Cybertecture: The Egg, Mumbai (India)

Going on with the same topic as the last post, but this time moving farther away, I came across some very interesting information about this project. The Cybertecture Egg is the latest design of James Law, the egg-shaped high-tech building will be the iconic architecture, environmental design, intelligent systems, and an awe-inspiring landmark in Mumbai.

This city is said to be the most populated in the world, according to several estimations, taking into account that a lot of Mumbai´s citizens are under the poverty threshold and are not even in the official census. Although the image that western countries´ inhabitants may have of India has nothing to do with richness and technology, Indian tech-students are probably the best qualified in the world, and according to Forbes´s last list of billionaires, 4th and 5th places of the ranking are hold by Indians. Mumbai is also home of the Indian biggest stock exchange, which is also one of the biggest and most important in Asia.

Projects like this one are what the city needs to change its image to the rest of the world. The 32,000 squared metres egg-shaped build will accommodate 13 floors of offices. The concept was inspired, according to the designers, by considering the world as an ecosystem allowing life to evolve. Elements of the design and intelligent systems will work together to give the building’s inhabitants the ‘best space to work in’. This includes monitoring their health. Within the building, there will be a series of innovative systems such as ‘cybertecture health’ in the washroom which is designed to keep track of the inhabitant’s health including blood pressure and weight. The data collected may be retrieved and sent to a doctor if deemed necessary.

The building incorporates passive solar design to decrease heat gain and lower energy loads. An elevated garden also moderates temperature by using natural vegetation to assist with cooling the building envelope. The Cybertecture Egg will use solar photovoltaic panels and rooftop wind turbines to generate onsite electricity. Water conservation will be managed with a grey water recycling system that will harvest water for irrigation and landscaping.

It is also said that we can see this futuristic “Cybertecture Egg” building by the end of 2010. We are going to have to wait and let´s see if this is finally constructed, but for now, here are some of the pictures of the project:

The Deathstar

Yet again in Dubai, another wacky proposal, this time is called the Deathstar (yes, like in Star Wars, though now, in modern times, it´s an Eco Deathstar). This has been a project for some years now, and the fact is that there is a technopark being built in Dubai, where is also supposed that this building will be constructed. But it´s still a project.

Anyway, here´s what we may see in the future if this becomes real:



This project is also known as the Technosphere, and is said that it´s not, apparently, based on Star Wars’ infamous Deathstar, but instead on a Japanese Panasonic radio from the early 1970s.

It replicates the Earth as a structural concept. Inside the eco-sphere is an entire world which serves as a vehicle to explore the issues of self-sustaining life on a smaller level. The Technosphere is meant to reflect the state of our planet in current and future times. Proposed as an iconic building for the Technopark of Dubai, the eco-sphere would be a carbon neutral tourist attraction as well as a place in which to live and work.

The Technosphere is a mixed-use building providing office and residential space as well as a hotel and public courtyards. This living, breathing building operates in a similar fashion to the Earth itself, providing energy, recycling water, and providing sustenance to its occupants. The exterior forms a shell around the interior spaces and will house solar panels for electricity generation. Inside, sky gardens act to shield the interior spaces from the sun and filter the air to contribute fresh oxygen to the indoor environment. Water will be recycled and efficiently used.

The project was designed by the architect James Law, known for his work in `cybertecture´, which is a combination of advanced technologies, architecture, and multimedia experiences for users. This new design, the Technosphere, was presented at the UltraFuture Conference in 2008, during which the Future of the Built Environment was explored.

Who knows if this will ever be built, but seeeing all this craziness with mega building projects, sooner or later a building similar to this will become true.

Here´s another picture of the project:

Pivoting skyscrapers

What´s the deal with pivoting skyscrapers? Are they going to be new icons in every major city? For now, they are expected to be a reality in Dubai and Moscow by 2010, but delays are expected. The works began back in 2008, and just a few people knew about the project then. Now, they are becoming more popular and more investors get interested in these skyscrapers.

I think that the Dubai and Moscow towers will be only the beginning, if the idea works well, we will probably see pivoting skyscrapers in most big cities around the world. They are expensive to build, but if they are sold well, the return of investment is certainly worth it, and so is the tourism and millionaires coming to the city where the skyscraper is placed.

For a further explanation of these new kind of buildings, here´s a document taken from scribd, which most likely will clarify some common doubts. A staggering fact that I found out with this document was that each inhabitant will park his/her park by his/her appartment.

Pivoting Skyscrapers

The tallest buildings in the world

As a preview of the next entries, here´s a slide presentation featuring the top ten tallest buildings in the world, taken from slideshare. From the pyramids to the Burj Khalifa, going through very remarkable skyscrapers built in New York City during the last century, such as the Flatiron Building, the Empire State Building and the World Trade Center (Twin Towers). I hope you enjoy the presentation and think about the fact that, in contrast to what most people think, 5 out of 10 of the tallest skyscrapers in the world are in China (including Taiwan and Hong Kong).

Skyscrapers

The beginning of a new era

This century could be a shifting time for humanity, regarding the last big projects constructed, the buildings that are currently under construction, or the ones that are only models.

We have seen huge changes in the history of buildings, from adpated caves to wooden constructions, or last century´s most commonly material used: concrete. We have also seen buildings grow from 2 to hundreds of metres. But this time, the change is not only in terms of materials and height, but also in design and, whats more important, in creating living environments inside the buildings, as if they were small cities.

The inflection point has come with the recent construction of the Burj Khalifa (known as Burj Dubai during its construction process). Built in the new cradle of skyscrapers, the Burj Khalifa is the tallest building in the world, surpassing the last record by more than 300 metres, held by Taipei 101. But this is not the only record that this building has crashed, some other examples are:

• World´s tallest structure ever built, preceded by Warsaw Radio Mast.
• World´s tallest free-standing structure, preceded by CN Tower.
• Building with most floors, precede by Willis Tower (formerly known as Sears Tower).
• Highest outdoor observation deck in the world.

The building itself has beaten up to 14 records, but if we look at what´s surrounding the building, we would realise that the project was from the beginning even bigger than just constructing the tallest building in the world. For instance, the Dubai Fountain at the bottom of the tower is the biggest fountain spectacle in the world, beating the Bellagio fountain´s spectale in Las Vegas, which was designed by the same company that designed the Dubai Fountain. Furthermore, the Burj Khalifa is surrounded by a 27-acre park, which has six water features, gardens, palm lined walkways, and flowering trees.

But all these facts and figures, all these records crashed wouldn´t mean anything if we dont know what´s the building being used for. And here is what´s going to be changed by the future projects, because the Burj Khalifa is mainly used, as many other skyscrapers, for offices, residences and corporate suites, communication and broadcast, and it also features the first Armani Hotel in the world.

From now on, this is about to be changed, as some of the most ambitious projects are concieved to hold not only residences, hotels and offices, but also a whole environment to provide everything that someone would need to live inside a building, and therefore creating vertical cities.

Here´s a short promotional video of the construction process of the Burj Khalifa, recorded by one of its builders (Samsung Engineers):