Predictions of the future weren’t always completely accurate.
If the classic novel by science fiction author Philip K. Dick “Do Androids dream of an electric sheep?” It was a prophecy, that human-like robots would now live among us, almost indistinguishable from people. And if Keanu Reeves’ “Johnny the Minimonic” was released in 1995, by 2021, human postmen would be able to store gigabytes worth of sensitive company data in brain implants.
So, you might want to take today’s bolder design proposals with a pinch of salt. In fact, this year has seen architects, designers, and entrepreneurs push the boundaries of what might someday be possible, including rain-capable skyscraper designs and a Tesla Bot android system (Dick’s ideas may not have been far from reality, after all).
Guessing to varying degrees, these are some of 2021’s most eye-catching visions of the future.
sustainable desert city
Now, the former Walmart CEO just needs $400 billion in financing — and somewhere to build. Planners haven’t announced the exact location yet, but potential targets include Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Arizona and Texas, according to the project’s official website.
Robotic forest rangers
Segev Caspi
Amid the constant threat of deforestation around the world, Israel-based industrial design student Segev Caspi envisioned three independent forest rangers, Rico, Chank, and Dixon. The robots, known collectively as Forest Ranger Druids, will be designed to support reforestation and sustainable forest management.
A BMW is 100% recyclable
BMW
The manufacturing process will use 3D printing to reduce waste and chipping. In keeping with its forward-looking circular design principles, the German automaker has also considered the vehicle’s life span, which BMW claims will be extended thanks to detachable components that can easily be replaced with new ones.
Without exterior paint, leather or chrome, the concept car looks suitably futuristic and could be launched in 2040, according to a news release.
A new way to gather outdoors
to. studio
In addition to providing protection from the sun for those congregating below, the cloud-like structure will generate power via photovoltaic cells as they spend their “legs” below the surface collecting groundwater for drinking or for internal cooling. The ephemeral station is also designed to move and transform with conditions, expanding and contracting with changing temperatures, to give the appearance of a living, breathing organism.
floating mobile homes
Creativity Center / Sony Group Corporation
Self-propelled by water jets, each home would come with filters to clean water for drinking as the dwelling moved across the bay. The structures come with solar panels on their roofs, while standalone energy tanks will float nearby, connecting themselves to homes that need extra power.
The largest wooden building in the world
Anders Berensson Architects
The building is called Norland Bank, and it is made of wood and where it is stored: it is designed to hold up to 900 million pieces of timber for use in construction or manufacturing. Because trees absorb carbon dioxide throughout their lives, the “bank” also stores those emissions trapped within the wood.
The architects say their proposal will provide local farmers with a reliable income while preventing wood from being burned, converted into biofuels or left to decompose, all of which will return carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.
tesla bot
Tesla
Described as a “general purpose” two-pedal humanoid, the 5-foot-8-inch robot will weigh 125 pounds and be able to lift 150 pounds. Tesla Bots’ exact use and completion schedule remain shrouded in mystery, but they are designed to perform “unsafe, repetitive or boring” tasks, with Musk suggesting the technology could eventually remedy future labor shortages.
And for those worried about the rise of Terminator-style machines, Musk assured those present at the presentation that robots can only move at 5 miles per hour, which means “you can escape from them, and most likely beat them,” half-jokingly said.
Airdropped emergency shelters
Kozhevnikova Angelina / Konuralp Şenol / Kyungha Kwon
When the London Design Biennial launched a global call for designs to address issues in an “age of crisis,” the Radical Gravity Project proposed a future solution for people displaced by natural disasters, conflict or climate change: air-dropped emergency shelters in dangerous or hard-to-reach places.
Developed at the Architecture Consortium’s Design Research Laboratory in London by students Angelina Kozhevnikova, Konuralp Şenol and Kyunga Kwon in the Spyropoulos studio, the proposal envisions an aircraft launching up to 500 units, known as Gravitons, forming parachutes into the air. After a safe landing, it could, in theory, spontaneously swell into networks of habitable pods designed to collect rainwater and generate power.
rain harvest skyscrapers
BPAS Architects
In the bleak future envisioned by South African firm BPAS Architects – where the Sahara has expanded tenfold, and oceans cover more than 80% of the Earth’s surface – water is exceptionally hard to come by. Indeed, in this dystopian scenario, the Earth’s surface is so hot that any precipitation evaporates hundreds of meters before it reaches the ground.
Architects’ solution? A water-collecting skyscraper that rises 1,000 meters (3,281 ft) into the sky and collects moisture before it evaporates. The water is then transported along the skyscraper to underground storage facilities, after which solar-powered pumps transport it to farming areas or people’s homes for drinking and sanitation.
Created for Dezeen’s Redesign the World website design competition, the proposed design is intended to help revitalize natural ecosystems devastated by desertification.
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