Tower City, another concept from the 2010 eVolo Skyscraper Competition, re-envisions the city of Marseilles as a stacked skyscraper that sits on stilts above the water. Rather than letting cities spread out as population increases, a the design calls for a new city to be created out on the water, complete with work, housing, transportation and amenities. The futuristic development is based on a stacked framework built using recycled building materials from the old city.
Designed by Deric Fourie, Dan Bernos, Michael Menuet, Pablo del Amo, Tower City in Marseilles received a Special Mention in the 2010 eVolo Skyscraper Competition. Marseilles as it is currently stands is the second largest city in France with a population of around 1,600,000 and an urban density of 3,500 per sq. km. As a port town, there is ample water surrounding the city, but as it has grown, less and less land is available.
While the problem of land scarcity is an issue, this recalls Le Corbusier at his absolute worst, and is a pretty ironic design for a French city. How can something that destroys the sea floor and blights the landscape be considered an “ecotopia”?!