient human community. The Antarctic research base provides living and entertainment amenities for roughly 3,000 staff who visit each year. Its remoteness and the measures needed to protect its population from the harsh environment give it an insular character. The station is not self-sufficient –the U.S. military delivers 30,000,000 liters (8,000,000 US gal) of fuel and 5 kilotonnes (11 million pounds) of supplies and equipment yearly through its Operation Deep Freeze resupply effort [8] –but it is isolated from conventional support networks. Under international treaty, it must avoid damage to the surrounding ecosystem.
Begich Towers operates like a small-scale arcology encompassing nearly all of the population of Whittier, Alaska. The building contains residential housing as well as a police station, grocery, and municipal offices. Whittier once boasted a second structure known as the Buckner Building. The Buckner Building still stands but was deemed unfit for habitation after the 1969 earthquake. [9]
The Line was planned as a 170 kilometres (110 mi) long and 200 metres (660 ft) wide linear smart city in Saudi Arabia in Neom, Tabuk Province, designed to have no cars, streets or carbon emissions. [10] [11] [12] [13] The Line is planned to be the first development in Neom, a $500 billion project. [14] [15] The city's plans anticipated a population of 9 million. [16] Excavation work had started along the entire length of the project by October 2022. However, the project was scaled down in 2024 to 2.4 kilometres (1.5 mi) long, housing 300,000 people. [17]
Most proposals to build real arcologies have failed due to financial, structural or conceptual shortcomings. Arcologies are therefore found primarily in fictional works. [18] [19]
Paolo Soleri was an American architect and urban planner. He established the educational Cosanti Foundation and Arcosanti. Soleri was a lecturer in the College of Architecture at Arizona State University and a National Design Award recipient in 2006. He coined the concept of 'arcology' – a synthesis of architecture and ecology as the philosophy of democratic society. He died at home of natural causes on 9 April 2013 at the age of 93.
Arcosanti is an experimental town with a bronze bell casting business in Yavapai County, central Arizona, United States, 70 mi (110 km) north of Phoenix, at an elevation of 3,732 feet (1,138 m). Its arcology concept was proposed by Italian-American architect Paolo Soleri (1919–2013). He began construction in 1970 to demonstrate how urban conditions could be improved while minimizing the destructive impact on the Earth. He taught and influenced generations of architects and urban designers who studied and worked with him there to build the proposed town.
Cosanti is the gallery and studio of Italian-American architect Paolo Soleri; it was his residence until his death in 2013. Located in Paradise Valley, Arizona, USA, it has become an Arizona Historic Site open to the public. Cosanti is marked by terraced landscaping, experimental earth-formed concrete structures, and sculptural wind-bells.
Tabuk is a province of Saudi Arabia, located along the northwestern coast of the country, facing Egypt across the Red Sea. It has an area of 146,072 km2 and a population of 910,030 (2017). Its capital is Tabuk. The governor is Fahd bin Sultan since 1987. In recent years, the province has received substantial media attention due to the Saudi government's planned Neom City project in the province.
Sky City 1000 is a proposed skyscraper for the Tokyo metropolitan area. It was announced in 1989 at the height of the Japanese asset price bubble.
The World Inside is a science fiction novel by American writer Robert Silverberg, published in 1971. The novel originally appeared as a series of shorter works in 1970 and 1971, all but one published in Galaxy, including the Hugo nominated novella "The World Outside". The World Inside was nominated for a Hugo Award in 1972, although Silverberg declined the nomination.
Will Bruder is an American architect.
The Shimizu TRY 2004 Mega-City Pyramid is a proposed Shimizu Corporation project for the construction of a massive self-sustaining arcology-pyramid over Tokyo Bay in Japan that would have businesses, parks, and other services contained within the building. The structure would house 1,000,000 people. The structure would be 2,004 meters high, including five stacked trusses, each with similar dimensions to that of the Great Pyramid of Giza. This pyramid would help answer Tokyo's increasing lack of space, although the project would only handle a small fraction of the population of the Greater Tokyo Area.
The Saudi–Egypt Causeway is a proposal to link Egypt and Saudi Arabia with a causeway and bridge.
