Arcology, a portmanteau of architecture and ecology, is a vision of architectural design principles for very densely populated habitats (hyperstructures). The concept has been primarily popularized, and the term itself coined, by architect Paolo Soleri, and appears commonly in science fiction. These structures have been largely hypothetical insofar as no arcology envisioned by Soleri himself has yet been completed, but his thesis was that a completed arcology would contain a variety of residential, commercial, and agricultural facilities; its purpose is to minimize individual human environmental impact. Arcologies are often portrayed in sci-fi as self-contained or economically self-sufficient.
Development
An arcology is distinguished from a merely large building in that it is designed to be sustainable, employing all or most of its own available resources for a comfortable life: power, climate control, food production, air, and water conservation and purification, sewage treatment, etc.. It is designed to make it possible to supply these items for a large population. An arcology would supply and maintain its own connections to municipal or urban infrastructures in order to operate.
Arcologies were proposed to reduce human impacts on natural resources. Arcology designs might apply conventional building and civil engineering techniques in very large but practical projects in order to achieve pedestrian economies of scale that have proven, post-automobile, to be difficult to achieve in other ways.
Frank Lloyd Wright proposed an early version called Broadacre City although, in contrast to an arcology, Wright idea is comparatively two-dimensional and depends on a road network. Wright plan described transportation, agriculture, and commerce systems that would support an economy. Critics said that Wright solution failed to account for population growth, and assumed a more rigid democracy than the U.S. actually has.
Buckminster Fuller proposed the Old Man River City project, a domed city with a capacity of 125,000, as a solution to the housing problems in East St. Louis, Illinois.
Similar real-world projects
The largest arcology-style project under current development is Masdar City near Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates. It is projected to house between 45,000 and 50,000 inhabitants on 6 square kilometers, and to have a sustainable, zero-waste, ecology.
Arcosanti is an experimental arcology prototype a demonstration project under construction in central Arizona. Designed by Paolo Soleri, its primary purpose is to demonstrate Soleri personal designs, his application of principles of arcology to create a pedestrian-friendly urban form.
Many cities in the world have proposed projects adhering to the design principles of the arcology concept, like Tokyo, and Dongtan near Shanghai. The Dongtan project may have collapsed, and it failed to open for the Shanghai World Expo in 2010.
Certain urban projects reflect arcology principles. Pedestrian connection systems often provide a wide range of goods and services in a single structure.
Development
An arcology is distinguished from a merely large building in that it is designed to be sustainable, employing all or most of its own available resources for a comfortable life: power, climate control, food production, air, and water conservation and purification, sewage treatment, etc.. It is designed to make it possible to supply these items for a large population. An arcology would supply and maintain its own connections to municipal or urban infrastructures in order to operate.
Arcologies were proposed to reduce human impacts on natural resources. Arcology designs might apply conventional building and civil engineering techniques in very large but practical projects in order to achieve pedestrian economies of scale that have proven, post-automobile, to be difficult to achieve in other ways.
Frank Lloyd Wright proposed an early version called Broadacre City although, in contrast to an arcology, Wright idea is comparatively two-dimensional and depends on a road network. Wright plan described transportation, agriculture, and commerce systems that would support an economy. Critics said that Wright solution failed to account for population growth, and assumed a more rigid democracy than the U.S. actually has.
Buckminster Fuller proposed the Old Man River City project, a domed city with a capacity of 125,000, as a solution to the housing problems in East St. Louis, Illinois.
Similar real-world projects
The largest arcology-style project under current development is Masdar City near Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates. It is projected to house between 45,000 and 50,000 inhabitants on 6 square kilometers, and to have a sustainable, zero-waste, ecology.
Arcosanti is an experimental arcology prototype a demonstration project under construction in central Arizona. Designed by Paolo Soleri, its primary purpose is to demonstrate Soleri personal designs, his application of principles of arcology to create a pedestrian-friendly urban form.
Many cities in the world have proposed projects adhering to the design principles of the arcology concept, like Tokyo, and Dongtan near Shanghai. The Dongtan project may have collapsed, and it failed to open for the Shanghai World Expo in 2010.
Certain urban projects reflect arcology principles. Pedestrian connection systems often provide a wide range of goods and services in a single structure.
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