On one side of us; a huge column of water teeming with fish rose soaring to the ceiling; the three other sides opened into a teeming multi-layer jungle of plants birds and bees. Flowers and fruit were everywhere. Several people in white coveralls wandered through the place; either harvesting the ripe fruits or waving instruments over them.
The windows darkened slightly as we emerged above the canopy and the light from the windows and solar lights shone in. Then, oddly the elevator came to a stop - seemingly suspended in air. I hadn't notice Brian manipulating the controls.
"The first level is currently set up for a tropical environment. This quarter of the floor is in high summer. The other three quarters of the building arc around this central aqua-farm. We use tinting in the windows and climate control systems to modify the seasons for the plants; though we follow an Alaska summer inspired season cycle - with lots of long days. The plants love it and as such tend to produce much more volume. Our winters are more likely to follow a Texas winter schedule... a couple of frosts and then we're back as quickly as possible to spring again. We actually are able to squeeze in nearly two years of crop cycles annually and since we're rotating the quads through the seasons; we always have the whole years worth of produce available"
I turned reluctantly from the window where every color of song bird danced and darted above the trees; and was captivated by the majesty of the central water column. A couple of huge fish swam past; chasing a school of smaller, faster fish. "Did you say this was a fish farm?" I asked quietly. Not sure why I lowered my voice... habit I guess from other trips to see large aquariums with the kids.
"Yes; the fish play a vital role in our process here. We basically have an artificial ecosystem here. We pre-process the sludge and water waste from the rest of the facility in an artificial swamp. That we keep below ground because it's not exactly scenic... and it tends to smell like... lets just say tours don't usually go in there. We harvest methane and other gasses from the bio-processor and of course use it to generate electricity. From there the water and remainder of the liquid waste is channeled to an algae farm - some of which generates the bio-diesel that runs the trucks and trains that come through here. Unfortunately we're still on the waiting list for the new all electric trucks. Any surplus of the bio-diesel is sold to the surrounding area's truck-stops and trains. There's a good market still for the long-haul interstate truckers. After the algae processes it; we feed the fish with that emulsion. The fish do their thing and we use the fish waste and water to irrigate the plants in here, and the facilities green roofs. We have been experimenting with the mix of fish we have in the aquarium; looking for an ideal mix of market desire; and eco-system maintenance. The freshwater tilapia is really popular in the on-site restaurants" Brian makes a face. "Though I'll admit I'm a bit tired of it. I'm really hoping the rainbow trout do well."
My wife finally closed her mouth enough to squeak out..."All the beautiful birds!?"
Brian smiled "Pollinators! We need something to move pollen around. The combination of birds is mostly pollinators; but we have a few owls and hawks in here as well to help control the population and weed out the sickly. Some of the plants actually require bats to pollinate them; we have a couple of different species of bat in the facility. The imported fruit bats are kept indoors since the outside climate isn't suitable for them; but the Mexican free-tails are given free reign of the next floor as well as the rest of the facility. We love our bats because they also help keep the insect populations in check. We actually built them a couple of artificial 'caves' to roost where we can control their guano habit."
Brian started the elevator again and we began to rise slowly. We rose through a thick ceiling and emerged into a dense hydroponic farm. Plants were carefully managed and groomed to grow in specific ways - their roots cradled in long covered trays from which a mist curled. Their branches trimmed and pruned to allow optimal penetration of light and access to the over-abundance of fruits. Again, people in white coveralls moved through the area either picking or inspecting the produce. Large fans moved air around and caused branches and leaves to vibrate. This time though; Brian didn't stop the elevator and we kept going; penetrating another 3 floors of dense hydroponically supported farming. "A lot of people work here!?" I asked.
"Yes, it's the facility's largest employer. We actually have a waiting list of applicants to work here too. By working in local businesses; many people get a housing stipend. It's not enough to get a place like what you guys are considering; but it's enough to get you a small apartment and a full meal ticket. It's very popular with the students. We really like to support people living and working here on-site. If you or your wife set up your work here, you too would become eligible for the stipend."
The elevator ride stopped in a rather plush restaurant lobby. There was a stand for a host but no-one was manning the station. "This place opens for dinner in a couple of hours but we're here for the view so we can just go on in." As we emerged from the lobby I noticed that we were in a large donut shaped room. The central core being the kitchen and tables spread out on levels like a wedding cake - tiered down so that everyone had a great view of the outside. We started down the stairs towards the walls and I noticed an odd light shining against my legs and looked back. The tiers we were walking on were actually the top of the giant aquarium. You could see into the top levels of the water column and the light shining out from it bathed the interior of the restaurant with a cool glow.
