Dennis Christian Schmidt proposes underground cities to protect humanity from "the hardships our future holds"

The next finalist project in Dezeen's Redesign the World competition powered by Twinmotion is Dennis Christian Schmidt's proposal to create a network of underground cities built around climate-regulating lakes.

Called Cave City, Schmidt's proposal is to create cities deep below the earth's surface in a bid to protect against climate change and natural disasters such as storms, tornadoes and increasing temperatures.

The proposed cities feature large residential quarters that take the form of colosseum-like structures built around lakes that help to regulate the climate inside the caves.

The ceilings also feature integrated ventilation systems to foster the growth of crops grown in vertical farms.

Read more about the proposal below.

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Cave City

Dennis Christian Schmidt

Worms, Germany

Finalist

"Climate change and the resulting increase in natural disasters will force us to find alternative living spaces. Cities need to be protected from storms, tornadoes and rising heat.

"So how about creating cities underground rather than above ground?

"Cave City lies several dozen meters below the surface, protected from the hardships our future holds for us.

"The residential quarters are laid out like a colosseum around a lake. The lake helps to regulate the climate inside the cave and offers a range of leisure activities.

"Transport to and from the city is guaranteed via a subway system.

"A ventilation system in the ceiling of the cave is combined with a plant of vertical farms. A lot of crops need wind to develop tall, strong stalks, needed later when they are carrying heavy loads before harvest. Through this two birds can be killed with one stone."

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Redesign the World

Redesign the World is the ultimate design competition, which called for new ideas to rethink planet Earth to ensure that it remains habitable long into the future.

Launched in partnership with Epic Games, the contest asked entrants to visualise their concepts using architectural visualisation software Twinmotion.

The contest received over 100 entries from more than 30 different countries around the world.

These were assessed by a judging panel comprising White Arkitekter CEO Alexandra Hagen, structural engineer Hanif Kara, speculative architect Liam Young, Twinmotion product marketing manager Belinda Ercan and Dezeen founder and editor-in-chief Marcus Fairs, which selected 15 proposals as finalists to be published on Dezeen.

We are unveiling one finalist a day throughout our Dezeen 15 festival, culminating in the winner being announced on 19 November.

The winner will receive the top prize of £5,000. There are also prizes of £2,500 for second place, £1,000 for third place and £500 each for the remaining finalists.

Find out more about Redesign the World ›

See all the finalists revealed so far ›

The post Dennis Christian Schmidt proposes underground cities to protect humanity from "the hardships our future holds" appeared first on Dezeen.

#redesigntheworldfinalists #redesigntheworld #all #architecture #design #technology #videos #underground #twinmotion

BPAS Architects envisions rain-collecting skyscrapers to "reverse desertification"

BPAS Architects imagines building huge water-harvesting skyscrapers for humanity to survive in the desert, one of the 15 finalist projects for Dezeen's Redesign the World competition powered by Twinmotion.

Titled A New World: The Desert Faction, the project imagines a future where the Sahara Desert has expanded significantly and humans have been forced to build larger and larger communities in the hot, arid environment.

In BPAS Architects' vision, technology works in tandem with the desert environment, with energy harvested via solar panels. Water is scarce, and the faction's skyscrapers collect rainwater before it evaporates, pumping it through underground tunnels to surrounding farming areas and communities.

The water transforms the desert into a fertile landscape where crops grow, and communities flourish, eventually reversing desertification.

BPAS Architects imagines that the desert-living communities would form one of several "factions" around the world, where humanity has been forced to adapt to harsh environmental conditions.

Read more about BPAS Architects' proposal below.

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A New World: The Desert Faction

BPAS Architects, Cape Town, South Africa

Finalist

"Not so far in the future, the human race has run its course of destruction on earth, surpassing life as we know it.

"All over the world, extreme natural phenomena have occurred, making it almost impossible for humans to live without adaptation.

"The Sahara Desert has expanded tenfold and reaches over 70 degrees during the day; the constant volcanic eruptions from the Ring of Fire in the Pacific Ocean have destroyed thousands of homes and habitats; the ocean now covers over 80 per cent of the world due to rising sea levels, and the ice caps have reached temperatures not even polar bears can survive.

"As a result, extreme natural disasters reign terror on the remaining population: droughts, tropical storms, wildfires, etc., bringing with them human problems such as soil infertility, water scarcity and famine, far greater than ever seen before.

[

Read:

Mando Xie proposes green floating cities to enable "human civilization to continue" on the ocean

](https://www.dezeen.com/2021/11/05/titan-ark-2100-mando-xie-redesign-the-world-finalist/)

"These issues call on urgent redesign and adaptation to ensure the survival of communities across the globe.

"Using the extreme phenomena all over the world as resources, new human ecosystems are created. These are called factions and are vital for the survival of the earth.

"The main factions are Desert, Pelagic, Volcanic, Wind and Polar. Each faction works in tandem with what that part of the earth provides, creating new forms of technology that are dependent on the longevity of that natural resource, ensuring a harmonious relationship with the earth rather than its exploitation.

"The faction considered here is the Desert Faction, living in the vast wastelands of nothingness. People have fled the deteriorating and unsafe cities and set up communities elsewhere in the expanding deserts.

"The earth's surface has become so hot in this post-apocalyptic scenario that any rain that may come evaporates hundreds of metres before it touches the ground. As a result, the water harvesting skyscraper is designed.

