Luca Curci architects have designed a concept for a futuristic metropolis in the United Arab Emirates that is comprised of modular “organic” buildings on land and offshore crescent-shaped “moons.”
Long time Green Prophet readers will know that Dubai and other Gulf nations have a thing for artificial islands, despite the overwhelming evidence that demonstrates how their construction is not conducive to healthy marine environments.
In addition to a wild array of fantastic schemes that never properly hatched, some have – including The World Islands, which recently played host to the world’s largest and longest fireworks display.
An Italian design firm, Luca Curci brings something of a social conscience to their scheme for a contemporary city comprised of five land-based buildings and five “moons” placed in varying distances away from the sea shore.
A series of parks and roads connect the various structures to one another, and more than half of the mixed-use development would be devoted to green space.
The architects emphasize that Organic Cities is designed to promote interaction and community, that well-being centers will stand alongside retail facilities, and that hundreds of opportunities to socialize and engage with other community members would be embedded in the city’s design.
However, this project is very much geared towards a wealthy community, and it has a strong materialistic bent. According to the architect’s design brief, 6,300,000 square meters would be devoted to malls, galleries and museums.
The smaller crescent moons are designed for residential use, medium sized moons are used as hotels that can be reached by both air and sea, while the largest are made up of residential units, hotel accommodation and private apartments.
One 470 meter tall building will act as a landmark structure visible from afar, but most of the remaining buildings will reach no higher than 190 meters.
“This [sic] kind of structures will develop again the connections between humans, during everyday life,” writes Luca Curci, “with thousand of common places that will aggregate crowds, to win the alienation of XX and XXI century cities.”
While this concept is unlikely to develop any further, we have been surprised by in the past by projects that seemed far too outlandish to be possible, such as the underwater hotel that is currently underway.
We can only hope that if it does come to fruition, careful attention will be paid to ensure that the artificial “moons” do not have a detrimental impact on the Gulf ecology.
:: Designboom
Author: Tafline Laylin
As a tour leader who led “eco-friendly” camping trips throughout North America, Tafline soon realized that she was instead leaving behind a trail of gas fumes, plastic bottles and Pringles. In fact, wherever she traveled – whether it was Viet Nam or South Africa or England – it became clear how inefficiently the mandate to re-think our consumer culture is reaching the general public. Born in Iran, raised in South Africa and the United States, she currently splits her time between Africa and the Middle East. Tafline can be reached at tafline (at) greenprophet (dot) com.
