Student: Bura Bogdan How and why I chose this subject….
After I received the list of subjects, I began searching for
information for every subject. Picking one of about 20 subjects and lot of information is never an easy job. The ideea of a bulding inside the earth it looks very interresting to me because it is not far from being achievable and once done it wolud be a great achievement for achitecture and engineering. I do these project for finding more information about this ambitious project. What is an “earthskraper”?
As the term suggests, an “earthskraper” unlike a skyskraper, is a
bulding of huge dimensions which has its placement in the ground. At the time, it is only an architectural concept, the application of which would require a lot of structural and logistic barrieris to be overcome. Once such a project completed it would become a mini-city, housing thousands of people. A short history The ideea of constructing exclusively in the ground is not new. The most notable version is the one featured in a 1931 issue of Popular Mechanics. Described then as a “depthscraper”, the cylindrical tower made from a steel frame and "armored concrete", was proposed to extend 35- storeys into the ground. The Mexican Earthskraper
A very recent version of such building is a project proposed by a
mexican architectural team from BNKR Arquitectura. The Historic Center of Mexico City is composed of different layers of cities superimposed on top of each other. When the Aztecs first came to the Valley of Mexico they built their pyramids (first layer) above the lake of Texcoco. When the Spanish discovered America and ultimately conquered the Aztecs, they erected their Christian temples on top of the pyramids. Eventually their whole colonial city was built above the Aztec. In the 20th century, many colonial buildings were demolished and modern structures raised over the existing historic foundations. Today, the Historic Center is in desperate need of a programmatic make-over. New infrastructure, office, retail, and living spaces are required. Federal and local laws prohibit demolishing historic buildings and height regulations limit new structures to eight stories. The main plaza of Mexico City, known as the “Zocalo” is 57,600 square meters (240m x240m), making it one of the largest in the world. It is bordered by the Cathedral, the National Palace and the Federal District Buildings. This is the location of the proposed Eathscraper, an inverted skyscraper that digs down through the different layers of Mexico City. The Earthscraper preserves the iconic presence of the Zocalo and the existing hierarchy of the buildings that surround it. It is an inverted pyramid with a central void that allows all habitable spaces to enjoy natural light and ventilation. The first ten stories are dedicated to a pre-Columbian museum. The next ten stories are retail areas and housing while the deeper 35 stories are offices.