--- title: "Architects Propose Lighter-Than-Air Buildings That Hover Over City Streets" description: "An eco-architect is proposing lighter-than-air structures that can float above city streets and help fight climate change." date: "2022-04-20" modified: "2022-04-20" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/architects-propose-hovering-buildings" categories: - "Science & Energy" tags: - "air conditioning" - "architecture" - "the digest" - "zeppelins" --- # Architects Propose Lighter-Than-Air Buildings That Hover Over City Streets ![]() *\Image: Framlab\* ## Cloudscapes Have you ever been on a city street and looked up at the space above you and thought, "they should really do something with that?" No, this isn't a 4/20 bait question. As [*Fast Company* reports](), Framlab eco-architect Andreas Tjeldflaat is proposing actual floating buildings that would use hover, zeppelin-like, in the empty space above municipal roadways and even fight climate change while they're at it. The Oversky project is, as Tjeldflaat told *FastCo*, an attempt to build a "cloudscape" as a new sort of public square. The futuristic appeal doesn't end there, however β€” the firm is proposing "rigid frames of carbon fiber" that would, [per its website](), "create strong, light-weight enclosures for cells of helium lift-gas." That's in contrast to hydrogen, of course, which is hightly flammable and caused the horrific Hindenburg disaster back in 1937. "The panels of the modules can certainly be employed on their own as part of more conventional building and infrastructure projects," he added. ![A black and white photo of a dimly-lit street with mocked-up designs for floating architecture. ]() *Via Framlab.* ## Nanophone Rendered visualizations of the floating enclosures make them look like something out of a high-concept minimalist game like the popular Escher-esque "Monument Valley," and Tjeldflaat admitted in his interview with *FastCo* that the design is still very theoretical. Nevertheless, the science behind the proposal β€” which not only includes the carbon fiber cells of helium but also what the architect calls "nanophotonic engineering," a technology which would, per Tjeldflaat's telling, cool the floating modules using "a foam-like material structure with nanoscale air pockets" that both radiate heat back out into the atmosphere and cool the space below it in much the same way that trees do naturally. Given that fossil fuels are greatly exacerbating climate change, and are the main fuel powering air conditioning, this kind of tech could be revolutionary. It may seem like a floating pipe dream, but with such fascinating scientific concepts behind this beautiful proposal, it could be worthwhile to investigate β€” or at least dream about. **READ MORE:** [This architect wants to suspend buildings in midair. It’s not as impossible as it sounds]() \[*Fast Company*\] **More on the architecture of the future:** *[They Just Finished the World's Thinnest Skyscraper and It's Slightly Terrifying]()* ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()