Tokyo Sky City

[DoctorP]

Has anyone read or heard of this?

The plan has been around for a while now, and I have studied it in some of my classes. I was watching Extreme Engineering the other day, and they were showing how the Japanese plan to implement this idea using many techniques copied from Taipai.

Here is a great Discovery Channel Link (http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/engineering/skycity/interactive/interactive.html) to show you what it is about.

The basic idea is to put work, housing, shopping and parks all in the same area...hell, in the same building. It would cut down on traffic and pollution all at once. It would also cut down on the amount of space needed for large cities. It is basically a city built up instead of out! High instead of wide.

Here are some other links too:

A forum discussion on the topic (http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread130697/pg1)

Wiki article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sky_City_1000)


After watching the show and doing some more digging, I believe the Japanese will probably pull this idea off someday (within 30 years). I think it is a great idea for large cities such as Tokyo, Osaka, LA, New York and the like.

Any thoughts?

[DougP]

Yup I've seen this before. Looks like it would be pretty awesome. There's already a few mega structures being built right now. Like the Burj Dubai in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Wiki link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burj_Dubai
and official homepage: http://www.burjdubai.com/ This one has already broke records.
September 12, 2007
At 555.3 m (1,822 ft), Burj Dubai becomes the world's tallest freestanding structure, surpassing the CN Tower in Toronto, Canada.
As of 24 Oct. this year it was already up to the 156th floor at an impressive 585.7m in height. Its projected to have 164 floor and stand at~818m (2,684 ft) upon completion.

Another project going on is the Chicago Spire which is scheduled to be completed in 2001 and have 150 floors and stand at around 200ft or 609.6m.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Spire
the official site seems to be down at the moment.

I wouldn't be surprised if they keep building these things higher and higher.

[DoctorP]

Yeah but those are just buildings. This will be a community. Stores, work space, stadium, housing, parks, you name it...all with internal transportation.

The idea is not to build the highest building, but to save space.

[DougP]

Heres a look at what it will look like when finished and a comparison in height with other structures.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/DougGTR32/250px-Burj_Dubai.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/DougGTR32/180px-BurjDubaiHeight.png

[DougP]

Yeah but those are just buildings. This will be a community. Stores, work space, stadium, housing, parks, you name it...all with internal transportation.

The idea is not to build the highest building, but to save space.

Ah gotcha well either way I still think they're all pretty damn impressive.
There's another one I was reading about.. A community/city in one structure. Lemme see if I can find it.

[DougP]

Ah ok found the link to it on the wiki link you posted.:D
The Shimizu Mega-City Pyramid.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shimizu_Mega-City_Pyramid
The building would be zoned into residential, commercial and leisure areas. 50 km² will be given over to some 240,000 housing units, enough for 750,000 people. Each building would have its own energy resources (sun and wind). 24 km² will be assigned to offices and commercial facilities intended to employ 800,000 people. The remaining 14 km² would be used for research and leisure purposes.

The structure would be 2,004 meters (6,575 feet) high and would answer Tokyo's increasing lack of space.

[DoctorP]

Yes...I read that one. But it is not really considered an option right now as the material is not presently available. It is still stuck on paper.

The sky city one is actually capable of being built right now...it is just really, really expensive!

[DougP]

I agree the Sky City is a definite possibility. That pyramid thing looks like it would take a long long time to complete. Wonder if we'll see sky city in our life time.