modern noah ark?

NOAH, which stands for New Orleans Arcology Habitat, is a 30 million square foot GINORMOUS building that will float on the Mississippi river. Arcology, is an off spring of architecture and ecology, essentially a mega city housing a vast population. This pyramidal hyper-structure is part of the rebuilding of New Orleans and intends to promote sustainable and green living within itself. It will be encompass 20,000 residential units  1,500 timeshares, 3 hotels, parking for 8,000 cars, cultural spaces, public works, schools, an administrative office, and a health care facility.

NOAH has been specifically designed to withstand the hurricanes that the area is susceptible to. The  floating base and open wall architecture allow severe weather winds to blow through the structure and minimise passing interference. Eco-friendly elements include secured wind turbines, fresh water recovery and storage systems, a passive glazing system, sky garden heating/cooling vents, grey water treatment, solar array banding panels, and river based water turbines.

Uh-maa-zing!

info and images via inhabitat