The Could - London 2012

I saw this the other day and thought that this project definitely fit the theme of the class- it is both currently unbuilt and farout. From the website: "The Cloud serves as a tribute to a digital age of bits and atoms beyond the antiquity of steel and glass – a structure which reveals the connected networks of a common humanity fuelling the Olympics, their 2012 host city, and the world itself. The Cloud proposes a new form of monument – a new form of collective expression and experience, and an updated symbol of our modern age. It proposes an entirely new form of observation deck, high above the Olympics – one from which one can not only see the whole of London, but the whole of the world, immersed in the euphoric gusts of weather and world data."

Besides serving as an observational platform and a display of aggregate information pulled from around the world, The Cloud serves as an uplifting take on the spirit of the Olympics, a worldly optimism that attempts to connect elements of humanity and show just how small and networked the earth really is.

One interesting aspect of The Cloud is how it is funded. The creators of the project envision everyone from around the world being able to contribute to the Cloud - whether through the admission charges and bodily presence of their visit, or by their contributions towards a particular sphere and their ownership of a single LED. It is a internet inspired collaborative effort that ties into the spirit of a global community The Cloud so strongly represents.

Architects: Carlo Ratti, Walter Nicolino, Alex Haw Graphic Designers: Studio FM Milano Landscape Architects: Agence Ter Artist: Tomas Saraceno Structural Engineers: Schlaich Bergermann und Partner

Google, ARUP, GMJ, Umberto Eco, Marco Santambrogio, Chris Bangle, Giuliano da Empoli, Antoni Muntadas, William J, Mitchell, Paul Richens, Gianluca Salvatori, Caterina Ginzburg, Liza Fior, Margo Miller

Website:

Raise the Cloud