The Boston Arcology by Schopfer Associates

The Boston Arcology is a proposal by Schopfer Associates that seeks to “create a visionary and iconic structure predicated on this principle of Arcology…”. The BOA as it is referred to by its designers is a more realistic take on the concept of arcology design that they claim is entirely realistic with the techniques of today.

The BOA was designed to answer a number of concerns that coastal cities like Boston will be facing over the next 50 years. Schopfer took environmental change in particular as a major design platform and designed the BOA to “float” in a 105ft retaining pool that it would be housed in, in which water from Boston Harbor would freely flow. The buoyant element is made out of all things, concrete.

The BOA, like many other arcology models is modeled as a re-concentration of urban development away from the urban sprawl that has characterized metropolitan growth over the last 60 years. It has the residential capacity to house 15,000 occupants between hotels, offices, retail, museums, condos and a new city hall. Schopfer drew inspiration from Boston’s modern and postmodern built environment for architectural inspiration and incorporated the styles into the contemporary design of the BOA.

Source: eVolo