A new proposal has been put forth to manufacture the world’s tallest skyscraper that will suspend from an asteroid in a bid to get around terrestrial restrictions, leaving residents to parachute down to earth. The monumental idea comes from Clouds Architecture Office, New York, who drew up the plans for an Analemma Tower that will shake up the established skyscraper typology and turn the whole idea completely on its head! Not building from the ground but instead building down from the sky by affixing foundations of the skyscraper to an orbiting asteroid.
This new concept has harnessed the power of planetary design thinking, truly tapping into to ever urgent desire for extreme height in buildings. The thought behind cost is that the Analemma Tower will demand record prices for its residential spaces, justifying the momentously high cost of construction.
As the new tower typology can be suspended in the air the tower can be constructed virtually anywhere before being transported to its final location. The concept of manipulating asteroids is no longer science fiction, proved by a 2015 mission that showed the ability to land on a spinning comet. NASA also have plans for an asteroid retrieval mission in 2021 which aims to provided evidence for the feasibility of capturing and relocating an asteroid.
The architects behind the Analemma Tower propose for the build to be over Dubai, the city at the forefront of super-tall constructions, where property remains almost fifteen times cheaper per square foot than in New York at present. Prefabricated modules would be hoisted from the Earth and essentially plugged into the buildings extendable core, which would then be tethered by cables to the chosen asteroid. The completed structure is thought to follow a figure of eight pattern between the northern and southern hemispheres every day. The slowest and lowest part of orbit would see the tower pass over midtown Manhattan, where the topography is at its highest the residents would be able to disembark from the tower via parachute.
Tackling a design on this extreme planetary scale is something truly remarkable and the Analemma Tower is an innovative example of how planetary design strategies can yield for the worldâs tallest building ever. In relation to power the structure would use solar panels mounted to the uppermost levels where, due to their location above the atmosphere, they would have constant access to sunlight and thus energy. Water is to be collected from rainwater and the condensation of clouds.
Analemma Tower is set to be split into sections with each section dedicated to a different activity. Business taking place on the lowest hanging floors, residential areas located two thirds of the way up the tower and the top areas being reserved for leisure activities. In terms of windows the designs are set to change dependant on section, adapting to the different exertions and temperature of the atmosphere. At the very top windows will have to be rounded in order to cope with increased pressure and where the tower extends beyond the troposphere residents will gain approximately forty minutes of extra sunlight. This is the latest and possibly greatest project to explore space exploration in relation to architecture and promises to change the way people view buildings forever. The radical designs are out quite literally out of this world.
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