Back in August, as part of a promotional campaign for Season 3 of The Walking Dead, the folks at AMC decided to do a little experiment. With the help of an advertising firm named Thinkmodo, they dressed up a group of actors as zombies and set them loose on the streets of New York. The reactions were caught on film, and were pretty predictable…
Check it and see!
Just found this on IO9, a new 14 minute concept movie about the future of New York City. According to the film, it’s 2023, and the introduction of a brand new technology – the Betham Grid – has made things like credit cards, ID cards, and keys obsolete. In essence, the Grid is a massive DNA scanner and social network, with readouts on every public surface in the city. Touch a door, a hand rail, or even a wall, and the Grid reads your DNA, identifies you and pinpoints your location.
Naturally, this has simplified life in many respects. In others, it turned NYC into something of a “Big Brother” state. Crime has dropped to previously unheard of levels, identity theft has become impossible, but the right to privacy remains in a state of limbo. And befitting all potentially dystopian scenarios, there’s a twist, which is alluded to in the name. Ultimately, the question remains, what is the ultimate cost of safety?
Take a look, and take note of all the attention to detail that runs throughout. Director Dennis Lui was sure to incorporate as many examples of futuristic technology as possible, from holographic display glass, to cars with Heads-Up Displays, to augmented reality glasses. The production values are also very impressive.
To say that Richard Branson is an eccentric billionaire or oddball visionary would be the understatement of the century. Though not formally educated in business or economics, he’s got a knack for investing in new and relevant things, and always seems to be able to turn a profit while doing it. So it’s little wonder then why he started Virgin Galactic, a private aerospace company that is offering patrons their first shot at sub-orbital flights.
The idea commercial space ships has been in development for some time, with Branson committing a great deal of his empire’s investment capital and research funds towards this end. In 2008, these efforts bore fruit with the first flight of the White Knight Two launcher craft, known officially as the VMS Eve. This plane, also known as a “mothership”, is a four-engine, twin-fuselage craft with an extended wing base and two air crews. As the name suggests, it acts as a launching platform for the aerospace vehicle itself, which deploys once the WK2 is fully airborne.
Then, in December of 2009, Virgin unveiled the suborbital space ship, known as SpaceShip Two. Ever since 2004, Branson’s company ran test flights using a smaller model, but decided to upgrade to a larger, twin-pilot model for long-term commercial use. By February 2012, SpaceShipTwo had completed 15 test flights and an additional 16 glide tests, the last of which took place in September 2011.
In the end, the process is pretty simple and borrows from NASA’s long-standing practice of launching their space shuttles by piggybacking them onto commercial craft. In this case, the process involves the WK2 flying the SS2 to deployment altitude where it will then be released and take over its own flight using its rocket engines. The SS2 will then fly to an altitude of 100 km (330,000 feet) above see level. After performing a circuit in near-zero gravity, it will deploy its wings and glide back to Earth.
No firm schedule has been given as to when commercial flights will commence, but given the pace at which things are moving, it would not be farfetched to think that they are likely to begin before the decade is out. In addition, no word has been given on when exactly it will affordable for the vast majority of people to use this service, or when aerospace terminals will be built into existing international airports.
As it stands, tickets for the maiden voyage go for a whopping $200,000 US or £121,000, and 400 seats have already been spoken for, largely by public figures and international tycoons. The flight will be two hours end-to-end, and will involve six minutes of weightlessness once its reaches maximum altitude. Seems like a lot of money for something that only lasts six minutes; but hey, people have spent way more on far less!
Also, check out the promotional video from Virgin Galactic’s own website. I think you’ll agree, though they may oversell the significance of this by just a bit, the production values are still pretty damn good!
The other day, I finally got around to dedicating a post to Paolo Soleri and the concept of Arcology, something which has fascinated me for some time. But of course, I couldn’t do justice to it all in just one post, so rather than mention every example for arcologies that I could find, I chose a select few and planned to talk about the others later. You wouldn’t believe the amount of information that I’ve found since!
Initially, I thought only a few architecture firms and city planners were considering 3-D cities; but as it turns out, there are a dozen plans under consideration and more coming every day! From New Orleans to Haiti, from Shanghai to Dubai, the world abounds with plans for possible future cities that will take advantage of 3-D planning, sustainable resource management and green technology. This last aspect is key, seeing as how the vast majority of these plans are all inspired by one thing: Climate Change!
