To help solve the ongoing (and growing) crisis of global warming, there are constructive ideas and then there are downright insane concepts. Given this inherent threshold, it’s not the least bit of a stretch to say that a project dubbed the Global Cooling Skyscraper conceived by the Rome-based firm Paolo Venturella Architecture falls squarely within the confines of the latter group. Why do we say this? Because the firm wants to construct an incredibly large (and we mean large) greenhouse to install between Earth and the sun. Seriously.
By claiming the only way to solve the riddle of global rising temperatures is by adopting a “global strategy,” Paolo Venturella says its Global Cooling Skyscraper is among a small crowd of innovative ideas that actually provide a solution. Equating it to functioning in a similar manner as a solar tower, the skyscraper would effectively cool the entire planet by facilitating the natural rapid flow of air from hot to cold. In essence, the continued strong flow of air would send hot air away from Earth, thus decreasing the overall temperature experienced across the globe.
“The air flows restore better climate conditions and moreover, generate renewable energies by wind turbines placed inside the structures,” reads the Paolo Venturella project page. “Furthermore, this structure creates an amazing and surprising effect. Since it has to solve a problem for the entire planet, its dimension is over scaled. It has to be a unique and continuous structure, placed in a single point, and cantilever on both sides.”
Aside from its efforts to lower the planet’s temperatures, the Global Cooling Skyscraper also figures to look rather futuristic — or Borg-like, if we’re being honest. Furthermore, the structure itself would look wildly different depending on where an onlooker was located around Earth. For instance, those residing near either the north or south pole see a vertical building while anyone situated near the equator sees a horizontal structure.
Is this the revolutionary answer to solving climate change? Likely not, as most concepts as wildly off-the-charts as the Global Cooling Skyscraper tend to never see the light of day. Though you can’t deny the sheer amount of remarkable imagination required to devise such an unconventional solution.
