The Science Fiction of Modern Mega Pyramids
December 11, 2009
It all began in the 1920s with Antoine Bovis, a little known Frenchman who used pendulums, detected auras and owned a hardware store. According to legend, during a trip to Egypt he sensed a strong supernatural force swirling in the Great Pyramid of Giza. He went on to construct his own miniature pyramid, made out of wood, placed a dead cat inside and observed that it did not decay. Its mummification, subsequent students would reason, resulted from the pyramid's power to harness the earth's magnetic field. That myth has hardly waned.
At some point it then took a cue from dystopian fiction and spawned the notion of Mega Pyramid Cities. Whereas the worlds of H. G. Wells and George Orwell are filled with their fatal flows, the lore of Mega Pyramid Cities impress with their perfection, their efficiency and their ability to shape a model citizenry. Sustainable and aesthetically breathtaking, these cities promise to do it all. Utopia, at last...
Beyond the world of writers and prose, the modern mega projects have amassed major corporate funding, government support, resources, intellectual prowess, astronomical budgets, topnotch designers and cutting-edge engineers. But like a number of other sustainable eco-cities, the Mega Pyramid Cities in both Dubai and Tokyo are still waiting to be born.
In spite of what seems to be insurmountable challenges to their actual construction, the vague paper existence of these surreal mega pyramids serves to satisfy man's constant craving to create Utopia in all of its fictional, paranormal, metaphysical and modern glory. We have to have it.
Ziggurat, Dubai's modern pyramid city, slated for 2020 and expected to house one million people, is a master plan for sustainable living. Steam power and turbine technology would drive the city into a carbon neutral state. But now that mega building projects in general in Dubai have gotten entangled in the economic downturn, stranding foreign guestworkers and creating a windstorm of blame gaming, the pyramid's future is a big question mark.Should it ever be realized, one critical bonus feature for the large-scale pyramid would be its visionary use of space — both the vertical space beneath its cloak and the square footage on the ground. Transportation in the project city promised to be a 360° network of technological wonder, operating both horizontally and vertically without a single car.
Shimizu is Japan's version of the mega pyramid city. Indeed it could become the largest man-made structure ever built. Designed to house upwards of 750,000 people, it would straddle Tokyo Bay, soar into the sky and help move some of Tokyo's residents out their matchbox apartments.Alas, it's still a dream. Realizable only by robots and construction materials that have yet to be developed, the massive structure has not yet moved beyond computer screens.
Could it be that the power of the pyramid isn't all that forceful?
What about mountains?
Similar in projectile allure, mountains hold their own brand of power and mystique. And perhaps they have a superior edge because they are natural. Modeling their mega-city project after a mountain scape, the designers of Zira Island in the Caspian Sea may have more luck. Opting to provide resort pleasure and entertainment over housing practically, the new island of post-Soviet Azerbaijan will be a place to romp without leaving behind big carbon footprints. Sustainable and eco-friendly, the island is scheduled to house cliff villas, a golf course, galleries, restaurants, cafés and beaches.
If everything goes well and if all the worldly powers will let it be, we might actually get to see it here on planet earth. Its status is ongoing. NewsSip
Illustration Credits: Ziggurat by Timelinks; Shimizu by Shimizu Corporation; Zira Island by BIG Architects
