Environment Design Note

Regarding the last post about environment design concept, I'm researching about 'vertical city development'. In Bangkok, the vertical development doesn't affect only buildings, but also Infrastructure. For example, we have superimposed express ways throughout the city. Anyway, there is some city which is shirking too, or we may call it 'horizontal development', for instance, Detroit. According to this video (http://vimeo.com/1296775), the data illustrates how the city become smaller.

Dubai is very good example for building design. I studied Detroit because I want to understand more about the different between vertical city and horizontal one. Anyway, I have a shortage of experience in city development plan, and how infrastructure would be builded to serve the society. Thus I need more discussion with you.

In my mind, I've imagined about a metropolis which was builded on a small island, like Manhattan. It contains thousands building beside millions people. So the only way, in which people could live in the city, is going up to the air. In design aspect, this concept is respond to the animation's intention. However, I want to ensure that this idea have evidences to support.

Another idea has just came to me. Based on the knowledge of semiology, I think I could use the design of metropolis to represent the concept of society's classes.

I watched a film named the Fifth Element (1997) when I was a teenager. I think that the concept of production design is very interesting. The buildings have endless heigh. While nobility lives on the top floors of those buildings, middle class and poor one lives in the basements. The basements are foggy slum which covered by pollution. However, I'm not sure about the concept because it's very long time ago. So I'm going to search in the library to watch the movie again.

By the way, here is a good reference, 'Worth Enough?' by Radoslav Zilinsky.

Worth Enough? by Radoslav Zilinsky (2008)