A new building is proposed for the heart of Mexico City: a 65-story edifice, packed with retail, offices, apartments and a museum. But unlike its skyscraping peers, this giant structure won't reach for the stars: It'll plunge toward earth's core.
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Architects have designed an "earth-scraper," a giant building that will burrow 300 meters (about 328 yards) beneath the city's main square, according to the U.K.'s Daily Mail. Shaped like an inverted pyramid, the design, by BNKR Arquitectura (pronounced "bunker," if we had to guess), is a creative response to the unique building challenges of densely populated Mexico City.
Lest you think it might be kinda depressing to live and work 65 stories down, a glass "roof" in the city's main square would cover the building and allow natural light to filter down through all levels of the structure. Up above, the glass-covered plaza would continue its function as a central gathering place for the town -- albeit probably not for residents queasy about heights.
According to the proposal, the first 10 floors down would house a history museum featuring Aztec and Mayan artifacts, the next 20 would hold retail shops and housing, and the last 35 would serve as commercial space, the Daily Mail reports.
The design, say its Mexico City-based creators, is an attempt to add desperately needed retail, office and living space and at the same time comply with local laws that prohibit the demolition of historic buildings and impose an eight-story height limit on new structures.
No word yet on whether the Earthscraper--a finalist in the 2010 eVolo skyscraper competition--will see the (filtered) light of day.
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