Arcology
May 26, 2009 by blogtopia
Filed under Architectural style
Arcology, a portmanteau of the words "architecture" and "ecology," is a set of architectural design principles aimed toward the design of enormous habitats (hyperstructures) of extremely high human population density. These largely hypothetical structures, called "arcologies," would contain a variety of residential and commercial facilities and minimize individual human environmental impact. They are often portrayed as self-contained or economically self-sufficient. The concept has been primarily popularized by architect Paolo Soleri, and appears commonly in science fiction.
The term arcology is restricted mainly to theoretical discussions and fictional depictions, such as Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle’s Oath of Fealty or as elements in video games, such as SimCity 2000, Escape Velocity Nova, Deus Ex: Invisible War, Call to Power II, Sid Meier’s Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword and Mass Effect.