A Futuristic Floating City with 99 floating islands Could Become A Reality
A group of architects have an idea. They want to build a new structure called the “Ethereal Tower” comprised of 99 floating islands in the massive Chinese city of Shenzhen.
Shenzhen is a coastal city in the south of Guangdong Province, just 41 kilometers from Hong Kong. Benefiting from its location, Shenzhen has grown dramatically in the past few decades, becoming a modern and international metropolis and is known as “China’s Silicon Valley”. It hosts major tech companies such as Huawei and Lenovo, as well as many emerging start-ups, and over 12 million people call it home.
With a massive skyline, Shenzhen is China’s fastest-growing city. It transformed from a small fishing town to a bustling megacity within decades. Every year, millions flock to its city center from around the globe seek to benefit from its investment-friendly practices, while tourists admire its futuristic landscape. Shenzhen trails only Shangai and Beijing in China for overall GDP. Now, the city wants something spectacular to show for all this growth.
Renowned Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto created a design for a massive floating tower on the bay of Shenzhen’s Qianhaiwan district. He pitched his idea at a competition that was set to address the questions of “What does a new ‘tower’ mean in the 21st Century?” and “How can a tower evolve while continuing to attract attention, as the Eiffel tower does?”
The proposed 268-metre tower acts as a landmark and consists off 99 individual tower-like elements attached with a solid horizontal surface in the upper part. All these tower elements gradually disappear as they descend.
The proposed design imitates different forms- It looks like a pendant or a futuristic aerial city or a group of islands, an ethereal cluster of clouds, or even a water fountain hovering mid-air.
What Does it Encompass?
The tower contains a viewing platform, working as a three-dimensional exhibition space, with a restaurant and a café.
Most of the connected 99- pendant-like structures have limited contact points to the main tower, making it resemble as though they are floating in the air.
Design Details
Steel, Carbon fibre, concrete and Kevlar Rope is used to design this futuristic tower. And the core of the building is supported by a peripherally-placed steel truss system with Kevlar tension cables.
