Shimizu Mega-City Pyramid
| Shimizu TRY 2004 Mega-City Pyramid | |
|---|---|
清水TRY-2004メガ都市のピラミッド | |
 The Pyramid City arcology or megacity as featured on the Discovery Channel's Extreme Engineering programs | |
| General information | |
| Status | Vision |
| Type | Office, Residential, Research, Leisure |
| Location | Tokyo Bay, Japan |
| Height | |
| Roof | 2,004 m (6,575 ft) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor area | 8 square kilometres (3.1 sq mi) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | Dante Bini, David Dimitric |
| Developer | Shimizu Corporation |
The Shimizu TRY 2004 Mega-City Pyramid is a proposed Shimizu Corporation project for the construction of a massive pyramid over Tokyo Bay in Japan. The structure would be more than 14 times as high as the Great Pyramid of Giza (139 metres, 456.04 feet), and would house 1,000,000 people. The structure would be 2,000 meters (6,561 feet) tall measured from mean sea level, including 5 stacked trusses, each with similar dimensions to that of the Great Pyramid of Giza. This pyramid would help answer Tokyo's increasing lack of space, although the project would only handle a small fraction of the population of the Greater Tokyo Area.[1]
The proposed structure is so large that it could not be built with current conventional materials, due to their weight. The design relies on the future availability of super-strong lightweight materials based on carbon nanotubes presently being researched.
Materials and construction process
First, the pyramid's foundation would be formed by 36 piers made of special concrete.
Because the seismically active Pacific Ring of Fire cuts right through Japan, the external structure of the pyramid would be an open network of megatrusses, supporting struts made from carbon nanotubes to allow the pyramid to stand against and let through high winds, and survive earthquakes and tsunamis.
The trusses would be coated with photovoltaic film to convert sunlight into electricity and help power the city. The city will also be powered by pond scum or algae.
Robotic systems are planned to play a major part in both construction and building maintenance.
Interior traffic and buildings
Transportation within the city would be provided by accelerating walkways, inclined elevators, and a personal rapid transit system where automated pods would travel within the trusses.
Housing and office space would be provided by twenty-four or more 30-story high skyscrapers suspended from above and below, and attached to the pyramid's supporting structure with nanotube cables.