Take this concept for example: the Lillypad City. A revolutionary idea designed for dealing with the worst ravages of climate change in the coming decades, the LC is basically a floating city that is immune to things like coastal flooding and rising sea levels. According to many worst-case scenarios, these are expected to rise in excess of a meter by 2030. Coastal areas will be flooded and entire islands will disappear beneath the waves, leaving millions homeless and displaced. The Lillypad City is a possible solution: a self-contained environment built along coastal shelves and harbors, capable of supporting 50,000 people in an environment that’s ecologically friendly.
A similar concept is NOAH – or New Orleans Arcology Habitation, designed by Kevin Schopfer . An aptly named structure, NOAH is a proposed solution of what to do about coastal flooding and the ongoing problem of rebuilding New Orleans. At over 90oo square kilometers and designed to hold 40,000 residents, the pyramid shaped arcology will also boast shopping centers, 3 hotels, 1,500 timeshare units, parking for 8,000 cars, cultural spaces, public works, schools, an administrative office, and a health care facility.
All of this built upon a floating base with an open-wall structure, which will make it resistant to all forms of weather and immune to rising tides. In addition, the city will boast the latest in green technology, thus eliminate the carbon footprint of its residents. These will include internal electric transport links, secured wind turbines, solar panels and river based water turbines for electricity generation, fresh water reclamation and storage systems, grey water treatment, sky garden heating/cooling vents.
If NOAH catches on, there are even plans to build one on the banks of the Mississippi, where flooding is expected to occur, displacing people up and down the interior US.
And speaking of rebuilding, Haiti continues to suffer from the damage suffered from the 2010 Earthquake. Luckily, there are no shortages of creative ideas of what to deal with this and the likelihood of future earthquakes and flooding. Harvest City is one such idea, a city built on a series of islands capable of supporting 30,000 residents.
Based on the principles of arcology, this city is designed to be sustainable, ensuring adequate food production for all its residents while also providing employment and industry. If feasible, such a city could be indispensable to Haiti’s recovery and ensuring the survival of its people in the long run.
And then there’s the BoA, which is short for Boston Arcology. Much like many of it’s predecessors, the purpose here is to address the problem of urban sprawl in a way that does not impact the existing city, either by expanding into surrounding green space or renovating it’s aging, historic core. Built into Boston Harbor, this uniquely shaped structure will house 15,000 people and will also hold hotels, offices, retail spaces, museums, condominiums, and even a new city hall.
And speaking of 3-Dimensional, check out this baby: the proposed Bionic Tower! A vertical city measuring some 1,228 meters high and being able to house approximately 100,000 people, the Bionic Tower is yet another proposed solution of what to do about the twin problems of overpopulation and pollution.
And at the heart of it all lies the concept of merging bioscience with existing high-tech, meaning that the building will house extensive green-spaces, nature preserves, and its own water reclamation and bio-fuel systems.
Originally proposed at a lecture entitled “Conquest of Vertical Space in the 21st Century – International Conference on Multipurpose High-Rise Towers and Tall Buildings” in London, October, 1997, the project has since begun formal development, and garnered the interest of city planners and developers in both Shanghai and Hong Kong.
Japan is following suit. As already mentioned, the Shimizu Mega-City Pyramid is being slated for development in Tokyo Bay. However, within Tokyo’s urban center, there are also plans for the creation of a vertical city, known as Sky City 1000. Measuring 1000m high, hence the name, the supertall skyscraper would house 35,000 residents and 100,000 workers. The design consists of 14 concave dish-shaped “Space Plateaus” that are stacked one upon the other and held together by a series of vertical struts. Each plateau is designed to contain greenspaces, offices, commercial facilities, schools, theaters, residential spaces, and other modern amenities.
Back to Dubai, where arcology is just one of many inspirations for new construction projects, we have the “Dubai Ziggarut”. A proposed Carbon-Neutral habitat proposed by design firm Timelinks, this eco-pyramid is expected to house 1 million people once completed. Power is to be provided by steam, wind, solar panels and other natural resources, ensuring complete electronic self-sufficiency. The tightly knit city will also feature a super efficient public transportation system that runs both horizontally and vertically, and plans are being drawn up to utilize both public and private green spaces for agricultural opportunities.
And last, but certainly not least, there is the proposed design for the “Ultima Tower”. A massive edifice, measuring some 3200 meters in height, this supertall skyscraper was first proposed in 1991 by Eugene Hui as a way of tackling the planet’s sustainability problems. At this height, it would be the tallest building ever created by human beings, should it ever be built.
