STATUS
IDEA
City of Telosa
2021
CLIENT
Marc Lore, Junto Group
TYPOLOGY
Urbanism
SHARE
Telosa is a vision for a new city in America aiming to set a global standard for urban living, expand human potential, and become a blueprint for future generations and future urban environments.
Envisioned collaboratively by Marc Lore and BIG, the 150,000-acre proposal includes eco-friendly architecture, sustainable energy production, and a drought-resistant water system. Telosa has a target population of five million by 2050, with the first phase of construction expected to house 50,000 people by 2030.
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A timber skyscraper dubbed “Equitism Tower” in recognition of Telosa’s new economic model for society is planned to serve as a beacon for the city. Telosa envisions transparent governance through Equitism, a model based on the premise that citizens should have a stake in the land; as the city does better, the residents do better. With Equitism, Telosa aims to create a much higher level of social services offered to residents without additional burdens on taxpayers. Equitism Tower’s projected features include space for water storage, aeroponic farms, and a photovoltaic roof.
STARTING WITH A BLANK SLATE
— Desert land is donated to a community endowment
THE FRAMEWORK FOR SUCCESS
— Community endowment owns land during hyper growth and infrastructure is built
THE FRAMEWORK FOR SUCCESS
— Community endowment owns land during hyper growth and infrastructure is built
CITY BUILDING
— People create value
CITY BUILDING
— People create value
LAND VALUE INCREASES AND THE PEOPLE BENEFIT
— City generates income from ground leases and appreciation
A VIRTUOUS CYCLE
— Community engagement helps determine how money is channeled
A VIRTUOUS CYCLE
— Money is channeled into social services + amenities in the form of education, housing, health and transportation
Surrounding Equitism Tower, the city of Telosa focuses on people-centric design. Telosa’s public realm is vibrant and active, with open space woven throughout the dense city fabric forming its central spine. Lush in native planting, parks host carefully managed reservoirs, which store water for the city and provide all residents with open space within minutes of where they live.
Designed to be a 15-minute city, Telosa’s layout allows workplaces, schools, and basic goods and services to remain within a 15-minute commute from residents’ homes. Vehicles powered by fossil fuels will not be permitted inside city limits, with an emphasis instead being placed upon walkability and the use of scooters, bicycles, and autonomous electric vehicles – including the Sky Tram, part of Telosa’s transport system.
“Telosa embodies the social and environmental care of Scandinavian culture, and the freedom and opportunity of a more American culture."
Telosa will provide a model of how best to incorporate an existing natural environment into a new city’s design and operations to ensure continuity of the natural resource flow. The air quality of the region will be maintained by banning fossil-fuel vehicles, requiring zero stack emissions, and minimizing the heat-island impact of the city to avoid associated air quality issues. Maximum permeability of the city’s footprint for water infiltration and groundwater recharge will require green infrastructure with all buildings, thoroughfares, and open spaces.
The city is committed to instituting a circular materials economy that minimizes the need to extract additional natural resources, and thus, reduce the loss of natural habitats. Most importantly, however, and unlike any city in the world, Telosa will establish a fund to restore critical habitats and preserve the natural resources of the greater region.
Bjarke Ingels Martin Voelkle Alana Goldweit Alejandra Cortes Florencia Kratsman Lingyi Xu Mateo Fernandez Morgan Mangelsen Paul Clemens Bart Terrence Chew Tracy Sodder Cheng Zhong Autumn Visconti Isela Liu Jeffrey Shumaker Jeremy Alain Siegel Douglass Alligood Mengzhu Jiang Norain Chang Frankie Sharpe Juan Diego Perez Diez Philip Andersson Casper Clausen Shuo Yang Luca McLaughlin Catrina Nelson Quanjiang Li Pooja Annamaneni
COLLABORATORS
Buro Happold
Squint/Opera
Two Bridges Film
