The sky is the limit, we’ve often heard. But will the firmament forever constrain the heights of our buildings? As building technologies continue to advance, humans are able to reach ever higher, and pack more livable space on each square foot of the earth’s surface. Taking cues from simple mechanical devices, or from a puzzle like a Rubik’s Cube, we can picture futures where structures grow or slide well beyond our current imaginations.
Imagine a “Rubik’s” city constructed of sliding vertical slabs, each one a small city in itself (see 
illustration to the right). Connected at their corners with “glides” allowing them to slide up and down to incredible heights, each massive slab would house homes, shops, workplaces, schools, and other urban functions. With synchronized up-and-down motions aiding structural stability, ventilation, natural light, and views, the dimension of time is added to the traditional ones of height, width, and depth. Providing access to the ground at regularly scheduled occasions, the slabs act not unlike cruise ships, each standing on end, taking turns coming in to port.
Or think of the simple mechanical device known as a spring coil. Might self-organizing and se
lf-replicating organic coils someday grow to miles in the air (see illustration to the right)? As these tubular, growing structures wind their way up, the spiral wind creating stability, various substructures could be anchored to the coil, creating buildings, spaces, and transportation channels. In the end, or shall we say at the top, we may find no restraint on our vertical ambitions after all!
Illustrations:
Sliding Rubik’s Cube City
Source: Turner Duran Architects
Spring Coil City
Source: Turner Duran Architects
