Move over skyscrapers, these projects may render you obsolete.
Designers these days are pushing the envelope like never before, and here are a few of the most unique concepts on the drawing board or in the works in the U.S. and beyond.
1. MORPHotel
Are you looking for an alternative to taking a cruise? How about staying in a hotel that floats on the water?
The MORPHotel, by designer Gianluca Santosuosso, features a system of boats linked together like rail cars to make a “vertebral spine” that can adapt its shape to sites and weather conditions, periodically latching on to harbors before drifting off to its next port, Design Boom reports.
Floating farms, rainwater collectors and solar panels would also be included.
2. Analemma Tower
Analemma Tower aims to turn current skyscraper designs on their head, literally.
The project, designed by New York's Clouds Architecture Office, would focus on a design that is from the sky down instead of the ground up: It would be suspended from an orbiting asteroid.
The building would travel in a figure-eight pattern through the Northern and Southern hemispheres. In addition to offices, it would include sleeping areas, a gardening area, retail and a place to worship. It could be constructed in Dubai.
3. Poseidon Resorts
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Poseidon Resorts aims to offer one-of-a-kind experiences. This underwater hotel was designed for Fiji and would be built 40 feet under the ocean, featuring a restaurant, a gym and more than a couple of dozen suites.
Originally scheduled to open in 2008, there is no new projected date for its completion, but there is a waiting list.
4. Mega-City Tower
The proposed Mega-City Tower in downtown Tokyo would be so large that it could not be constructed with any current materials. The mile-high pyramid would be made of carbon nanotubes, which are still being researched, and would surround several 100-story skyscrapers. The project was proposed by Shimuzu Corp.
Should it come to pass, this pyramid would stand 14 times as high as the Great Pyramid of Giza, the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the World.
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