Science Fiction Dictionary
A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z

 

Khanty Mansiysk Siberia Tower Of Glass

A new mixed-use tower of glass will rise above Khanty Mansiysk, Siberia. This unusual structure will make use of an environmental strategy that should set a new standard for Siberia, which suffered greatly at the hands of the leaders of the former Soviet Union. The building has been designed by Foster + Partners.


(Tower of Glass, Khanty Mansiysk, Siberia)

The setting for the building is a densely wooded area; two podium buildings each facetted like a cut diamond set off and help illuminate the interior of the main tower. The building design is intended to take advantage of sustainable energy strategies; the atria of the building and its surrounding structures should facilitate solar gain and bring daylight into the building.


(Tower of Glass, Khanty Mansiysk, Siberia)

This proposed building reminds me of the structure from Robert Silverberg's 1970 novel Tower of Glass; a wealthy eccentric builds a vaulting glass tower up from the permafrost of the Arctic Circle.

Simeon Krug's tower now rises 100 meters above the gray-brown tundra of the Canadian Arctic, west of Hudson Bay. At present the tower is merely a glassy stump...

Krug has his androids working three shifts round the clock; when it gets dark, the construction site is lit by millions of reflector plates strung across the sky at a height of one kilometer and powered by the little million-kilowatt fusion generator at the north end of the site. "How high will it be when it's finished?" Quenelle asks.

"1500 meters," Krug replies. "A tremendous tower of glass full of machinery that nobody can understand. And then we'll turn it on. And then we'll talk to the stars.

The construction of the Khanty Mansiysk structure would certainly go faster with teams of androids...

Here are a couple of views of Silverberg's structure, from some of the book cover art:


(Robert Silverberg's Tower of Glass cover art)

This Silverberg novel is also notable for the first use of the term "jack in", referring to a means of direct perception of a computer-generated world.

Via Electro Plankton; see also the Foster + Partners website.

Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 6/25/2007)

Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.

| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |

Would you like to contribute a story tip? It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add it here.

Comment/Join discussion ( 2 )

Related News Stories - (" Living Space ")

AI-THu Shapeshifting Transformer Home
'Its slack walls tightened, bulged, were crossed by ripples and waves of movement.' - Fritz Leiber, 1943.

With Mycotecture, We'll Just Grow The Space Habitats We Need
'The only real cost was in the plastic balloon that guided the growth of the coral and enclosed the coral's special air-borne food.' - Larry Niven, 1968.

Vast Apartment Living Will Get Even More Vast
'What is your population', I asked. 'About eighty millions.' - Louis Tucker, 1929.

LiquidView Ersatz Windows, ala Philip K. Dick
'due to his bad financial situation he had given up trying to imagine that he lived on a great hill with a view...' - Philip K. Dick, 1969.

 

Google
  Web TechNovelgy.com   

Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.

 

 

 

 

Science Fiction Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's   1950's
1960's   1970's
1980's   1990's
2000's   2010's

Current News

Stargate $500 Billion Investment in Artificial Intelligence
'... an artificial intelligence equal to the human.'

Jetson Orin Nano Super 70 Just $249
'Rayno folded up the microterm and tucked it back inside his jumper.'

Nano-Chainmail 2D Mechanically Interlocked Polymer
'Nemourlon armor of reasonable weight resists penetration by most fragments and any bullet that is not both reasonably heavy and fairly high-velocity.'

Anker's SOLIX Solar Umbrella Portable Power
As predicted by science fiction thirty-five years ago!

Positioned Cybertrucks With Free Starlinks WiFi In LA
'Several thousand of them formed the positioning grid on the rubble pile.'

AI-THu Shapeshifting Transformer Home
'Its slack walls tightened, bulged, were crossed by ripples and waves of movement.'

Xiaomi Self-Driving Self-Balancing Scooter
'Norman... had never ridden any motorized device that lacked onboard steering and balance systems.'

Transparent 4K OLED Wireless TV From LG
You will note that HG Wells also figured out the aspect ratio of the future!

TSA 2 - Advanced Thermosensory Stimulator Is A Dune Pain Box
'As though a switch had been turned off, the pain stopped...'

Humans Love Helping Other Species
'At the ringside opposite them a table had been removed to make room for a large transparent plastic capsule on wheels.'

Organic Non-Planar 3D Printing
'It makes drawings in the air following drawings...'

Your Window For Being A Tesla Optimus Remote Operator May Be Closing
'... he realized that the moving thing inside was - of course - a robot.'

Waymo Autonomous Cab Hits Autonomous Delivery Robot
'Not since the time he rewired the delivery robot...'

Amazing Wheel Shapeshifting In Real Time
'Each spoke telescopes into sections.'

Drone With Face Recognition Could Hunt You
'The spotter descends, and we think it searches the vicinity, looking for the victim’s face...'

Jizai Arms 'Free Limbs' Wearable Cyborg Arms
'Guy named Otto Octavius winds up with eight limbs. Four mechanical arms welded right onto his body. What are the odds?'

More SF in the News Stories

More Beyond Technovelgy science news stories

Home | Glossary | Invention Timeline | Category | New | Contact Us | FAQ | Advertise |
Technovelgy.com - where science meets fiction™

Copyright© Technovelgy LLC; all rights reserved.