Gigantic 3000-foot Pyramid Proposed for Tokyo Bay - Gizmodo Comments

Gigantic 3000-foot Pyramid Proposed for Tokyo Bay

TurboFool — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 13:06:25 EDT

My knowledge of engineering is weak at best, but doesn't the fact that it's completely hollow and open help PROTECT is more? Just like a hollow tube is a stronger support than a solid one, isn't the open structure of this more likely to let the massive force of a tsunami dissipate instead of slamming into and destroying a solid wall?

TurboFool

Gigantic 3000-foot Pyramid Proposed for Tokyo Bay

koralex90 — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 08:05:43 EDT

they should build it in seoul.

koralex90

Gigantic 3000-foot Pyramid Proposed for Tokyo Bay

xiLLeNtz — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 05:26:12 EDT

olllld saw that a few years ago; would be cool if they were to really do it

xiLLeNtz

Gigantic 3000-foot Pyramid Proposed for Tokyo Bay

willyolio — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 00:48:29 EDT

if anyone's going to make really cool stuff like arcologies, ultra-thin cellphones, or robotic french maids, it'll be japan. no question.

willyolio

Gigantic 3000-foot Pyramid Proposed for Tokyo Bay

Alfonzo — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 00:07:11 EDT

garrr...i hate "it would contain anything anyone could ever need to live a complete life, from cradle to the grave."
Like hell it does. stupid fucking gardens placed on top of skyscrapers are NOT a substitute for the REAL world, with things called animals and nature.

Alfonzo

Gigantic 3000-foot Pyramid Proposed for Tokyo Bay

saych — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 19:45:43 EDT

Tokyo has way to many earthquakes. The building itself looks good, but building it in Tokyo would be a bad idea.

saych

Gigantic 3000-foot Pyramid Proposed for Tokyo Bay

PHJ — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 18:59:38 EDT

A scale down version like this would best build inside the zoo for monkey.

PHJ

Gigantic 3000-foot Pyramid Proposed for Tokyo Bay

Lazarus511 — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 17:11:46 EDT

Problem is, that this would take so long to complete that it would get redesigned about 5 times before it was done. I can see it now, the Leaning Pyramid of Japan.

Lazarus511

Gigantic 3000-foot Pyramid Proposed for Tokyo Bay

Sukigod — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 15:03:47 EDT

Yep, Arcology was the first thing that came to my mind too, strider.

I also thought that would be the best place for Dunkelzahn (Shadowrun anyone?) to set up shop!

Sukigod

Gigantic 3000-foot Pyramid Proposed for Tokyo Bay

ANoel — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 14:49:05 EDT

But, can they get it to Mars when necessary?

ANoel

Gigantic 3000-foot Pyramid Proposed for Tokyo Bay

J.T. — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 14:48:56 EDT

Clearly this will never actually be built, but it's not the only time a utopian structure has been proposed for Tokyo Bay.

This summer at the Barbicon Art Gallery in London (housed within the Barbicon, a utopian enclosed-society structure, itself), there was an exhibit entitled "Future Structures," focused entirely on utopian architecture.

One of the many architecture groups featured was a Japanese avante-garde group called the Metabolists, who sought to create structures which could expand infinitely with megastructures made of capsules of "minimum dwelling units." Fun, right?

In particular, though, was an architect named Kenzo Tange, whose concept for rebuilding Tokyo after World War II was to extend the city's infrastructure into the very center of Tokyo Bay as a "civic axis." His plan, according to the exhibit, is "now considered an archetype of megastructure-style urban planning." Of course, then, it was never built!

This sort of thing never flies, because it requires an immense initial-cost buy-in that no government outside of a communist/totalitarian regime would be willing to front. One of the only countries seriously considering a "planned city" (i.e. a city planned from the ground up, rather than incrementally by individuals) is China, who's looking into building a suburb of Shanghai like that. There was an article in an issue of Wired recently that detailed its viability, but it might just happen.

J.T.

Gigantic 3000-foot Pyramid Proposed for Tokyo Bay

vinchbr — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 14:21:24 EDT

i´ve seen it a long time ago in discovery channel brasil.. on a show call megaconstructions (translated, but i would say big ass buildings) seemed alright =D

vinchbr

Gigantic 3000-foot Pyramid Proposed for Tokyo Bay

tzakiel — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 13:57:53 EDT

Do it.

tzakiel

Gigantic 3000-foot Pyramid Proposed for Tokyo Bay

shalto — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 13:54:24 EDT

this building will probably never happen however one of my favorite episodes of exreme engineering featured something that might already be in the works called sky city 1000 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sky_City_1000 they say that Roppongi Hills in tokyo is sort of a prototype because its a self contained community complete with hospitals and the like

shalto

Gigantic 3000-foot Pyramid Proposed for Tokyo Bay

Geisrud — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 13:48:38 EDT

I'll take two.