The interior of the structure would measure some 140,000,000 m2 and would be capable of supporting 1 million people. Relying on atmospheric pressure difference between the bottom and the top of the tower to create electricity and vast interior green space, the building would contain several “mini-ecosystems”.
Combined with water treatment and reclamation facilities, it would be capable of sustaining its inhabitants, perhaps without any outside help. Given the sheer cost of the structure (150 billion US dollars), it remains strictly theoretical. However, as time moves on and the problems of overpopulation and climate change continue, this tower may very well be making an appearance on the landscape!
That about does it for now. As I said before, its a rich and fertile concept! And given the pace of technological change and climate change, its becoming more likely with every passing day. Will it make a difference? Will it help us whether the storm, or help reverse the process? Hard to say. All we know is, living in sustainable communities that are self-sufficient and protected from external threats is far better than the alternative.
The latest full-length trailer for the upcoming Hobbit movie has just been released. And I think you’ll agree, it’s way more lavish and teaser-oriented than the last. Damn studios, always gotta dangle the carrot in front of our noses! This time around, they focus more on the action and sense of crisis, especially where Ogres are concerned. And from what I can tell, this first installment will climax during the battle in the Misty Mountains, where the company came upon a cave filled with Orcs.
This is also the first time since LOTR that Gollum is being shown, and the little game he and Bilbo played – which resulted in him taking the One Ring – is revealed. Also, be sure to let me know what you think about the apparent changes Jackson is making by including Galadriel and providing hints of what was to come in LOTR. These, for the most part and to the best of my knowledge, weren’t part of the original story. Is he just thickening the plot a little, or taking liberties he shouldn’t?
Arcology: noun (plural arcologies) an ideal integrated city contained within a massive vertical structure, allowing maximum conservation of the surrounding environment. Origin: 1969: blend of architecture and ecology.
The question of what to do about Earth’s growing population – 7 billion and counting – and the environmental impact it is having has been on the minds of city planners, environmentalists, and global leaders for qu9ite some time. Far from it being a simple matter of determining how we are going to feed new every mouth we create, there’s also the question of how to provide for their other basic needs.
In the 20th century alone, humanity grew by multiplication factor of six. Cities expanded, suburban developments went up, and inner cities were “rezoned” and redeveloped in order to make room for them. When horizontal space became an issue, vertical structure were adapted, incorporating sky scrapers and massive high-rises. In addition, cities, counties and entire nations needed to find more sources of fresh water to address their health and sanitation needs, more landfills to accommodate waste, and more green spaces to grow food. In time, it soon became clear that this increased output of human beings and their various wastes was causing irreparable harm to the planet.
By the turn of the century, the projections only became worse, thanks in large part to the ongoing industrialization of developing nations. In these parts of the world, where a full third of the human race resides, the impact of so many new power plants, urban developments, superhighways, and fossil-fuel burning cars could not be underestimated. The problem of providing space for our people and seeing to their needs in a way that is sustainable in the long term has only become more pressing as a result.
As it turns out, the answer may lie in a concept developed in the 1960’s by a man named Paolo Soleri. An architect of Italian descent who studied at the feet of architect Frank Lloyd Wright, he is credited with coining the term “arcology”, a new form of architecture that plotted the creation of three-dimensional hyperstructures that would be self-sufficient, and in some cases, self-contained. Primarily proposed as a means to combat two-dimensional urban sprawl, arcologies were also meant to economize on transportation, energy use, commerce and agriculture. All needs, which included the need to reduce waste and impact on the environment, were incorporated in his new designs. And on top of that, they would be beautiful as well as very, very big.
One of his first designs was for a city-structure named Babel (or IID as it’s officially designated). This design called for a flared cylinder of apartments sitting in a saucer-shaped base, complete with commercial, civil spaces, and public areas. The estimated population for this monster design was 550,000 people – the population of a major city – but placed in an edifice 1900 meters high and 3000 meters at its widest point.
Close-ups of the design show the immense attention to detail that Soleri’s featured in his drawings. From housing, to production centers to water treatment and waste disposal, nothing was overlooked. And just in case you’re having problems imagining the scale, he features a picture of the Empire State building for a size comparison.
And then there was Hexadredon, an incredible geometric mountain resting on three immense supports. Accommodating over 170,000 people, it measured a mere 800 meters by 800 meters (640 square km). On top of all that, it looks immensely artistic, incorporating such design features as massive pyramids, support columns, and rotundas. In reality, it looks more like an ancient temple than a three-dimensional city.
