Thursday 17 July 2014

Invisible Cities Project: Solari

There is a depressing sameness that pervades our urban spaces – deepened by the dulling realization that 50% of urban space is reserved for motor car use.

Perhaps the most radical modern architect was Paolo Soleri – who I have just learned died at the end of 2013.  Soleri envisioned cities where motor vehicles were excluded from urban space – and where urban space was re-engineered into fantastic shapes.  His cities have never been built – although a small model village has been under construction at Arcosanti in Arizona since 1970.

Below, I have imagined one of Soleri’s fantastical designs – the Hexahedron – a self-contained urban environment - on the Monaro Plains.  




If ever built, the city would replace a traditional flat surface city covering many square kilometres, with competitively small impacts on the environment.  The compact size would eliminate most transport costs and reduce power grid losses in larger areas.



Peter Quinton
Palerang
17 July 2015



http://www.archdaily.com/159763/paolo-soleris-arcosanti-the-city-in-the-image-of-man/arcobp/
http://megaestructuras.tumblr.com/

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Keep this going please, great job!