"The new-world skyscraper reaches a height of 1000m to collect the rain before it evaporates. Once the water is collected, it runs safely through the skyscraper to underground storage.

[

Read:

Pawel Rymsza proposes domed cities with algae lakes "to make big reductions in atmospheric carbon"

](https://www.dezeen.com/2021/11/01/carbon-neutral-rings-pawel-rymsza-redesign-the-world-finalist/)

"From here, the water can either be pumped using the energy from the solar panels to the surrounding farming areas; for water, sanitation and hygiene; or the overflow water in the store runs along the underground tunnels, connecting other sporadic communities that have not received rain.

"By bringing the water down to the surface, the vast landscapes of the desert have been transformed into fertile, life-giving soil. Crops are planted, forests begin to regrow, and the surrounding communities flourish.

"Using solar panels and heat technology, the natural energy is absorbed and transformed into energy for everyday use.

"By harvesting rainwater and bringing it back to the earth's surface, communities contribute significantly to revitalizing the natural ecosystems through reverse desertification."

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Redesign the World

Redesign the World is the ultimate design competition, which called for new ideas to rethink planet Earth to ensure that it remains habitable long into the future.

Launched in partnership with Epic Games, the contest asked entrants to visualise their concepts using architectural visualisation software Twinmotion.

The contest received over 100 entries from more than 30 different countries around the world.

These were assessed by a judging panel comprising White Arkitekter CEO Alexandra Hagen, structural engineer Hanif Kara, speculative architect Liam Young, Twinmotion product marketing manager Belinda Ercan and Dezeen founder and editor-in-chief Marcus Fairs, which selected 15 proposals as finalists to be published on Dezeen.

We are unveiling one finalist a day throughout our Dezeen 15 festival, culminating in the winner being announced on 19 November.

The winner will receive the top prize of £5,000. There are also prizes of £2,500 for second place, £1,000 for third place and £500 each for the remaining finalists.

Find out more about Redesign the World ›

See all the finalists revealed so far ›

The post BPAS Architects envisions rain-collecting skyscrapers to "reverse desertification" appeared first on Dezeen.

#redesigntheworldfinalists #redesigntheworld #all #architecture #videos #design #deserts #skyscrapers #twinmotion

Angelo Renna and Oleksandr Nenenko envision a world dominated by "superorganism" trees

Angelo Renna and Oleksandr Nenenko have proposed covering planet Earth with huge genetically engineered trees, one of 15 finalist projects for Dezeen's Redesign the World competition powered by Twinmotion.

Titled The Word for World is Forest, Renna and Nenenko's proposal envisions "superorganism" trees that absorb 50 per cent more carbon dioxide than typical trees.

The trees would also use less water and are designed to grow fast and survive in turbulent weather conditions.

In Renna and Nenenko's imagined future, humans live in symbiosis with non-human species and are the "guardians of the forest". Plants are no longer considered "ornamental" but are vital to human survival and culture.

The concept is inspired by Ursula K Le Guin's 1972 novella of the same name, which is about a fictional planet that is completely covered by forest.

Read more about the proposal below.

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The Word for World is Forest

Angelo Renna and Oleksandr Nenenko, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Finalist

"In 1972, Ursula K Le Guin published the book The Word for World is Forest, a science-fiction novella in which a fictional planet is completely covered by a forest and inhabited by non-violent people capable of lucid dreaming.

"As in Le Guin's story, in our proposal for the Redesign the World competition, the forest and world are two meanings and one.

"We imagine the earth completely covered by a forest made with special genetically engineered trees – superorganisms able to grow faster and survive in extreme weather conditions using less water and absorbing 50 per cent more carbon dioxide than normal trees.

"In this new environment, humans live in symbiosis with the forest. They are the guardians.

"The substance of their world is not earth but forest, within which humans and non-humans co-inhabit a common political space sharing life and death, dreams and myths.

"It is a place in which culture and nature blur in one entity, including all the forms of life and their thoughts.

"For too long, we (humans) have considered plants just like a cosmic ornament, inessential elements, pure decoration of our living places. Plants don't run and fly. They stay there where they are.

"The world for them is condensed in the portion of soil and sky they occupy in total communion with the surrounding environment. We will never be able to fully understand a plant without having understood what the world is."

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Redesign the World

Redesign the World is the ultimate design competition, which called for new ideas to rethink planet Earth to ensure that it remains habitable long into the future.

Launched in partnership with Epic Games, the contest asked entrants to visualise their concepts using architectural visualisation software Twinmotion.

The contest received over 100 entries from more than 30 different countries around the world.

These were assessed by a judging panel comprising White Arkitekter CEO Alexandra Hagen, structural engineer Hanif Kara, speculative architect Liam Young, Twinmotion product marketing manager Belinda Ercan and Dezeen founder and editor-in-chief Marcus Fairs, which selected 15 proposals as finalists to be published on Dezeen.

We are unveiling one finalist a day throughout our Dezeen 15 festival, culminating in the winner being announced on 19 November.

The winner will receive the top prize of £5,000. There are also prizes of £2,500 for second place, £1,000 for third place and £500 each for the remaining finalists.

Find out more about Redesign the World ›

See all the finalists revealed so far ›

The post Angelo Renna and Oleksandr Nenenko envision a world dominated by "superorganism" trees appeared first on Dezeen.

#redesigntheworldfinalists #redesigntheworld #all #architecture #videos #design #trees #twinmotion