Greenhouse gas emissions are exacerbated by an increase in population numbers, with more cities becoming hotter and more polluted. Paris is set to tackle the situation within its walls with eco-friendly towers and structures that are going to decrease greenhouse gas emissions by up to 75 per cent by the year 2050. Best of all, they sound straight out of a sci-fi movie.
Paris City Hall commissioned Vincent Callebaut Architecture to develop a way for the city to decrease its gas emissions. The result was a project called Paris Smart City that includes eight structures which are highly trendy while being sustainable as ever. Some of the highlights in the project include:
1. Farmscrapers
Imagine turning skyscrapers into something sustainable like farms? That’s basically what farmscrapers are about: vertical farms built right into skyscrapers! They will also clean the air while collecting rain water.
2. Smog-Fighting Towers
The Petite Ceinture is a neglected railway hub in the city but with walkways, cycling paths and railways it could be given a new lease on life. Surrounding it, towers will remove smog with their titanium dioxide coating which neutralizes pollutants in the air.
3. Bridge Towers
Like something out of a fairy tale, these bridge towers will be built over the Seine river and produce electricity with turbines. The use of heat pumps will be able to cool and heat residential apartments that reside near the water.
4. Mountain Towers
Buildings on the popular Rue de Rivoli will be given a makeover with greenery and solar panels that will be able to produce electricity and hot water. The addition of garden balconies will purify water and air.
5. Photosynthesis Tower
The Tour Montparnasse, a steel and glass skyscraper that is 210 metres in height, will have green algae cultivated in its glass exterior. This will attract the sun’s heat and maintain the coolness of the tower’s interior. Methane from the algae will be used to produce electricity.
6. Mangrove Towers
Towers in the Gare du Nord, a railway station in the city, will be part of a new hub for travellers, containing offices, houses and hotels. This is a clever way of making the city more self-sufficient by having buildings for personal and business needs in one place to decrease the use of fuel for transport. Piezoelectric capacitors will collect kinetic energy from train motion to footsteps, cleverly transforming it into power. Solar panels will be scattered through the towers, turning light from the sun into energy.
Image credit: william87 / Dollar Photo Club
