Architecture Firm Unveils Plans for Space Skyscraper Hanging from Asteroid

Clouds Architecture Office
Clouds Architecture Office

Clouds Architecture Office has designed a skyscraper that would stretch toward Earth from the sky, suspended from an orbiting asteroid.

The New York architecture firm wants to build a next-generation skyscraper 31,068 miles above the Earth. Analemma Tower is a project meant to “apply design thinking on a planetary scale” to create “the world’s tallest building ever.”

The building will float in a massive figure eight through the northern and southern hemispheres, passing over several major cities as it goes. The firm’s plan suggests building in Dubai specifically because of the country’s ability to craft massive superstructures for about one-fifth the cost of building in the U.S.

Analemma would employ a Universal Orbital Support System (UOSS) to hang upside-down by “high strength cable” from the aforementioned asteroid. And if it becomes reality, Analemma would be a sectional world all its own. Business centers would dominate the lower levels, with apartments situated above. Gardens, religious areas, as well as commercial and entertainment areas all have their place.

The tower is full of high-concept engineering, including shape-shifting windows that adjust their height for differences in temperature and air pressure. Solar panels placed on the uppermost levels will harness energy to keep the whole thing running, while fresh water is harvested from the clouds below.

Of course, they’ll need to position an asteroid of appropriate size to accomplish their science fiction Wonderland. The firm cited the European Space Agency’s “Rosetta” mission and NASA’s 2021 asteroid retrieval mission as evidence that the concept doesn’t stray too far from modern realities.

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