UNDERGROUND CITIES
As populations move away from rural areas, urban planners look beneath their feet for answers
With space in cities so limited, often the only option for those who can afford to expand their property is to go underground. Luxury basements are already a feature beneath many homes in London, but with urban populations set to continue growing, subterranean developments are beginning to appear on a much larger scale.
One idea, still at the concept stage, is the ‘Earthscraper’ proposed for Mexico City. This 65-storey inverted pyramid has been suggested as a way to provide office, retail and residential space without having to demolish the city’s historic buildings or breach its 8-storey height restriction.
Many questions remain as to the feasibility of such a project, however, such as how you provide light, remove waste and protect people from fire or floods. Some of these questions have potentially been answered with the construction of the Intercontinental Shanghai Wonderland hotel in China. This 336-room luxury resort was built into the rock face of an 88m-deep, disused quarry that opened for business in November 2018.
The island city-state of Singapore is also exploring its underground options. Not only are its Jurong Rock Caverns in the process of being turned into a subterranean storage facility for the nation’s oil reserves, but there are also plans to build an ‘Underground Science City’ for 4,200 scientists to carry out research and development.
In New York, the Lowline Project is turning an abandoned subway station into a park. Expected to open in 2021, it uses a system of above-ground light-collection dishes to funnel enough light into the underground space to grow plants, trees and grass.