Urban Umbilical Cord: Mega-Link of Culture, Technology and Urban Life

Team

Name: David LIu

Nationality: PRC

Institution / Company: Daily Studio

Name: Lily Hou

Nationality: PRC

Institution / Company: Daily Studio

-EDITORIAL PICK of Community 2050 Competition | Category: Professional

In this project, we envision the future community as a Mega-Link that connect areas of different programs through latest technology. The entire system is ecologically sustainable, socially aware and resilient. This linkage will be named as Urban Umbilical Cord. 

At Macro-scale, this project has divided the study area into four different communities, namely technology, industry, education and healthcare communities. They are connected through technology axis, public service axis and landscape axis (or the Green Corridor).

The city center is no longer the gathering space that allows big events to happen, but instead acts as the big brain to this decentralized smart city. The exchange and reuse of urban energy & substances occur all the time under the big data control center here. City brain also controls energy consumption throughout the city. Energy recycled from individual buildings and public spaces are being monitored, recollected and exchanged throughout the city at City Brain. 

At Micro-scale, each building is self-sustained. Buildings no longer contain singular program. Architecture typology is blurred. Boundaries between architecture walls are removed.

A single building has apparent programs. It acts as an open platform that contains all possible programs such as industrial units, flexible working space, amenity services and residential units. People no longer have fixed place to live and work, they may not even have just one stable job or social identity. They are more flexible and can change their daily tasks and environment based on their fast-changing preferences.

A single building also has hidden systems. There is a tank at the base which provides energy and other supplies such as water through different mechanical pipes and then recycled back. This integration of mechanical and energy systems allows the building to be self-sufficient and ecologically healthy. 

In the near future, smart city is embedded with intelligent transportation, innovative ecosystem components, changeable and environmentally-friendly office environment and integrated nature. Communities and landscape are interwoven, with buildings slowly dissolve into the park from high density to low density, and then integrated into the forest. All natural and artificial components of this mega-link city will regenerate all the time and grow together

#FutureCity #MegaLink #EnvisionCommunity #CommunityThriving