As cities become more and more densely populated, the only way left to build is up. That’s probably why new skyscraper designs are increasingly incorporating everything from rice paddies to wind turbines to make the most of their space-saving abilities.
Designs for Endless City, a 300m tall, multi-use skyscraper, near the City of London, show it would include pretty much every city amenity possible. The idea is that the tower would have its own “ecosystem”, including shops, entertainment, housing, and even parks. Ramps would wind up the tower around the building’s open-air core, leading to different sections and acting as an extension of the streets below.
SURE Architecture, the firm behind the designs, doesn’t describe them as a skyscraper at all, preferring the term “vertical city”: the equivalent of building several new city blocks, rather than a single-use tower. Depending on whose side you’re on, all this is either a utopian dream of the perfect urban environment, or a bit Judge Dredd.
Here’s a closeup of a few of the floors:
The designs just won the SkyScrapers and SuperSkyScrapers Competitions (yes, that is a thing), though there’s no investment to build Endless City just yet. Alina Valcarce, associate director at SURE, says:
“London’s streets can now be developed both horizontally and vertically in a continuous way… There is no break anymore, between the streets level and the skyscraper, nor between the skyscraper floors themselves.”
That’s all very well and good, but, if built, Endless City would be the same height as the Shard – so let’s hope they’ve planned for an elevator too, just in case.