This is an idea I had while I was in High School for a self-sustaining apartment complex. Currently in large cities we see apartment buildings being used as the primary means of housing the population of said cities. This is due to the fact that you are making the most of the space you are given. Instead of trying to fit one family in 1 house, why not stack 10 or so families in 1 apartment, when they both take up the same amount of space? Looks like a great idea on paper sure, but now you need to feed 9 more families living in a single space, you also have to increase the ability to support those extra people on a utilities grid as well. My solution is simple enough, just build each individual apartment complex to sustain itself, or at the vest least a portion of its own utility cost.
The housing I propose consists of a cylindrical structure. Each level consist of 3 individual units (or pods), which are shaped roughly like thirds of a circle (3 pods completing a full circle). The example I have left below has 11 levels, but this could be expanded or reduced based on the utility support for each individual tower. Each pod contains any number of facilities to support the actual structure (and it's inhabitants.) Some of the pods would contain housing, utility storage (such as water or electricity), community farms food food, recreational facilities, or more. The possibilities are really only restricted by the space of each pod, which could also be increased if necessary. The pods sit around a central support structure, which acts not only as a connection for the pods to be housed, but also as the primary means of getting around as each central pillar will contain 3 elevators (one for each of the 3 pods per floor.) Additionally, each individual building is linked to a grid that connects all of the buildings together. The main reason being to share basic resources between the buildings. The grid itself would be electronic, and a control station would be set up to monitor and influence the system. For instance, if one building needed more water, a quick call could be made to the grid station and the would be able to route water from a building with a surplus of water, to the one that needed a little extra; in essence, built in redundancy.
The benefit of the pods, as opposed to a normal structure, is that is allows the actual structure to be changed as needed. For instance, if you found that a family had moved out, and you needed a boost to the water storage of the building, the housing pod could be removed from the central support structure, and replaced with a water storage pod. Unfortunately, as the it stands right now, you would not be able to easily add up on the structure, which would mean that the height in floors of the building at the time of it's construction would limit the buildings ability to swap out pods. To explain, let's say the family from the above example was not moving out, but the building still needed the extra water storage, you would have to deal with the shortage and take in water from the grid.
Here is a preview of the structure, as I had envisioned in High School. I may at some point, when I have more free time, take this up again and try to draft something that gives more information on the structure itself, and the grid it sits on.
The housing I propose consists of a cylindrical structure. Each level consist of 3 individual units (or pods), which are shaped roughly like thirds of a circle (3 pods completing a full circle). The example I have left below has 11 levels, but this could be expanded or reduced based on the utility support for each individual tower. Each pod contains any number of facilities to support the actual structure (and it's inhabitants.) Some of the pods would contain housing, utility storage (such as water or electricity), community farms food food, recreational facilities, or more. The possibilities are really only restricted by the space of each pod, which could also be increased if necessary. The pods sit around a central support structure, which acts not only as a connection for the pods to be housed, but also as the primary means of getting around as each central pillar will contain 3 elevators (one for each of the 3 pods per floor.) Additionally, each individual building is linked to a grid that connects all of the buildings together. The main reason being to share basic resources between the buildings. The grid itself would be electronic, and a control station would be set up to monitor and influence the system. For instance, if one building needed more water, a quick call could be made to the grid station and the would be able to route water from a building with a surplus of water, to the one that needed a little extra; in essence, built in redundancy.
The benefit of the pods, as opposed to a normal structure, is that is allows the actual structure to be changed as needed. For instance, if you found that a family had moved out, and you needed a boost to the water storage of the building, the housing pod could be removed from the central support structure, and replaced with a water storage pod. Unfortunately, as the it stands right now, you would not be able to easily add up on the structure, which would mean that the height in floors of the building at the time of it's construction would limit the buildings ability to swap out pods. To explain, let's say the family from the above example was not moving out, but the building still needed the extra water storage, you would have to deal with the shortage and take in water from the grid.
Here is a preview of the structure, as I had envisioned in High School. I may at some point, when I have more free time, take this up again and try to draft something that gives more information on the structure itself, and the grid it sits on.
If I remember correctly, direct current electricity has a much lower impact on human health... since you are incorporating the grid into the structure, you might check it out and do away with AC all together. The problem being that DC has to be generated locally because it does not travel long distances well. So there would have to be a means to generate all of the required energy locally... check out: Joule Unlimited. I like your blog.
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