A team of Mexican
architects have designed a 65-story glass and steel pyramid to sit in the
middle of Mexico City's most historic plaza. But, if it ever gets built, you
won't see it anywhere on the skyline.
That's
because it would be the world's first ever "earthscraper" -- a
300-meter deep office and living space with ambitions to turn the modern
high-rise, quite literally, on its head.
"There
is very little room for any more buildings in Mexico City, and the law says we
cannot go above eight stories, so the only way is down" explains Esteban
Suarez, co-founder of BNKR Arquitectura,
the firm behind the proposals.
"This
would be a practical way of conserving the built environment while creating
much-needed new space for commerce and living," he added.
But would
it really be that practical? The design, which would cost an estimated $800
million to build, is the shape of an inverted pyramid with a central void to
allow for some much-needed natural light and ventilation.
Suarez
says the first 10 stories would hold a museum dedicated to the city's history
and its artifacts. "We'd almost certainly find plenty of interesting
relics during the dig -- dating right back to the Aztecs who built their own
pyramids here," he says.
The
following 10 floors are assigned to retail and housing, with the remaining 35
intended for commercial office space, says Suarez.
Suarez
concedes that getting natural light and fresh air down to the lower floors will
be a problem and he is investigating a "system of fiber optics" that
could deliver sunlight from the surface.
The
design also includes a series of a series of "earth lobbies" that
would store plants and trees with the intention of improving air-quality and,
no doubt, the gloomy subterranean landscape.
Suarez
says renewable energy could be generated by a turbine powered from collected
groundwater. Enough to keep the lights on in an underground office block 24
hours a day? "I couldn't say at this stage" replies Suarez.
But
although it has the hallmarks of a fossil-fuel guzzling Goliath -- and a name
to match -- Suarez says the "Earthscraper" has great eco-credentials.
"In many ways, this project is all about the environment -- not just in
how we preserve our historic skyline, but how we prevent the serious problem of
urban sprawl into the countryside," he says.
According
to the 32-year-old architect, Mexico City's main square -- commonly known as
the "Zocalo" -- is one of the biggest city plazas in the world.
"It's a massive empty plot, which makes it the ideal site for our
program," he said.
To
conserve the numerous activities that take place on the 190,000 square-foot
plaza throughout the year -- including concerts, protests, open-air exhibitions
and military parades -- the void will be covered with a glass floor that Suarez
believes will allow the life of the "Earthscraper" to blend with
everything happening on top.
Source: http://edition.cnn.com/
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