Read more about the new book "Skycar City: A Pre-emptive History" and how Pioneers can win a copy.
Dutch architects MVRDV are renowned for their out of the ordinary urban solutions, from vertical pig farms to escape houses in the New Orleans 9th Lower Ward for Brad Pitt. In the book Skycar City: A Pre-emptive History the results are presented from a semester long investigation held at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee School of Architecture and Urban Planning , a studio held as part of their 2006 Marcus Prize. The investigation was led by Winy Maas and Grace La (UWM) and explored the relationship between infrastructure, architecture and urban form.The result, presented in the new book, is Skycar City. Or put simply: How will the city function when cars can fly? A city free of roads, of two dimensional limitations, of, as the editors write, “the elevator’s monopoly on vertical access”.
Flying into the suburbs of Skycar City
The studio set about to imagine and question the implementation of this future scenario from all angles. In the end, Skycar City is not just about flying cars, but the future of city infrastructure that takes into account population growth, oil supplies and carbon emissions. Vertical growth is both the consequence AND the only solution.Through detailed illustrations and designs, one can see the chronological growth of this city. After turning the last page, one is convinced that Skycar City is the obvious answer to our current situation. The only way is truly UP!
SKYCAR DESIGNSThe students began by designing the series models of the SkyCar first as a way to determine how the city of the future would look.
The vehicles would need to have new engines for greater speed and hovering and run on fuel cell technology. They will also have smaller wheels as they no longer come into contact with the ground as much. Navigation would change as travel would be enabled by a high tech Skycar screen and the coordinates would not just be left and right, but up and down as well! The cockpit is panoramic and the seating can swivel as other Skycars can come from any direction. For safety, there are magnetic bumpers, shock absorbing frames and automated avoidance procedures. The series of cars that were designed are a mix of private and mass transit vehicle, often with the ability to combine and change their use. The Model series are The Barnacle, The Sedan, The Transit, The Safety, The Speed, The Ultimate Car and the Skybike or Skyvespa.You can see some models at the end of the article below.
SKYCAR CITYNaturally the new navigation style of the Skycars would affect the city infrastructure. Currently cities are largely two dimensional. For example, over half of Manhattan is made up of streets and only 44% can be used for development . These streets are often congested, wasting time and fuel. With the introduction of Skycars, zoning can be altered and cities can grow upwards with more density.
In Skycar City, pathways in the air, or Skypaths, for traffic are necessary to avoid collisions, but are also flexible in shape and direction. Parking is another issue as Skycars can park either on land or as part of the building’s design, either with magnets or peg-ons.
Parking and flying in Skycar City
My favourite part of the book was the time-line that traced the fascinating journey of sky based infrastructure, from Da Vinci’s helicopter in 1490 all the way to MVRDV’s vision of Skycar City in 2220. Along the way we are introduced to many machines of the past like the Montgolfier Brothers’ hot air balloon (1783) and Tesla’s flying machine (1911) as well as the imagined urban landscapes that coincided with these new visions, eg the paintings of Albert Robida and Le Corbusier’s elevated highways (1929). The time-line also points out the Skycar compatible vehicles already developed such as the Harrier Jet (1969) and the EKIP (2004). According to the authors, by 2030 Skycars will replace ground-based vehicles and by 2075 oil and gas will be entirely replaced by wind, solar and tidal energy systems. Seeing all these visions of the future placed together, one wonders why the dream of populist flight has not yet taken off, but foresees this as a natural evolution in transport. Skycar City makes clear that the days of asphalt and oil dependent cars of today are clearly numbered. While the book does not cover every new problem, such as the materials needed to create these growing superstructures , waste disposal or agricultural areas, it does offer a well researched prototype of what the future could offer. Skycar City cannot be built yet. It is a speculative city based on finding answers to the growing urban problems through design.
Win A Copy!If you would like to own this fascinating book, Club of Pioneers is giving away a copy. Members of the Club of Pioneers (join up and register if you’re not one yet) can win by sending an email to redaktion@clubofpioneers.com
with the title "Skycar City book raffle". Competition closes on May 23!


Series ModelsThe Barnacle Series
The Safety Series
The Speed Series
The Sedan Series
Disclaimer:
There is no legal recourse. Winners will be selected by a raffle draw. The judges
decision is final. Prizes are not transferable or refundable. All images published from the book "Skycar City: A pre-emptive History".