A Visitor to the Future - 48 - 23rd Century Architecture

"A bit of what you've been saying seems familiar," said Sarkona, "The early Union of Mars had issues with people disagreeing about the use of land and the development of living spaces in exactly the way you're describing. Even down to the political parties - there was the Dome Construction Party and Excavations Party for example."

"Yes," said Robin, shaking a fist in enthusiasm at Sarkona's statement, "A debate repeated whenever and wherever space or resources are at a premium. Though I suspect that the key difference between the Union and the Netherlands was that Mars was forced to confront the issue fully, they simply didn't have the option of going back to what they used to do in the east like many of those who disagreed here."

"Dealing with conflict such as that eventually led to the Arbiter and Org system," said Tungsten contemplatively.

We walked for a few moments in silence until Robin stopped and pointed to a building just next to the wall. It looked much the same as the other hexagonal skyscrapers in the city. "Hoho, here we are, my favourite building! This is De Havenwacht, once the tallest building in the Netherlands."

We looked up at the building - it was hexagonal in design and had outer surfaces of darker glass that reflected the midday sky. I was suddenly reminded of the Giant's Causeway - all these hexagonal structures jutting out of the ground in proximity to each other stuck out much like the distinctive dark stones of that natural wonder. Had the skyscraper in question not been at the very edge of the city, it would have been easy to miss among all the other buildings, which looked very similar.

"It looks mostly the same as the other buildings," I said, "Is there any reason why you chose this one?"

"That is precisely why! De Havenwacht was the blueprint for these other buildings. It is considered to be the best example of the 23rd Century vertical living style - so when the people of IJmuiden redesigned their city in the 2600s, it made a great deal of sense to copy that which they felt worked well."

I looked up at the surrounding buildings - nine out of ten of them copied the design - perhaps a few floors shorter in most cases, almost looking as if they were paying respect to the original building.

"Doesn't everything copying the same design make everything very similar - and - maybe a little boring?" I asked.

"Hoho," replied Robin, his good-natured laugh practically a trademark at this point, "They only appear that way from the outside. Inside, everything is very different. That is where the variety is." He drew our attention back to the building, "De Havenwacht is two-hundred and fifty metres tall, with 74 floors - not all of them the same height. Included within are 268 apartments, each with about 200 square metres of living space. Room layouts vary by resident, but there is enough space for three bedrooms, two offices, and two bathrooms, plus the open plan kitchen and dining room. The large windows mean that the entire apartment gets as much light as possible - and it's all switchable glass, to allow the residents to control how light or dark their rooms are. And all of this made on a budget! Remarkable, just remarkable."

He shook his head slightly and smiled, clearly impressed that someone had managed to design and build such a building constrained by cost and expenditure.

"And in addition to those apartments you have the various indoor gardens and recreation facilities - basketball courts, a projection theatre, and even a library. Not to mention the large rooftop garden. All using the most modern construction techniques at the time. Resident satisfaction was so high that replicating the design across the city just made sense, and it honours the historical heritage of IJmuiden."

I addressed the group, "How important is historical heritage in the Consortium? How do most people feel about it?"

"Couldn't say," said Robin, "I'm not most people. Hoho, perhaps your friends have a better grasp on the modern mindset - I am very old-fashioned."

"It really depends on the area and Org," said Sarkona, "Some Orgs are specifically set up with historical preservation in mind, so they will naturally be quite predisposed towards restoration and maintaining the status quo. Others are very forward-thinking."

"As an example," said Tungsten, "Argyre is where I used to live on Mars. The city Org has completely redesigned the city twice in the last decade - I wouldn't be surprised if I go back there and things are completely different. They're not particularly sentimental about old designs. There is a museum where you can walk around the past iterations, though."

Robin pulled out a small notepad from a pocket and seemed to make a note of the name. "Argyre - not a city I am familiar with, I will have to do some research. But to bring us back to more earthly matters - take a look at that building over there," he said, pointing to another slightly shorter but very similar building which had a large line-art mural of nice flowers on the outside, "Same external design - very different purpose. That is De Bloemenfabriek, a massive hydroponics building focused on flowers, with collaborative working spaces for Biodevs."

"Well," said Sarkona, "I know where we should take Antonia next time we see her."

"Does it matter too much that they share the same design?" I asked Sarkona, "In terms of efficiency? Housing versus hydroponics?"

"Yes, though it hardly matters," said Sarkona, "Hydroponics has advanced to the point where the Consortium can install a basic setup wherever needed - you saw the one on the Promise of Sol, for example. You just need a room - the nature of hydroponics is growing something wherever you need to, so heaters, lighting, nutrient tubing - those can all be installed almost anywhere, and so by nature you can have a hydroponics setup anywhere, even if it is not perfectly efficient. Places where the Consortium needs to be efficient are the large hydroponics habitats in Earth orbit. Those are designed for efficiency first above all else. That's where you do any plant-based work that requires significant scaling."

"Come!" said Robin, gesturing towards a nearby wall access elevator, "Let me show you the insides of one of these buildings. A few friends and colleagues I know live here, and I'm sure they'll be happy to help."


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