Could a virtual 'city-forest' help solve population density challenges?

Luca Curci Architects, an Italian architecture firm, has designed a project that combines vertical expansion with economic innovation to solve the challenge of population density.

Dubbed The Link, the plant-covered project would absorb CO2 and produce oxygen for cleaner air and increased biodiversity. The Link comprises four interconnected main towers, each equipped with green areas on every level, 100% green transport systems, and natural light and ventilation.

The tallest building will rise an ambitious 300 floors and 1,200 meters and include apartments, villas, common areas and services, and green areas with private and public gardens. Another tower will rise between 650 and 850 meters and include offices, government departments, healthcare facilities, and education institutions ranging from early education to universities.

The Link plant-covered facade

Other features among the interconnected towers will include areas more oriented to lifestyle amenities such as hotels, wellness and spa centers, sport centers, shopping malls, bookshops, and leisure attractions.

Over 120,000 trees and 2 million plants of over 150 species will cover the interconnected buildings, helping to reduce indoor and outdoor temperatures. Farming will also be incorporated, enabling communities to produce their own food and be self-sufficient. Each building will include water baths, markets, and spiritual and cultural hubs. Drone ports connected with the upper garden-squares of each tower will allow the building's to be reached by air while the basement will be equipped with external and internal docks for pedestrians and public electric transports.

The Link interior resident space

An urban operating system equipped with AI will be able to manage the global city temperature, levels of CO2, and humidity. The system will also control the global lighting system and will store extra energy produced by solar panels and other renewable energy sources.

The Link, while still just a concept, will be presented in several cities around the world with the goal of starting a conversation with institutions and private investors.

The Link public space/common area

The Link aerial

Architectural concrete as we know it today was invented in the 19th century. It reached new heights in the U.S. after World War II when mid-century modernism was in vogue, following in the footsteps of a European aesthetic that expressed structure and permanent surfaces through this exposed material. Concrete was treated as a monolithic miracle, waterproof and structurally and visually versatile.