with a giant dome, we count ten shocking construction projects that almost happened!

10 – Dubai’s ‘The World’, • Dubai is the capital of weird building

projects and this project, known as ‘The World’, looked set to be one for the ages.

That was until a shift in the economy caused plans to fall through.

• The concept behind The World was to create a set of islands shaped like Earth’s continents

off the coast of Dubai. These islands would then be sold off and lived on – presumably

so megalomaniac rich folk could roleplay ruling the world or something.

• Construction of the islands was completed, but the associated structures were left unfinished.

The project has now stalled out for so long that the islands are starting to erode into

the sea. It seems that The World, like the real world it’s based on, is slowly going

to shit. 9 – Vertical Farming,

• Vertical farming is a sci-fi inspired solution to the very real problem that we

might one day run out of fertile farming land. The idea is to grow crops in purpose-built

skyscrapers, utilising all that wasted vertical space.

• Vertical farming offers floor after floor of farmable land and a controllable climate

that could be used to grow seasonal crops all year round.

• The Dragonfly is a proposed vertical farm that is shaped like a dragonfly wing and situated

in the middle of New York City. Unfortunately, the technology required for sustainable large-scale

vertical farming hasn’t caught up with our aspirations yet, so it remains a pipe dream.

8 – Shimizu Mega-City Pyramid, • The Mega-City Pyramid is a Japanese architect’s

proposed solution to Tokyo Harbour’s overpopulation. It’s basically a giant, floating pyramid

that could easily house over a million people and fit 100-storey skyscrapers inside it.

• The Pyramid is planned to be made up of five trusses stacked on top of one another,

each one roughly the size of the Great Pyramid of Giza in Eygpt.

• If built, it would be the largest structure on the planet. Of course, its size is so great

that none of the construction materials we currently use could withstand its immense

weight. If even one truss failed, nearly a million people would be crushed or drown.

• There’s also the obvious risk that something this size will attract Godzilla attacks, so

for now this will have to remain something you see in an anime.

7 – Sutyagin House, • In 1992, Nikolai Sutyagin grew tired of

his home in Arkhangelsk, Russia, so decided to make some expansions. He added an extra

floor, and then another, then another – until before he knew it he had world’s tallest

wooden house. • At its peak, the eccentric Russian’s

home was thirteen stories and forty-four metres high. Nikolai was never satisfied and wanted

to add more and more – that is until he went to prison. When he got out, he no longer

had the funds to support the construction, so the house rotted and broke down around

him. • Arkhangelsk’s city council deemed it

a fire hazard and eventually forced Nikolai to dismantle his wooden castle. All that remains

now is the regular-sized original home, a few pictures and some salty, salty tears.

6 – Project Chariot, • Project Chariot was a misguided construction

project aimed to widen the Panama Canal and dig a harbour in Alaska. This would be accomplished

by US forces dropping nukes. • This proposal came shortly after H-bombs

were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Amidst all that pesky bad publicity, the US was looking

for a way to prove that atomic weaponry could be used for peaceful, productive purposes.

• Fortunately, the project never eventuated because of people living in Point Hope, a

village fifty kilometres from the proposed bombing site. They’d heard of a little thing

called radiation poisoning and refused to buy into the government’s lies that no harm

would come to them. They staged a massive protest, which ultimately led to the project

being canned and moved to the Nevada desert. 5 – Paris’s Road Tower,

• In 1937, a 700-meter tall ‘barber pole-style’ tower was proposed to be installed in Paris.

• The top of the tower would be a hotel, which people could reach by driving up a road

that spiralled around the tower. There was also going to be a 400-car capacity parking

garage on top, a restaurant in the middle and a monorail system that would slowly lower

cars to the ground. • Fortunately this insane accident magnet

was never completed. 4 – The Manhattan Dome,

• Domed cities were a staple of science fiction in the Sixties, so it’s not surprising

that Buckminster Fuller, an architect from that time, proposed doming one of the most

famous cities in the world: New York. • The dome would cover most of Manhattan

and filter pollution out of the air. The dome would be kept at a constant temperature, meaning

there’d be no need for heating in the winter or cooling in the summer.

• Unfortunately, no one really went for the idea. The cost to implement it would’ve

been astronomical, and, since no one knew if it would really work, it seemed safer to

leave domed cities in the realm of science fiction.

3 – Burj Khalifa Fabric Wrap, • This project is by far the least practical.

Effectively the idea is to put a giant fabric condom over the world’s tallest building,

Dubai’s Burj Khalifa. The project would require an enormous sheet that would have

to withstand exposure to harsh elements and strain, so it bet it would cost a lot.

• What function would it serve? None. This is basically just a really expensive, really

ambitious art installation. • The lead designer said the project aims

to “create a fluid urban experience” and “explore creative potential in the public

realm” – whatever the hell that means. 2 – Plan Voisin,

• In the 1920s, architect Le Corbusier wanted to completely level Paris, the most romantic

city in the world, so he could rebuild it in a very different way.

• The plan was called Plan Voisin and involved erecting eighteen enormous glass towers. The

towers would make up Paris’s business district and would be connected by subway stations

and surrounded by an extensive garden city. • Back then, the idea of bulldozing Paris

wasn’t all that unthinkable, as the city had become dirty and decrepit.

1 – Freedom Ship, • The Freedom Ship was a huge ship which

doubled as a self-sufficient city. First proposed in the Nineties (when stupid shit seemed like

good ideas), the 25-storey ship was to travel the globe every two years, stopping at all

major ports and having residents disembark by helicopter.

• The ship would have a 50,000-person capacity and a self-sustaining economy, with jobs,

schools, shops and probably a really good strip club – y’know, everything a city

needs. • Unfortunately it didn’t work out because

very few people were willing to permanently relocate onto a ship -- especially when there

were concerns it could be the next Titanic. • Even if all those land-lovers changed

their minds, it would still cost $10 billion to get the ambitious project off the ground.