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IF YOU THINK urban space is at a premium on this planet, you are not alone.
Designers, urban planners and architects have explored vertical living, land reclamation and other non-traditional alternatives to accommodate the world’s demand for living space. The next frontier – on this planet anyway – is under the ocean wave.
Japanese company Shimizu has been making waves (sorry) with this design for a development under the sea’s surface.
They claim that “the deep sea offers enormous potential for ensuring effective and appropriate cycles and processes in the earth’s biosphere”.
The design focuses on efficiency, sustainability and “breaks free from past patterns of land development”.
It has a ‘Blue Garden’ base camp that measures 500m in diameter, its spherical shape floating on the surface of the water. This makes it safe from hurricanes and earthquakes, according to the designers, and the temperature can be more easily controlled than on land.
At this level (at 200m under the sea surface), where the human activity takes place, sunlight will still penetrate and photosynthesis by phyoplankton still occurs.
The serious work begins at lower levels, with a spiral descending to the sea floor.
Look at his infographic to see how they plan to structure water treatment, energy generation and stability for the whole project along the length of the spiral.
Click here for a high-res version if you have difficulty viewing this image:
What do you think of it?
A more detailed plan of the materials that could be used, and the functions of the design – and a business plan for the sustainability of the ‘city’ are here.
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Lucky to be alive after getting a smack from a train. Very lucky.
I hope he us not too seriously hurt
In Japan the train company sues the family for damages if someone commits suicude by jumping under a train. It sounds like this guy was somewhere where he shouldn’t have been and as a result ruined the evening of thousands of people. It may be harsh but there should be consequences.
Fools own fault, trespassing
What was he doing trespassing on the line, very lucky he wasn’t killed!
Are there not two train tracks on this line? Close the one the victim was on but switch the traffic to the other track to allow passengers to travel on, I’d think?
Martain
The traveling public are not allowed to see a dead/injured person after been hit by a train.
Id imagine it wouldn’t be too safe for the emergency workers having a train passing by so close to them either.
By all means James but once the clear up operation has been done, why inconvenience or endanger everyone else from getting home or on to where they need to be?
It might sound facile but a bloke here once drove his car onto a train line to commit suicide and nearly succeeded in killing others in the resulting crash. Worth thinking about here is the traumatic impact on the train driver in seeing someone dilerbrately putting themselves in such harms way without any chance of avoidance?
Yeah, James, imagine if some commuter chose that moment to flush. Brown mist, not nice.
Even if they did that It’s still gonna slow down the line Martin
Lost his nerve at the last second? Hope he gets help if that’s the case.
Poor boy. I hope he gets the help he needs. Before people start moaning about the inconvenience, think how he must have been feeling. To think throwing yourself under a train can be the answer it would have to be a very black day indeed.
Sounds strange. Got hit but didn’t suffer any life threatening injuries. Surely could have been dealt with faster possibly ?
Presumably there still has to be a health & safety investigation for any workplace accident involving a member of the public, plus possibly a Gárda investigation. Facts have to be ascertained with a view to seeing if similar incidents could be prevented.
God help this young lad. To feel there is no way out but this is horrendous. I hope he gets the help he needs. Take care young man and remember
H -hold
O – on
P – pain
E – eases
HOPE xxxxxxx
Was on a train to Heuston this afternoon. We got delayed in Athy for about an hour due to the incident. It could have been worse I guess.
Exactly
All I will say is I’m glad he survived , it must be first ever incident where someone actually survives after that. I was stuck in delays but it wasn’t too bad especially knowing the reason why. I usually feel very bad for train drivers, if that boy would of died how would you live with yourself knowing you killed him, but all good hes alive !
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