News: Next Tokyo 2045 - We’ll be living in a tower one mile high.

Anyone that’s been anywhere in Japan both sides of the March 2011 earthquake/tsunami will know that the nation’s natural disaster senses have been piqued (even more than they already were).  Tokyo, in particular, has been the subject of studies and research into what might happen should an earthquake of similar size occur in the bay area.  Of particular concern is the type of flooding that could occur from any resulting tsunami.  This coupled with Tokyo’s low-lying geography and rising waters the world over, have given us headlines like this ..

ONE MILE high skyscraper to be built in Japanese mega city would be twice the height of Dubai's Burj (but it won't be completed until 2045)  (Mail Online)

The nuance of the piece is that this is going to happen.  That’s not true.  This is something that’s being thought about.  The project responsible for the thinking - Next Tokyo 2045.

Next Tokyo 2045 is the kind of project likely to pop up the world over on the back of rising sea levels, seismic activity, increased typhoon risk and just the general shitty way that we treat planet earth.  

According to the project report, at the core of the plan is a high-density development across the (Tokyo) bay, occupying some 12.5 square km, capable of housing 500,000.  The core of which seems to be a series of hexagonal infrastructural rings (150 - 1,500 m in width), some of which will be linked with flood gates.  Transport will be provided by trains (?) incorporating Maglev / vacuum-tube technology the type of which, the report sites, is under development by business magnate Elon Musk.

Fuel sources for the project:

• - kinetic energy from trains

• - solar energy

• - wind power (from turbines)

• - algae grown from saline (salt) water

The show-stopper of all this will be Sky Mile Tower.  It’s a tower.  It’s a mile high (well, 1,600 m). And it’s close to … Kisarazu in Chiba (it’ll be 4 km off the coast).  For reference, Dubai’s Burj Khalifa is 828 m.

Features of Sky Mile Tower:

• - 5 zones

• - 55,000 occupants

• - cloud harvesting technology for water sourcing

• - separated into zones where waste heat from one, can be used by another

• - shopping, restaurants, hotels, gyms, libraries

• - on-site anaerobic digester (nope, no idea)

• - thermal micro-grid (still no idea)

Interestingly, when building structures of this height, according to the report, seismic concerns are actually outweighed by concerns of wind resistance.  To prevent from getting blown over, Sky Mile Tower will include the very impressive sounding, megabracing.  

Whether or not Next Tokyo 2045 becomes a reality, in 2045, is anyone’s guess.  However, if the mess surrounding the new stadium for the 2020 Olympics is any indicator we’d all do well to control our expectations.

Facts alert!  Tokyo Bay currently includes 250 square km of reclaimed land.  This isn’t the first time a plan has been made for urbanization to link either side of Tokyo Bay.  See the 1960 Plan for Tokyo by Kenzo Tange.

Would you fancy living in a tower one mile high?  Above Tokyo Bay?  (We bet the views are great!)  Or do you think you’ll have gone back to the motherland by then?

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