Mexico welcomes ground-breaking ‘Earthscraper’
- 31st August 2011
- Comments (2)
An “Earthscraper” in Mexico is breaking new ground in the property market.
The building is an inverted skyscraper, which extends into the ground to offer a large amount of accommodation within a very small space. The design, by BNKR Aquitectura, is being heralded as a natural solution for the city’s lack of housing space and population of 21.2 million.
The colossal structure will be constructed at the heart of Mexico City’s historic district, replacing the main square of the Mexican capital with a glass roof. Property laws in Mexico City forbid any structure over eight stories high, but the Earthscraper will contain 65 stories in total. The top ten of these will be dedicated to a museum, while offices, shops and homes will fall underneath. A hollow shaft runs down the middle, offering light and ventilation to all levels of the building.
“The Earthscraper is the skyscraper’s antagonist in an historic urban landscape where the latter is condemned and the preservation of the built environment is the paramount ambition. It preserves the iconic presence of the city square and the existing hierarchy of the buildings that surround it,” explains BNKR.
The building’s ground-breaking design was a finalist in eVolo Magazine’s Skyscraper competition last year.
Comments (2)
Penelope Welch on 15th September 2011
It looks quite stunning in this form. I can’t help thinking about the shanty towns and the poverty stricken people though. I am not certain that as much money is being pumped into them.
Rob on 8th October 2011
Sounds very cool, but I wonder what it would feel like going way down into the earth to your office or home with only the light shaft for your sunlight?