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Green 'Ark' Shaped like a dome could house 10,000 -- and looks like a Slinky!
- The Ark is designed to be a multi-use environmentally friendly building
- Russian architect believes it would be a building in balance with nature
- Uses transparent solar cells on outer surface and central wind generator
- One version of design could float on water
(CNN) -- Could a floating dome that can house up to 10,000 people be a model for future living?
Russian architect Alexander Remizov thinks so -- and his prototype design, called "The Ark," bears more than a passing resemblance to the classic children's toy, the Slinky.
Remizov believes his Ark, designed to be constructed from timber, steel and high-strength ETFE plastic, could be adapted for all kinds of environments and put to a number of different uses, including emergency housing -- its prefabricated structure should allow it to be constructed quickly -- and hotels. He's even suggested a variation with a honeycomb-style hull that can float.
After completing a Masters degree looking at non-polluting settlements, Remizov decided to pursue that theme with his architecture firm Remistudio and design a modern building that would be in harmony with the environment.
He says that he took a holistic approach to the problems of providing power to The Ark, working with colleague Lev Britvin on energy solutions to keep it in balance with the environment.
A wind power generator that runs through the center of the building would provide power while the outer surface would be covered with transparent solar panels. If the Ark was built on water, as Remizov suggests, he says it could also utilize thermal water energy.
"The form of a dome promotes the formation of turbulences of air, strengthening the work of wind generators," wrote Remizov in an email to CNN.
"Inside the building, the dome form promotes accumulation of warm air in the top part of a building," he continued. "This heat will be transformed to other kinds of energy and collects also in thermal accumulators."
While still on the drawing board, Remizov believes The Ark could be used for many purposes from apartments to offices and hotels, and be built on different scales to house between 50 and 10,000 people.
The way in which the Ark could be assembled from ready-made structures would reduce the cost of construction, suggests Remizov, who estimates that it would be comparable to the cost of energy-efficient "green" buildings.
"Lightweight materials, such as coating film, light design of the foundation, no insulation due to the presence of the buffer zone, reduce the weight structures, which would lead to cheaper construction," he said.
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Namaste
Replies
I contacted RUSSIAN ARCHITECT ALEXANDER REMIZOV and asked him the cost but he could not give a figure however he is looking for investors and he will send me more details.
I made two suggestions to him in my e-mail to him i wrote.....
Also one suggestion you could modify one that would be like a Giant Green Arch Dome that is filled with like air like helium in the bottom and like a Giant balloon can be up in the SKY stationary or able to move some distance. So you have a LAND GREEN ARCH DOME, A SEA GREEN ARCH DOME and A SKY GREEN ARCH DOME
Also one more suggestion you could have a model that can be on LAND but can be portable and be moved a certain distance...which means if there is an earthquake, flooding, hurricane warning the DOME can move away from the area before disaster strikes
I am waiting for his reply
Namaste
Filled with live birds
Image: Courtesy of Remistudio
Remizov is currently seeking investors
Image: Courtesy of Remistudio
Well done. This is much nearer to reality.
Now only the intermediate step is missing: figuring out how to fix things so that everyone on earth has their basic human needs secured. Then an enormous amount beneficial human creative energy will be released turning earth back into a near-Edenic state.
Namaste
It's a floating greenhouse
Image: Courtesy of Remistudio
Half of the hotel is UNDERWATER
Image: Courtesy of Remistudio
The floating hotel is made of a durable transparent foil, not glass
Image: Courtesy of Remistudio
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