By: Moslem Ali
Dubai – Mubasher: Italian architect Luca Curci proposes depending on vertical cities as a sustainable way of living to combat the effects of global warming and the subsequent rising sea levels.
Curci presented the concept of a zero-energy city on water at the Knowledge Summit 2019, held in Dubai on 19-20 November.
Sea levels are expected to rise by four feet (1.3 meters) by the year 2021, which means we need to adapt and look for alternative ways of living, a report by the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) shows.
Moreover, around 90% of the world’s largest cities including Miami, Shanghai, and Alexandria, among others, are threatened by rising sea levels, according to a press release by ASDA’A BCW.
“We are three times the sustainable number of people on earth and in about 12 years, there will be two billion more people, but our cities are not ready for that. We propose a vertical city built on water, which can house 25,000 people. The city will have a zero-waste policy and use renewable resources such as solar panels, wind, and water turbines to produce energy.
“The city also includes integrated food production and farming, thereby offering a healthier lifestyle connected with elements of nature,” Curci added.
"Unlike modern-day skyscrapers, these towers will be completely ventilated by integrating a lot of natural elements such as wind, light and water. These are not like apartments or duplexes but more like villas at different levels. The vertical city will be connected with other cities by water, land, and air," he noted
Knowledge Summit 2019 was organised by the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Foundation (MBRF) and held at the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), under the theme “Knowledge for Sustainable Development.”
Egypt building Africa’s first vertical forest
It is worth noting that another Italian architect and urban planner, Stefano Boeri, recently unveiled designs for three buildings covered with trees and plants, or pollution-absorbing vertical forests, as per a report by the World Economic Forum (WEF).
The vertical forests will be built in Egypt's New Administrative Capital.
The project is designed by Stefano Boeri Architetti, in collaboration with Egyptian designer Shimaa Shalash and Italian landscape architect Laura Gatti.
The buildings will have planted terraces containing 350 trees and 14,000 shrubs of more than 100 different species. The concept of vertical forests took off in 2014, according to the WEF, but this time it would be the first of its kind in the African continent.
