Floating cities

Happy New Year from everyone at Anzu!

I just came across this article in Vogue Living Australia, on new architectural suggestions to help with climate change. I love the futuristic almost fantastical look of a lot of the designs. Belgian architect Vincent Callebaut predicts that rising ocean levels will spawn half-aquatic cities with planted housing. Ahove is one of his Lilypads, a floating ecopolis for climate refugees (www.vincent.callebaut.org)

The above proposal by Daekwon Park features stackable modules, which have garden units included.

This is how Seoul commune will actually look in 2026, where towers will become the park (www.massstudies.com). Green roofs, the article states, are quietly but effectively addressing eco-doom and have a variety of benefits including reducing energy use of a building by up to 25%. These real life plans look so fantastical to me though, that they remind me of drawings of Tintin submarines or Studio Ghibli's castles (whether it's from his "Castles in the sky or Howl's moving castle animated films).

Above Studio Ghibli's animated Castles in the sky, and below Howl's moving castle. Could the real thing be so magical? I hope so.

And of course plans such as these couldn't fail to remind of Fritz Lang's incredible vision of the future in his film, Metropolis. He was so ahead of his time in 1927, to me it looks rather like Tokyo!. I wonder what he would be envisaging for the future if he was alive today?