His many other concepts involved cities adrift on water, built into canyons, or on the side of cliffs. As far as Soleri was concerned, nothing was off limits. Any and all geographic features and landscapes, including the ocean itself, could be built into human habitats. Though it remained somewhat speculative for its time, Soleri’s ideas formed the basis for a great deal of speculative writing and urban planning.
For instance, in Japan, urban planners have proposed a future city development to deal with urban sprawl in Tokyo – known as the Shimizu Mega-City Pyramid. As it stands, much of Tokyo Harbor is artificial, composed of fill in order to accommodate Japan’s growing population and industrial centers. This further expansion calls for the creation of a massive pyramid measuring 730 meters high, 8 square kilometers at the base, and capable of housing 750,000 people. All told, it would be roughly 14 times the size of the pyramid of Giza.
In addition, there is the proposed building project in Moscow known as “Crystal Island”. Measuring in at a whopping 2500 square kilometers at its base and 450 meters high, it will be the single largest structure on Earth, if and when it is completed. Shaped like a massive tent, the superstructure of the proposed design acts as a sort of second skin to the main building, creating a thermal buffer and shielding the interior from Moscow’s harsh weather.
In addition, this second skin will adjust with the seasons and sealed in winter to minimise heat loss, while opened again in summer to naturally cool the interior. Power would also be provided by built-in wind turbines and solar panel, as well as a series of renewable energy solutions. On top of all that, the design incorporates an existing park, which provides a range of activities, including cross-country skiing and skating. Construction was officially postponed in 2009 due to the economic crisis, but is expected to resume in the coming years.
Last, but not least, there is the planned community of Masdar City, which I wrote about in a previous article. Though not technically an arcology in the sense of a three-dimensional colossal environment, the design nevertheless incorporates all other aspects of Soleri’s concept. These include renewable energy sources, sustainable resource management, mass-transit, recycled water, and a range of other green technologies.
Today, the planned city of Arcosanti, which Soleri himself began construction on in 1970, remains an unfinished testament to his work and his genius. Located in central Arizona, just 110 km north of Phoenix, this work-in-progress incorporates Soleri’s unusual design features and, though uncompleted, remains a testament to his vision.
Check out this video from Arcosanti website, which featured Solari’s design for the mega-city Nudging Space:
I just came across this on Youtube, which appeared on the Bender’s Big Game DVD right before the movie. Naturally, it features footage from the movie and uses Bender, the most unlikely spokesperson for respecting property rights, as its spokesperson. Very funny, in an admittedly ironic kind of way. Enjoy!
This is one movie that just doesn’t seem to quit when it comes to promos and trailers! Already, I have found half a dozen showcasing one or another aspect of the film. Whether it’s the setting (Mega City One), the drug Slo-Mo, the quasi-propaganda war between Dredd and Ma-Ma, or the violence-porn, nothing seems to be off limits here. But if it’s says anything about the power of proper advertising, I’m probably going to see this movie at some point. Maybe when it comes to video…
Anyway, here it is, the extended “Ultimate Judgment” Trailer!
While on one of my many romps through the ether, I found this clip of man playing the theme to one of history’s most popular video games, and on a laser harp of all things! The display alone is impressive, with the harp’s lasers made visible thanks to some Infrared or UV lighting. The performance was made by an artist known as Theremin Hero, a Glasgow-based chiptune artist who uses a Gameboy, NES, and Laser Harp to do his thing! Check out his media library at: http://www.thereminhero.com/
Thanks to Popular Mechanics for turning me onto this recent invention! Back in 2007, an inventive engineer named Curtis DeForest created a contraptio nas a safe and effective alternative to the traditional bike. He called it the Hyperbike, and one look at the contraption will tell you why! Featuring three wheels, the vehicle is a full-body machine that utilizes hand and foot motions to generate speed. Since it does not require forward momentum to stand up, a rider is incapable of falling off, and can reach speeds of up to 50 mph.
DeForest also designed the prototype so that the rider’s center of gravity is below the spinning axis of the wheels – as opposed to above it, like in most bikes. This difference, along with its additional front wheel, increases stability, and also caught the attention of NASA. Impressed with its design and its possibility for use in low-gravity environments, the space agency invested in a new prototype. However, no updates have been made available on the progress of this development, and rumor has it NASA has moved on.
Too bad too! Tell me something like this wouldn’t be useful in a number of different environments. And I’m sure there’s plenty of military applications for something like this. Maybe add a gasoline engine, 800 hp, some missiles and some jump jets. Make a lovely Hyperbike, that would!
Stories by Williams 