When I was putting this list together I made the decision very early on that the list would comprise of projects under construction already aswell as projects which have/were only proposed/imagined. So here we go:
10. X-Seed 4000 - Tokyo and Tsui Tower - outside Ulaan Bataar
I've put both of these in tenth place because at the core they both plan to do the same thing. Build HUGE F**KING....YOKES.... that would literally accomodate the population of an entire city. I mean these things are like what we see in science fiction movies/shows. They get on the list for their shear scale. The X-Seed is the tallest building ever imagined that has blueprints (4000 metres by the way). IF we're really lucky, and we behave ourselves, we MIGHT just see these buildings in our life times.... after when pigs fly, the Klingons invade, I get a date, Liverpool win the Premiership, I buy an Xbox, Final Fantasy 5000 is made, Ireland uses up all its peat, I find Dara O Briain funny and I'm declared the sexiest man alive.
9. Pyramid City - Tokyo
The plan, at the very least, is to build a self contained city in a giant...and I mean GIANT pyramid which would sit somewhere in Tokyo Bay (I believe anyway). It's earned a place on the list solely on its ambition, but I find the likelihood that we'll ever see it in the flesh to be less than impossible.
8. Gibraltar Bridge - Gibraltar??
Strangely enough this is the only project I have on this list that isn't a high rise structure. The Gibraltar Bridge while ambitious is a project who's benefits are very evident. Coupled with the innovative design of combining bridge styles aswell as the shear scale of the project, the Gibraltar Bridge is certainly one to look out for in the future.
7. Sky City - Tokyo
My first experience of Sky City was on Discovering Channel on "Extreme Engineering" and at the time I thought it was simply incredible. And it is, but I can only give it position number 7, simply because there are projects in circulation now that are simply more ambitious. I must say however that of all the buildings "proposed", Sky City most definitely looks to be the one that has been planned out the most. All it needs is planning permission....:P
6. Hyder Tower - Dubai
I don't know too much about this tower and as far as I know it is completely in the conception phase of design. To the left of it is the Burj Dubai and to the right in the distance is the Al-Burj. There's not much I need to say....just look at it....
5. Al Burj - Dubai
While still only in the design phase, should it be built, Al Burj looks set to be one of the most magnificent high rise structures ever imagined. Where modern high rise buildings tend to taper off as they get higher, the design of Al-Burj looks to be so solid that one can't help but admire the vision.
4. Burj Dubai - Dubai
Currently the world's tallest man made structure... and it's still not finished. Set to top off at around 900m high, Burj Dubai is certainly a site to behold. As incredible as Burj Dubai is, and for all the world records it (broke and) set for engineering and construction, it only reaches number 4 on my list.
3. Taipei 101 - Taiwan
The highest position on this list of a building that is actually complete, Taipei 101 set a new standard for high rise buildings. The pendulum idea which resists the buildings sway in the breeze is an ingenious solution. As well as the classy design, Taipei well deserves its position here.
2. The Illinois - Chicago
A building that was no doubt beyond its time, the Illinois would have stood over a mile high, indeed its other name is in fact "Mile High City". While constructing the Illinois would have been beyond Frank Lloyd Wright's America, it is only now that the construction is a possibility... a true sign that it was ahead of its time.
1. Dubai City Tower - Dubai
Unfortunately I don't really know a whole lot about this one. It's only recently been proposed but at 2.4 kilometers high this is certainly one of the most incredible (and viable) engineering projects I've ever seen. As you've seen from this list already, Dubai is the place to be for engineering right now and as ambitious as this structure sounds, I've no doubt that they will pull it off! (NOTE: it is quite possible that Dubai City Tower is actually Hyder Tower in position 6. however due to the lack of solid information on both projects, particularly Hyder Tower, I can only assume they are two seperate projects)
As I mentioned above, right now Dubai and (to be more general) the Middle-East, is the capital of modern 21st century Engineering. Given the buildings currently under construction, as well as countless projects that I haven't even mentioned, and all the other projects in the design phase, Dubai will most certainly be the home of the skies for decades to come.
In past centuries, engineering - and indeed architecture - has left the marks which shaped those time periods in the history books. After the 20th century was scarred by conflict and war, the outlook for the 21st is promising, especially with so many things being built for people to leave their mark on the planet, showing prosperity and a desire to achieve greater and greater things, further bridging the gap between the impossible and our imaginations...
~The Damo