Geisrud

Gigantic 3000-foot Pyramid Proposed for Tokyo Bay

Ultraorange — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 13:45:17 EDT

yeah the clip leaves out that this is proposed for about 100 years into the future when we have robots to spin the tubes from nanotubes.

Ultraorange

Gigantic 3000-foot Pyramid Proposed for Tokyo Bay

liquidsoapdispenser — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 13:42:22 EDT

I genuinely believe I saw this video at least TEN years ago. For some reason I believed construction of this pyramid would have started by now. I'm gullible.

liquidsoapdispenser

Gigantic 3000-foot Pyramid Proposed for Tokyo Bay

ARP — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 13:33:39 EDT

Now all we need are Replicants and some rain and we should be all set for the distopian future.

ARP

Gigantic 3000-foot Pyramid Proposed for Tokyo Bay

scaught — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 13:18:38 EDT

The pyramid is a series of tubes just like the internet? SWEET!

/can't believe I made the first mention

scaught

Gigantic 3000-foot Pyramid Proposed for Tokyo Bay

Collins1990 — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 13:15:38 EDT

Oh god. This is funny. I can't believe some moron actually proposed this crap!

"...and people speeding between them through a vast matrix of hollow supports..."
HOW THE HELL DO YOU SEE THE SUPPORTS, THEN?!

I was half expecting George Jetson or the Planet Express Ship to crash into something.

I'd take bets on what they'd call the restaurant at the top.

Collins1990

Gigantic 3000-foot Pyramid Proposed for Tokyo Bay

Munch the BanNail — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 13:15:10 EDT

It's all fun and games until those 'suspended skyscrapers' start treating eachother like piniatas when the next big earthquake hits.

Munch the BanNail

Gigantic 3000-foot Pyramid Proposed for Tokyo Bay

br4nd0nh347 — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 13:03:23 EDT

lol yes he is, yes he is

oan
I love extreme engineering

br4nd0nh347

Gigantic 3000-foot Pyramid Proposed for Tokyo Bay

SgtBeavis — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 13:00:32 EDT

Japan already has a huge amount of public debt. The banks are just now opening the purse strings for more private construction.

This simply isn't going to happen.

SgtBeavis

Gigantic 3000-foot Pyramid Proposed for Tokyo Bay

jonyah — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 12:56:56 EDT

yep, extreme engineering is the show that covered. been on for quite some time now.

jonyah

Gigantic 3000-foot Pyramid Proposed for Tokyo Bay

girraffesack — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 12:47:44 EDT

Godzilla is gonna be pissed...

girraffesack

Gigantic 3000-foot Pyramid Proposed for Tokyo Bay

pcdsim — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 12:41:23 EDT

That's a big FU to those buildings on the Bay.

pcdsim

Gigantic 3000-foot Pyramid Proposed for Tokyo Bay

Nick_M — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 12:40:02 EDT

Should we do this? Probably not. Could we do this? Possibly. Would the first natural disaster ruin it? Hope not...

Do they have a real problem to address, absolutely but let's send em back to the drawing board.

Nick_M

Gigantic 3000-foot Pyramid Proposed for Tokyo Bay

strider_mt2k — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 12:38:08 EDT

Arcology anyone?

http://www.arcology.com/

strider_mt2k

Gigantic 3000-foot Pyramid Proposed for Tokyo Bay

scrag — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 12:37:17 EDT

If Japan builds a giant pyramid, the terrorists win.

scrag

Gigantic 3000-foot Pyramid Proposed for Tokyo Bay

dingus — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 12:32:21 EDT

"...people would travel inside it via the tubes that are also supporting the enormous structure."

Attack pyramid's weak point for MASSIVE DAMAGE!

dingus

Gigantic 3000-foot Pyramid Proposed for Tokyo Bay

AUA — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 12:31:54 EDT

Yeah, I seem to recall this from a billion years agop, whne they MADEI T IN EGYPT YOU STPIDBLOGSDT!

err . . . sorry. My internal 11 year old took the controls there for a second.

AUA

Gigantic 3000-foot Pyramid Proposed for Tokyo Bay

Slappy McSlapp — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 12:26:30 EDT

Holy old news, Batman!

Slappy McSlapp

Gigantic 3000-foot Pyramid Proposed for Tokyo Bay

Ultraorange — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 12:25:51 EDT

uh was on the discovery channel almost a year ago and it was on discovery science this weekend. I'm posting this in safari on xp. not much fast so far

Ultraorange

Gigantic 3000-foot Pyramid Proposed for Tokyo Bay

logikgr — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 12:25:02 EDT

I saw this in Discovery, a few years ago. It sounds really cool, well, the whole idea of mega-structures. If any country should do it, I think that country should be Japan. :-)

logikgr