We’re living in the age of the super tower. Around the world, buildings are reaching record heights. But the next generation of super-tall buildings is preparing do something that seems like science fiction: break the mile-high barrier.

For one, architects at Kohn Pedersen Fox and structural engineering firm Leslie E. Robertson Associates are planning to build a mile-high building in Tokyo Bay in Japan, according to the New York Post.

Dubbed “Next Tokyo,” the development is in fact a mini city designed around a massive skyscraper. Its goal is to combat climate change and rising tides.

Next Tokyo is a chain of man-made, hexagon-shaped islands that form a barrier to protect Japan’s capital from flooding. It would also provide housing for roughly 500,000 people – the main mile-high tower would hold roughly a 10th of those people.

The main structure would be a 5,577-foot skyscraper (called Sky Mile Tower) that is slated for completion in 2045. To put that into perspective, the tallest building in the world, Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, is 2,716.5 feet.

The building’s hi-tech facade will collect, filter and store water from the atmosphere, providing water to the apartments. And naturally, the elevators will be cable-free and able to move both vertically and horizontally.

[NYP] – Christopher Cameron

Source: Plans for mile-high skyscraper unveiled in Japan