Second Nature

What if we finally, after thousands of years of fearing, fighting, controlling and admiring, gave up on our attempts to live with nature? What if our actions would not be tolerated by nature anymore? Would we change our way of life? What would our habitat look like? A Compromised Future The world population has reached 20 billion and counting. Countries are at war over food shortages and people are in dire need of a solution. A small group of scientists make a breakthrough in genetically modified (G.M.) plants and animals.  These G.M. organisms are 100 times more nutritious, immune from drought and disease and provide large quantities (enough to feed the world). What could possible be wrong with this miraculous breakthrough? Over time, constant interbreeding of these organisms leads to a reduction in biodiversity. This is not problematic at first as the initial aim is to strive for agricultural perfection. However, the organisms began to contaminate what is left of our forests and wiped out biodiversity in plants and animals by 80%. The human race is faced with an ultimatum: continue farming with G.M. methods and lose all plant and animal life outside of our diet.

My Idea/ Tomorrow’s City

In my project, ‘second nature’, I have posed such problems as; overpopulation and genetically modified science leading to the elimination of biodiversity. I have placed these problems into New York’s past in the attempt to depict a world that has experienced and overcome its problems with re-invention and insourcing. I have formulated a new urban form that would consist of a three-strata city.

Second Nature:

This layer would consist of a giant canopy that would house agriculture for the whole city. The structure would sit at an average of 100m in height and contain large perforations for horizontal wind farms, capitalising on the heat island effect. These spaces will also allow for natural light to filter down to the bottom layer.

Human Nature:

The ‘funnel’ like support structures will be retrofitted onto the existing Manhattan Skyline. These structures will provide an additional 320 square kilometres of floor space to live and work. The exterior of the funnels will be made of a UV luminescent membrane directing light down to the lower strata.

Nature:

The newfound city limit resulted in a redundancy of ‘street level’. People used transport within the canopy and this space was therefore left unused. In an attempt to regenerate bio-diversity, this lower strata was designated for reforestation and would become a platform for healthy outdoor activities and an invaluable educational tool to educate the younger generation about flora and fauna so this crisis never rears again.