A Futuristic Exploration of Desert Cities - Presentation & Exhibition
Climate Change Cities is proud to co-sponsor the presentation and exhibition of Essential City at Modernism Week hosted by the Hyatt Hotel in Palm Springs at 10:30am, 16 Feb 2024.
Desert cities are the frontline of climate change. In addition to their extraordinary energy and water needs, they are also vulnerable to extreme weather events and give us a peek at what most settlements will eventually experience if temperatures increase unchecked. Welcome to ESSENTIAL CITY, a hypothetical desert city conceived by SOUND SPACE DESIGN Architects and Desert Developments LLC.
ESSENTIAL CITY is a futuristic amalgam of six cities within the Coachella Valley and Morongo Basin, each with its own particular challenges. With the help of AI, we proffer an avant-garde visualisation of a resilient future for all who live there. Focussing on new building typologies and a rethink on density, we will examine certain eco-social problems facing these communities via a panel of international experts who work with sustainability, housing, urban design and hospitality every day. Gain an understanding of how passive design, zoning, green technology, and smart building systems contribute to sustainability. We will show how drawing on solutions from the past, reviewing new-urbanist principles and employing new technology can inspire future-proof solutions for the challenges that many desert cities face.
Join us to explore this futuristic metropolis that illustrates just how we can innovate towards beautiful, sustainable and inclusive cities that maximise their potential as well-rounded leisure, tourism and retirement destinations.
Designers, contributors and panelists: Don Albert (SOUND SPACE DESIGN), Ida Alwin (Desert Developments), Sandro Fabris (Former GM Orient-Express Hotels)
