In this project we focused on analysing how future skyscrapers could look like and comparing that with the urban imaginary of the film ‘Ready Player One’.
“Ready Player One” depicts a dystopian future where urban sprawl is transformed into crowded, vertical stacks. This bleak reality drives people to escape into the Oasis, a virtual world offering solace and adventure, highlighting the profound impact of technological escapism on society.
Sterling, B (2015) imagined four fictious scenarios of how future skyscrapers might be, differentially equalizing the state of technology, and the economical-political climate:
- Future skyscraper #1: Huge, lopsided pyramid
- Future skyscraper #2: No-nonsense, mil-spec fortress
- Future skyscraper #3: Colossal, awkward tower
- Future skyscraper #4: Postindustrial, digitized monster
We choose scenario 1 to compare this massive urban structures with the movie mentioned above.
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FINAL TEXT
Can we imagine a future where the digital age alters urban living, much like the evolving future of skyscrapers? The film “Ready Player One” portrays a dystopian society where skyscrapers transform into densely packed, lopsided pyramids, enhancing the profound impact of digital integration on urban landscapes. These vast, desordered structures symbolize the convergence of physical and virtual realities, driven by technological advancements.
As the urban sprawl intensifies, people seek refuge in a vast virtual world offering comfort, adventure, and a new social order. The digital age enables individuals to transcend their bleak real-world conditions by achieving new identities and status within the Oasis. This shift underscores the skyscraper’s pivotal role in the narrative, serving as a metaphor for the heights people aspire to in both the real and virtual worlds.
The film’s depiction of these vertical cities highlights the transformative power of technology on our living spaces. Skyscrapers, now sprawling, anarchic hubs, seamlessly integrate digital innovations, redefining people’s everyday life. With the Digital Age revolution humans can live in a future where skyscrapers and virtual realities converge, reshaping urban life and social dynamics. This new scenario underscores how technology transforms living spaces and human interactions, portraying skyscrapers as symbols of both limitation and aspiration.
