Electri - city:The dystopia of a city liberated from work and enslaved to a power generated society.

INTRODUCTION

The technological revolution centered around artificial intelligence and robotics has led societies to question the importance of work and its necessity in the modern way of life. Thus, it is urgent to explore the issues related to 1. The concept of utopia for a community liberated from work and 2. The way in which the functioning of this new era will change the form of cities.

IDEA

Fundamental questions for this future city without work, are the way in which the energy required for the functioning of the society is produced and how the social hierarchy is formed, since the concept of money no longer exists. In this form of dystopia, a critical condition for every person's life is the production of the required energy needed for his daily needs, through exercise.

Having this requirement as a basic design axis for the project, 5 structures are created in the city of Patras that host a number of energy production activities. These high pylons are surrounded by exercise mechanisms, while the energy generated accumulates in their center and is transmitted to the city via cables.

There are 16 different types of energy activities which are divided into 5 categories: The first category includes operations related to oscillation such as suspended solids and swings, the second consists of the most classic sports such as volleyball, archery, and some private exercise rooms, while the third one includes activities related to running such as spinning wheels and roundabouts or ramps. In the fourth category, belong the activities related to the concept of rolling such as rails or spherical spaces for pedaling and finally, in the fifth pillar, climbing appears as the dominant activity and it is translated as cylindrical spaces, scaffolding or tensile cables.

The proposal depicts everyday life as a form of slavery that has subjected man to the rapid pace of technological development. The human body is identified as a gear of the machine named - society.

The basic shape of each pylon remains the same no matter its functionality and consists of 5 segments, including a central tower and 4 other around it. These 4 parts differ in height for easy access to the activities they host. The central pillar is the highest not only to connect the rest with each other, but also to support, theoretically and practically, the highest energy production activity which is placed at the top.

At the base of each pylon a large zone is formed where the ground recedes creating a crater. From the ground level up to the tower's lowest level there are circulation corridors, which connect the sides of the cavity with the main structure. Changing rooms are created at the top of the side walls of the crater, while houses are created at the bottom. Moreover, pools are placed at different heights around the central construction.

Karampela Despoina
Lada Myrto

Supervisor: Papalampropoulos Leonidas
Institution: University of Patras, Department of Architecture

Electri - city:The dystopia of a city liberated from work and enslaved to a power generated society. by Myrto Lada in Greece won the WA Award Cycle 39. Please find below the WA Award poster for this project.