'Earthscraper' | BNKR Arquitectura

Now this is a great idea and just downright cool. BNKR Arquitectura has proposed a 300 meter deep ‘earthscraper’ in the form of a great inverted pyramid below the heart of Mexico City’s city centre.

With an ever increasing population and a shortage of plots for new development, Mexico City faces the dilemma of what to do if they are to adhere to the city’s 8-story height limit. This mini-city, with some 65 stories built downwards would go a long way to solving that problem in the short term and create a new typology which could be a long term solution to not just Mexico City but to cities the world over.

The structure’s glass roof is to be planted at street level on one of the city’s most popular plazas. Below this, is a deep void which cuts down through the depth, drawing light down to all the habitable space which wrap around its perimeter. The first ten stories are to be museums and tourist attractions centered around Aztec culture. After these are commercial and residential floors until finally, the last 35 floors are occupied by office space. That’s the only downside, I think. We have spent the last fifty years trying to solve the problem of good/natural light in the workplace. There might not be much light reaching down to these lower levels, even with the void. But we shall see. And it’s certainly not any reason to write this scheme off. Come on! We (humanity) gotta build at least one of these underground cities that isn’t a military site!