User:Egan.st/sandbox

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= Earthscraper = An earthscraper is a tall, inhabitable structure that reaches downward instead of up. It is the logical inverse of a skyscraper and is in most cases a response to building codes that restrict tall buildings. There is no minimum depth requirement that an earthscraper must meet nor must it be entirely under ground. A majority portion of the building however, must exist below grade level.

Earthscrapers do not have a set use but include hotels, residential, commercial, office, and museum programs. They are typically built from standard building materials including steel frames and reinforced concrete. The constant weight of the earth around it must be taken into account for both design and construction.

Development
The idea of the earthscraper came about as a response to building codes that limited construction above a certain height. This often is related to the weak strength of the soil at levels close to the surface. The earthscraper is the logical solution to both of these problems. It does not break building height restrictions, in some examples not having a single story above ground level. It also must extend deep enough into the ground that it reaches more suitable ground for building on, in most cases bedrock.

In other cases the idea was developed as a response to a condition that the architect wanted to take advantage of. For example, a cliff side where the roof of the building will be at grade with the top of the cliff and only one face of the building will be visible outside of the cliff edge.

Historic Precedents
This idea of building down into the earth rather than from the ground up has its roots in the 13th Century AD. The Church of St. George, or Bete Giyorgis in Amharic, is a monolithic church in Lalibela, Ethiopia. It is carved from the earth and then shaped from the inside out so the entire structure is one solid piece of stone. The church measures 40 feet down and is organized by the Greek cross plan, common to churches designed at the time. The monolithic church is home to many religious relics including artwork, sculptures, and a replica of the Arc of the Covenant.

Other more contemporary examples of this can be found in a variety of places. The idea of the underground city has gained popularity in the past century. Also missile silos in the United States have been repurposed into individual homes/

Skyscraper
The earthscraper is the logical antithesis of the skyscraper. The skyscraper has been developing since the industrial revolution made steel and iron more available. The standard skyscraper is split into sections cut horizontally through the building. Commercial program typically occupies the lower floors, residential above that and office program occupies the uppermost levels. When the entire building is owned by one party the most public programs occupy the bottom. The earthscraper follows the same logic but in reverse. Offices now occupy the lowest levels, with residential above, and public and commercial program right beneath the surface. In the skyscraper structure and service spaces occupy the center and a thin curtain wall is added to the steel frame to maximize exposure to light for the occupiable program. The earthscraper again inverts this idea leaving the center voided in an inverted pyramid to allow maximum light to penetrate the lower levels. In some examples the face of a cliff is used for exposure to light and a more standard sky scraper type form is utilized.

Groundscaper
As technology advanced the skyscraper informed a new form referred to as the groundscraper. This is a structure that is generally comparable in size to a sky scraper but spans horizontally as opposed to vertically. In the same way that the earthscraper is a variation of standard building types based on necessity the groundscaper is a response to specific criteria. In the Vanke Center by Steven Holl it was due to a combination of a limit on building height and a grounds scape that was supposed to be preserved. The building is as long as the empire state building is tall standing on only 11 columns. Other examples are clear reaction to favorable site conditions including a London project proposed by Google.

Mexico City Project
BNKR Arquitectura designed a proposed earthscraper for the urban center of Mexico City. The program would include (from grade down) a public square, a museum, commercial program, residential program, and offices. A full glass top acts as a public square in an already existing urban space. An inverted pyramid with a hollow center then houses the program below. It is proposed to be 65 stories completely underground measuring 300 meters.

The InterContinental Shimao Shanghai Wonderland
China has a hotel expected to be completed late 2014 or early 2015 that uses an abandoned quarry. Developed by the Shimao Property Group with Atkins, a British engineering firm, has three floors above grade an another 16 below the surface. The InterContinental Shimao Shanghai Wonderland is part hotel and part theme park. It contains highly landscaped elements both above and around the structure as well as a water front at the base of the cliff. If completed on time this will be the first earthscraper fully completed.