Remember as a kid thinking how cool it would be to live in a Jetson's world with the saucer shaped buildings and flying cars? Well, of course we have the flying cars (if you can afford it!) but mankind is on the verge of taking it's first real significant step into the Jetson-era with this new radical apartment building dubbed Sustainable Habitat 2020, created by the design team of Philips Design. The main concept that gives the building almost all function is the incredibly intelligent skin which will keep this building and it's residents living independent of the grid.
"This future habitat shifts from the current state where the building surfaces are benign inert ‘dumb’ materials only used for construction and shielding purposes to sensitive functional skins that are ‘alive’ and act as membranes to harness energy. A membrane creates a strong link between the exterior and interior of the habitat and used as a transporter collecting and channeling the elements of air water and light - from the outside feeding into the inside space. This will supply the habitat with all necessary sources to be able to live off the grid."
"This future habitat shifts from the current state where the building surfaces are benign inert ‘dumb’ materials only used for construction and shielding purposes to sensitive functional skins that are ‘alive’ and act as membranes to harness energy. A membrane creates a strong link between the exterior and interior of the habitat and used as a transporter collecting and channeling the elements of air water and light - from the outside feeding into the inside space. This will supply the habitat with all necessary sources to be able to live off the grid."
Nope. This things not an urban vertical garden but something way beyond that. The building is green because of the thousands of flower-like "funnels" that create a membrane between the interior and exterior that controls the elements. "The funnels are embedded with photovoltaic cells and sensors, which track humidity, wind direction, and the brightness and angle of the sun." When rain water trickles into the funnels, they naturally change into a cup-shape. Then the water is channeled into a cell structure, which contains a closed-loop system that filters and stores the water. And the same goes for the wind. If it's breezy out, the building acts as a city-wide air filter by elongating the sensors into a trumpet-shape and channeling the air through filters and into the home.
This design is a proposed solution to the exploding population growth in China and promises to be an awesome achievement if they can make it happen! Only question is how close are they to actually making these flower funnels happen? We're not exactly sure. But here's a video that goes pretty in-depth about the habitat. Check it out!
As always we want to know what you think about this idea. Going too far? Right on point? Let us know.
Learn more at Popsci.