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Janus(c)ity
New Works for Cities yet to be Built _2011
With Dena Saffarian // die Angewandte 2011
Janus(c)ity is a proposal for cities of the future. The strategic location of the city in the region – an area highly rich in fossil fuels and dependent on oil industries with harsh climatic conditions (dust storms, very hot and humid, without rain) and connected to international waters – expects a setup capable of accommodating (un)foreseen circumstances of a future where the exponential growth of the world population raises the demand for energy radically while sources of fossil fuels deplete.
Our proposal consists of a new model for using land and air while considering not only the potentials of the context but also exploiting the (otherwise) hazards of the environment to its own advantage.
The regulatory system is the future version of today’s energy production industries in the region which instead of being based on the over-exploitation of non-renewable sources is planned to extract energy and minerals from dust storms and to produce potable and agricultural water. Thus the regulatory system acts not only as a device for production of energy and resources but also through the qualities of its spatial organization protects a vast area from harsh climatic conditions and makes it habitable. The regulatory device has an ever-changing face – due to its adaptive behaviour – with both functional and aesthetic aspects.
Behind this climatic “fortification” a three dimensional porous system where mass and void are intertwined shapes the spatial mega-agglomerate: the Gigapolis. This global center of energy production will not only be wealthy and technologically advanced but – unlike its predecessors in the region – will be also a dynamic and productive ecological pole by the very nature of its economy.
The three dimensional gigapolis is punctuated by immense and eventful public spaces and suspended parks surrounding intersections of traffic flows and huge transportation hubs. The omnipresent densely vegetated spatial garden/farms penetrate habitable areas bringing nature into this vast spectrum of densities, programs and volumetrics.
• conceptual rendering showing the robotic interior of the regulatory system elements set to stand at the height of 4 km above ground.