5 – Paris’s Road Tower,
- In 1937, a 700-meter tall ‘barber pole-style’ tower was proposed to be installed in Paris.
- The top of the tower would be a hotel, which people could reach by driving up a road that spiralled around the tower. There was also going to be a 400-car capacity parking garage on top, a restaurant in the middle and a monorail system that would slowly lower cars to the ground.
- Fortunately this insane accident magnet was never completed.
4 – The Manhattan Dome,
- Domed cities were a staple of science fiction in the Sixties, so it’s not surprising that Buckminster Fuller, an architect from that time, proposed doming one of the most famous cities in the world: New York.
- The dome would cover most of Manhattan and filter pollution out of the air. The dome would be kept at a constant temperature, meaning there’d be no need for heating in the winter or cooling in the summer.
- Unfortunately, no one really went for the idea. The cost to implement it would’ve been astronomical, and, since no one knew if it would really work, it seemed safer to leave domed cities in the realm of science fiction.
3 – Burj Khalifa Fabric Wrap,
- This project is by far the least practical. Effectively the idea is to put a giant fabric condom over the world’s tallest building, Dubai’s Burj Khalifa. The project would require an enormous sheet that would have to withstand exposure to harsh elements and strain, so it bet it would cost a lot.
- What function would it serve? None. This is basically just a really expensive, really ambitious art installation.
- The lead designer said the project aims to “create a fluid urban experience” and “explore creative potential in the public realm” – whatever the hell that means.
2 – Plan Voisin,
- In the 1920s, architect Le Corbusier wanted to completely level Paris, the most romantic city in the world, so he could rebuild it in a very different way.
- The plan was called Plan Voisin and involved erecting eighteen enormous glass towers. The towers would make up Paris’s business district and would be connected by subway stations and surrounded by an extensive garden city.
- Back then, the idea of bulldozing Paris wasn’t all that unthinkable, as the city had become dirty and decrepit.
1 – Freedom Ship,
- The Freedom Ship was a huge ship which doubled as a self-sufficient city. First proposed in the Nineties (when stupid shit seemed like good ideas), the 25-storey ship was to travel the globe every two years, stopping at all major ports and having residents disembark by helicopter.
- The ship would have a 50,000-person capacity and a self-sustaining economy, with jobs, schools, shops and probably a really good strip club – y’know, everything a city needs.
- Unfortunately it didn’t work out because very few people were willing to permanently relocate onto a ship — especially when there were concerns it could be the next Titanic.
- Even if all those land-lovers changed their minds, it would still cost $10 billion to get the ambitious project off the ground.
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