We walked to the window walls and I noticed that the side facing the sun was darkened, as well as the side directly opposite. I understood the logic of the sunward side... but not the opposite so I headed that direction. My wife and Brian followed me and I realized the reason for the tint when I looked out and down at what seemed like acres of reflections. All of the windows and solar panel patio covers were aimed in such a way to reflect the sunlight back at the tower we were standing in. I covered my eyes and tried to see why the windows, supposedly vertical, were reflecting so much light up at us. Brian deduced what I was squinting at: "The window walls are polarized as well as laser cut to produce a high reflectivity while still remaining transparent. We love our sunlighting but the problem of windows is pretty universal. Lots and lots of solar heat energy can penetrate the building at a window. In the cooler climates it's a good thing... here in the south it's a lot more useful to deflect that heat energy. We designed the windows to reflect a significant portion of the solar rays back to where they are most useful - growing the food we need to eat. If I was to show you the guts of this building - you'd see light-pipes that penetrate from the walls all throughout those thick ceilings - channeling that sunlight deep into the interior of the building." We almost never have to use electricity during the day to light the interior of this; or much of the main facility either. At night is of course a different story but we have really efficient lighting that takes over."
I stood at the window and contemplated all of the small touches and design elements that went into this place. It was obsessively eco-friendly, but not obtrusively in your face about it. The restaurant I stood in looked like any other high-end downtown eatery; better actually because of the view. The elevator ride was built to awe... and it was awesome. I was only beginning to see the value in having your food grown this close by; carbon footprint and all that jazz. I had once done an analysis and was shocked to see that much of the fruit my wife loved so much was flown in daily from South America and Australia. I knew there was no way to stop her from wanting that fruit; even in the dead of winter when it costs the most; so I had not bothered caring about my carbon footprint since then. It just wasn't worth the hassle.
Even the buildings I looked at seemed 'typical' if a bit on the over-built side. Tiers of condos snaked around the place in a single unified building. Like layers on a South American pyramid the condos were stair stepped up to five floors above the central garden, though the height varied to as low as 3 stories. It was certainly more visually interesting than the usual apartment complex where the exact same building looked like it was scattered across the landscape - with the areas between filled with parking lots and tiny green spaces if you were lucky. Here there were no visible parking lots. A couple of golf-cart like vehicles were in use and the tour-group from earlier was now outside getting ready to ride around on those silly two wheeled segways; but no cars were visible.
I kept looking around and Brian waited patiently for the next question. My gaze moved over the new trees and my attention caught on a waterfall pouring into the valley between the buildings and running off in a stream across the roof of the mall. The source looked like a mansion perched on one of the highest points of the facility; though with the number of people moving around up there it wasn't likely a residence. I noticed that a wedding was in progress just as my wife exclaimed 'Awww'. Yup, she had seen it too. Brian spoke up. The wedding was happening at the local community center. It was a combination hang-out, convention center and special event hotspot for the residents. There was the usual: sport courts; meeting center and a big gym though it wasn't the only one in the place; apparently Curves had established several franchises throughout the building at the request of the women residents. Brian mentioned that there were several good sized meeting halls and auditoriums that during the week were either rented to local businesses or used for college classes and seminars hosted by the community college. "We'll do a walk through on the way back to my office." He finished.
Nodding and putting more questions on that to the back burner; I began to walk the perimeter of the tower. We came around and stopped again where we could see the newest construction. "Is that where we would buy?"
"Not necessarily. You have the option of several different locations depending on the layout you choose as well as the amount of square feet you ultimately decide upon. The park level is the most expensive per square foot; the closer you get to the newer construction it gets a bit cheaper to help attract people to the new space. The mini-mansions you see all along the roofline are typically owned by corporations or wealthy individuals; they aren't exactly in your price range. " We have a couple of smaller spaces still available towards the core of the building but given your initial requirements I'd say you're likely looking at something round about there." Brian pointed towards an area that looked freshly built - but the plants hadn't yet gone in. "The plantings on your patio space are yours to choose; from a list we provide of course. We have to be careful to ensure that the plants can't break through their pots into the lower floors. Many people like the climbing vines as you will be able to tell once summer really takes hold here. Almost the entire south wall turns into a riot of green and flowers. "
I focused again on the new construction. Massive steel framing was being covered by concrete. I was no engineer - but again the word 'overbuilt' came to mind. Most buildings and houses are mere frames - using as little material as possible. I'd seen more than a couple of high-rises being built from my down-town office. Here it looked like they were using a *lot* more concrete than normal; and every floor had a half-height floor between it. I assumed the half-floor was for the 'droids' though why they needed an entire floor I wasn't sure. However; even some of the major load bearing interior walls were being poured thickly with more concrete. All in all; this place was being built to last a *long* time. I turned to Brian: "Why are you building this thing so sturdy - is it because of the plants on the roof?"
"That's part of it, though not the whole story. The designers of this place have leveraged a basic property of a really old fundamental of construction - Thermal Mass. The more mass is in the walls; the more regulated the temperature will be. If you've ever dug into the dirt of your back-yard during the summer; you've probably noticed that the ground is a lot cooler than the air. The large amount of concrete in the walls and the soil on the roof keep the interior so cool; we actually have to heat it slightly even in the middle of the summer. The half height floor you see is partially for the utility systems (we don't need to tear up floors to access the utilities); partially for the droids; but mostly for moving air around in the interior to keep the temperature to a human comfortable level. Adding this much mass to the building costs a bit extra for the initial construction; but over the life of the building it reduces the energy cost to keep it comfortable to near zero."
"Would you like a closer look? We can head down to see a couple of the recently sold places going in."
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