Verticity

[Pingyao]

Verticity....A Vertical City

I've been thinking for a long time about building something new and I always wanted to build a megatall, and I mean a megatall! I had this concept running around in my head for a vertical city, not a new idea by a long shot, but one which I thought would make a cool 3D project. When I say vertical city, what I really mean is a single tower rising for hundreds and hundreds of meters.

I remember seeing Jean Nouvel's Tour Sans Fins (http://www.flickr.com/photos/50188109@N03/4790177414/) concept for Paris many years ago, and being quite inspired at the time. I'm using this as a jumping off point.

Basically the 'city' will take the form of a cylindrical glass structure rising 3-4000m, yes 3-4km high. It shall be completely self sufficient and I imagine it would be built outside of existing cities. The location I have in mind is a semi-arid desert region. However it could equally be built in a temperate zone, colder region or even in the sea. The city should have road and high speed rail links. There will be some kind of 'farm' included in the design, which will take the form of a greenhouse structure for food growing. The building must also be as green as possible using renewable energy and limiting its carbon footprint as much as possible.

As I have not done anything yet except a crude model for the location this project will be a complete design and build scheme, from sketchbook to finished renders and I am even toying with under construction renders too. This will break away from my previous work which was texture applied modelling to true material and spatial modelling with interiors as well as exteriors. Textures are fine for cities, but lame for individual buildings. I also want to get down to the human scale, something a lot of these vertical city concepts out there seem to miss.

Updates maybe very vague as time is much more constrained recently with work commitments and such, but I would hope to have some concepts done for next week. I was in fact wary of posting as that in itself is a commitment, but hey.

Finally if anyone's worried Sta Fee is not dead, she is still on my PC! We are taking it slowly, I haven't divorced her yet, I have too much invested in her to do that. We're just on a break :lol:

[JHoward88]

Knowing your work, I don't doubt that this proposed tower you are talking abot will, if it takes shape, be absolutely incredible.

[Pingyao]

TESTING

I have built a scene in which to place the design, its a massive desert region I've swiped of google earth and then modelled in Cinema4D. The end result is a section of land approximately 150km x 75km. I want the building to look like its actually placed in an environment rather than just floating in space.

I'm also looking at HDRI lighting, or High Dynamic Range Lighting (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_dynamic_range_rendering). For anyone thats interested this uses a full spectrum of light exposures to light a scene. The video I have posted shows an example. The sky actually lights this scene, there is no sun or light object. The test I made is just a simple 'flyover' shot, but to give you an idea of scale the crude test structure (THIS BARES NO RELATION TO THE PROPOSED STRUCTURE - PURELY FOR TESTING PURPOSES) is actually 1200m tall, so the landscape is big enough I think haha. In fact the edge of the landscape I've actually bent down slightly at the same angle as the curvature of the earth, so that renders from the top of the building should show slightly more of the landscape than renders from the base. Anyway this is all very nerdy, but I just wanted to update you guys on where I am with this project.

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This second shorter video is another HDRI test.

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[Vellu]

Talk about massive scale! You should add some small elements at some point to really show the true scale of things. Maybe an aeroplane flying past the verticity or something like that.

[Flamesrule]

Awsome I can't wait to see it!

[Pingyao]

I have begun actual modelling for this project. This first view is of the start of the freeway which actually crosses the desert
at this point. The freeway will have a new junction and a spur branching east to where the virticity will be located, basically
on the right of this image, a few kilometers from the freeway. Not much done yet I grant you, but this first stage is really
about setting the scene and building the existing context.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4098/4799685824_4e6bd5bae9_b.jpg

[Pingyao]

Rays Auto garage and restaruant on the old Brubaker Road, which runs parallel with the freeway. Rays is currently the only civilisation for 50 miles in either direction. However once construction starts on Verticity he's gonna have some new neighbours!

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4137/4810435132_64fbbe3ed4_z.jpg

[Pingyao]

Concept sketches

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4101/4812516204_65f93c8f13_z.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4097/4811891577_444145090c_z.jpg

[Innsertnamehere]

it looks good.... though i think it should taper as it goes up...

[Pingyao]

:previous: Yeah I toyed with tapering, but actually I want to keep the form parallel all the way to the top, it maximises floor space and I love the whole glass cylinder concept.

^^Interesting idea Malec and one I may well investigate further thanx. A few sketches I did last night when I was bored. I'm trying to work out the infrastructure that will make up Verticity. Bascially there would be a road and high speed rail link. The road would disappear beneath the structure where carparks and service facilities would be located. The rail link would run inside the base of the tower where there would be a terminus. I am also considering a light rail transport that would loop around the whole complex and link the commercial zones which would be placed around the towers axis.

Well the sketches kinda explain.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4120/4818018404_88bb4435e4_b.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4135/4817394891_95b29cc6a2_b.jpg

[Pingyao]

Just an update on possible setting out for the freeway spur.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4081/4818397654_bd007e43a9_b.jpg

[Krases]

Awesome sketches, I really need to do that with some of my planned projects.

I like the road idea. Here is a link (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interchange_%28road%29#Three-way_interchanges) to some more interchange ideas if your interested.

[Aleks]

wow, filthy concept. and it's executed very well too.

wow! those office towers are 5-6 hundred meters tall? i didnt expect them to be that tall!

[Pingyao]

Thanx Krases and Aleks, yeah those towers are fricking tall when I scaled them, this project is pretty insane in the scale department! Thanks for the junction link Krases, I am planning a 'Directional T interchange'.

I did a test animation last night - mainly because I've found a much quicker rendering filter for animation settings in cinema 4D (speeds it up much faster with better results). I call this megapullback

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[Vellu]

Are you going to model the whole construction phase - I know these kind of threads are really popular over at SSC - or just plop the whole finished thing in the middle of the desert?

[Pingyao]

:previous: Thats what I'm asking myself at the moment. Construction renders are quite fun to do, but they are sooooo labour intensive. Plus this project is fricking complex beyond belief and huge. I will leave this open at present.

[JHoward88]

Ray's Auto Garage reminds me massively of the primary setting for the recent movie titled "Legion". It was pretty much the same kind of establishment for those who didn't see the movie; an auto shop and restaurant in the middle of a desert. Of course, in the case of Legion, it was invaded by zombies and ultimately destroyed; an outcome which we hope your outpost is spared. ;)

Good work.

[Pingyao]

:previous: LOL, I am actually planning refuge rooms from zombie apocalypse scenario's - you can never be too careful!

Test for animation on freeway - bridge may or may not be final version.

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Coudn't resist.

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[Flamesrule]

Woah! When you mean massive thats massive!

So will there be a highway going throigh the city?

And that building kinda reminds me of the burj dubia not becuase of the shape but becuase of the buildiings around the main building.

Keep it coming!

[Aleks]

aahhh!!! this is making me want to make my own mega-scraper too! i get so unfocused when it comes to sketchup models.