Ever wonder what our modern-day cities could look like 100 years from now in a perfect world? Architect Luc Schuiten endeavors to find out with his Vegetal City installation, currently on display in Brussels. The entrance, made up of an archway with branches covered in blinking yellow lights, leads the exhibit’s visitors into a magical world of architectural drawings and models of cities where city residents live peacefully with nature.
According to the 65 year-old architect, “You cannot feel good in light of all the environmental pollution and the grim perspectives for the future.” Instead Schuiten, a self-proclaimed utopist, sketches alternatives.
Among the cities of the future on display are the Lotus City, the Woven City, the Treehouse City, and the City of the Waves. Each city takes on a unique character based on its environment. The Woven City, for example, features habitats made up of a “vegetal mesh” formed by the roots of a strangler fig tree wrapped around the host tree. The fig tree grows so tall that buildings can be built into it. Buildings are made from biotextiles that capture solar power for electricity.
Schuiten’s designs are fantastical, sure, but they offer an inspiring vision of what cities in harmony with their surroundings might look like.
+Vegetal City
Via Deutche Welle