Yona Friedman was a Hungarian-born French architect, urban planner and designer. He was influential in the late 1950s and early 1960s, best known for his theory of "mobile architecture". In 2018, on his 95th birthday he was awarded the Austrian Frederick Kiesler Prize for Architecture and the Arts.
Solar power in Saudi Arabia has become more important to the country as oil prices have risen. Saudi Arabia is located in the Arabian Peninsula, where it receives 12 hours of sun a day. Saudi Arabia has the potential to supply its electrical needs solely with solar power. As the largest oil producer and exporter in the world and one of the largest carbon dioxide producers Saudi Arabia would set an important precedent in renewable energy by shifting to solar power. In 2021, 60.89% of energy consumed was produced by burning oil. The Saudi agency in charge of developing the nations renewable energy sector, Ka-care, announced in May 2012 that the nation would install 41 gigawatts (GW) of solar capacity by 2032. It was projected to be composed of 25 GW of solar thermal, and 16 GW of photovoltaics. At the time of this announcement, Saudi Arabia had only 0.003 gigawatts of installed solar energy capacity. A total of 54 GW was expected by 2032, and 24 GW was expected in 2020, which was never reached. 1,100 megawatts (MW) of photovoltaics and 900 megawatts of concentrated solar thermal (CSP) was expected to be completed by early 2013. Also in 2013, solar power in Saudi Arabia had achieved grid parity and was able to produce electricity at costs comparable to conventional sources.
Ziggurat Pyramid is a pyramid-shaped arcology that was conceived for Dubai in 2008. It was estimated to start construction in 2025 and be completed by 2031.
Saudi Vision 2030 is a government program launched by Saudi Arabia which aims to achieve the goal of increased diversification economically, socially, and culturally, in line with the vision of Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman. It was first announced on 25 April 2016 by the Saudi government.
The desert-covered Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the geographically largest country in the Middle East. Moreover, it accounts for 65% of the overall population of the GCC countries and 42% of its GDP. Saudi Arabia does not have a strong history in environmentalism. Thus, as the number of population increases and the industrial activity grows, environmental issues pose a real challenge to the country.
Neom is an urban area being built by Saudi Arabia in Tabuk Province. Launched in 2017 by crown prince Mohammad bin Salman, the site is at the northern tip of the Red Sea, due east of Egypt across the Gulf of Aqaba and south of Jordan. The total planned area of Neom is 26,500 km2 (10,200 sq mi). Multiple regions are planned, including a floating industrial complex, global trade hub, tourist resorts, and a linear city powered by renewable energy sources. Saudi Arabia claimed that NEOM would create around 460,000 jobs and add an estimated $48 billion to the country's GDP. Thousands of people have been forcibly moved to make way for the project and villages have been razed.
The Line is a conceptual linear smart city in Saudi Arabia in Neom, Tabuk Province, housed in a single building, that is designed to have no cars, streets or carbon emissions. The original plans called for the city to span 170 kilometres (110 mi) at a height of 500 m (1,600 ft) and a width of 200 metres (660 ft) sized to accommodate a population of 9 million. The Line would have an entirely glass mirror exterior. The plan calls for all basic services to be within a five-minute walking distance.
The Arizona Cancer Center Chapel also known as the Soleri Chapel or the "De Bonis Chapel" is a distinctive architectural resource located within the University of Arizona Cancer Center at 1515 North Campbell Avenue in Tucson, Arizona. Designed by the internationally renowned Italian-American architect Paolo Soleri and built in 1986, the chapel reflects Soleri's vision and commitment to blending art, architecture, and nature. The late twentieth-century design is a rare example of Soleri's architectural work in southern Arizona.
Abdul Rahim Ahmad Mahmoud al-Huwaiti was a Saudi citizen and member of the Howeitat tribe, known for his resistance against the Saudi government's eviction orders for a mega-project. A government employee at the Ministry of Finance, al-Huwaiti became a symbol of protest after he was killed by Saudi security forces in April 2020, following his refusal to give up his ancestral land. His death sparked international criticism and brought attention to the impact of Saudi Arabia's Neom project on the local population.
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Further reading
Usage of "arcology" vs. "hyperstructure"