PARIS: THE FUTURISTIC SMART CITY

Commissioned as part of the Climate Energy Plan of Paris, the plans show how the Paris of 2050 could embrace sustainability to create a healthier future while retaining its historical aesthetic and meeting its long-term energy goals.

Vincent Callebaut‘s Paris Smart City plan includes a Mountain Tower and other green skyscrapers inspired by nature that fit within the existing structures of the city. The buildings take advantage of a range of green building strategies including passive heating and cooling, rainwater recycling, and living green walls that infuse fresh air into the bustling metropolis. The plan also integrates community gardens and green spaces, encouraging residents to bring aspects of rural life to the urban realm.

The project uses space and materials in the most efficient way possible – the skins of the honeycomb-like towers also serve as solar energy generators that harvest sunlight and produce biofuel. “Phylolights” produce both light and energy using wind turbines.

The towers are also all mixed-use, encouraging the integration of business, residential and commercial enterprise, making the need for transportation on a daily basis less necessary and cutting the city’s fuel costs and emissions.