The Architecture Of The Future Is Far More SpectacularThan You Could Imagine

"Every great architect is -- necessarily -- a great poet. He must be a great original interpreter of histime, his day, his age."

Those are the words of one undeniably great architect, Frank Lloyd Wright, whose visions ofharmonious design and innovating urban planning amounted to his own brand of organicarchitecture. We'd argue that Wright wasn't just an interpreter of his time -- he was able to foreseethe needs and desires of ages ahead of him. The architect is -- necessarily -- a visionary capable ofseeing into the future.

In the spirit of architecture's fortune telling abilities, we've put together a list of our favoritecontemporary designs that shed light on the future of our visual world. Behold, 14 designs that showthe architecture of tomorrow.

1. Hypnotic Bridges

(Photo courtesy of NEXT Architects)

Why craft boring suspension bridges or arched overpasses when humanity is capable of buildingmassive architectural feats like this to cross a river? The impressive, undulating design, destined tofunction as a pedestrian footbridge over the Dragon King Harbour River in China, is the product ofNEXT Architects. The bridge design involves three individual, swirling lanes hovering over thepicturesque landscape of Changsha.

The rendering won an international competition associated with a new public park in the area lastyear, and the project is currently under construction. "The construction with the intersecting

connections is based on the principal of the Möbius ring," states Michel Schreinemachers on theNEXT website. "On the other hand it refers to a Chinese knot that comes from an ancient decorativeChinese folk art," John van de Water adds.

2. Rotating Skyscrapers

This image of an 80-story skyscraper, imagined by Dynamic Architecture's David Fisher back in2008, is a far-fetched rendering fit for Dubai's future rich and famous. Why? Because it rotates.

The enormous, towering building would have floors that move ever so slightly, completing a 360degree rotation every 90 minutes. Forget about fighting for an east-facing apartment, the suites inDynamic Architecture's creation would have all four cardinal directions covered. And it get's better.The building would be equipped with several giant wind turbines that generate electricity fortenants, and penthouse residents would be able to park their car at their apartments thanks to niftylifts.

While we're not sure this design will ever actually come to fruition (it was scheduled to be up andrunning in 2010), it's certainly a visual feast worth ogling.

3. Indoor Parks

(Photo courtesy of Diller Scofidio + Renfro with Hargreaves Associates and Citymakers)

In November of 2013, the Strelka Institute announced the winner of a two-stage internationalcompetition to design Zaryadye Park, Moscow's first new public park in over 50 years. The winnerwas Diller Scofidio + Renfro (in collaboration with Hargreaves Associates and Citymakers), whoproposed this particularly stunning design based on a theory of "Wild Urbanism," or the concept of a"hybrid landscape where the natural and the built cohabit to create a new public space."

The park will feature four landscape typologies -- tundra, steppe, forest and wetland, integratingaugmented micro-climates that will enable the park to function as a public space throughout

Russia's extreme winters. Essentially, the quasi-indoor environments will involve regulatedtemperatures, controlled wind and simulated daylight that encourage 24/7, year-round parkpleasure. As Diller Scofidio +Renfro aptly put it, "Zaryadye Park will embody the past and the futuresimultaneously."

4. Invisible Architecture

(Photo courtesy of stpmj)

Invisible architecture is the calling card of science fiction design, and we're happy to report thatarchitects of today are on the case. Of course, there's South Korea's in-the-works, LED-clad InfinityTower. CNN reported in 2013 that "the invisibility illusion will be achieved with a high-tech LEDfacade system that uses a series of cameras that will send real-time images onto the building'sreflective surface."

But there's also the shorter, less flashy structure (pictured above) designed by New York-basedarchitecture firm stpmj. The parallelogram-shaped barn would be made of wood and sheeted withmirror film, at a cost of $5,000. The idea is to "blur the perceptual boundary" between object andsetting, according to a statement sent by the architects to The Huffington Post earlier this year. Wehave to say we're impressed with architects' ability to push the boundaries of what invisible reallymeans.

5. Natural Disaster-Proof Forts

(Photo courtesy of Dionisio Gonza?lez and Yusto/Giner Gallery)

For his series "Dauphin Island," artist Dionisio Gonza?lez designed dreamlike, futuristic forts madefrom iron and concrete, fusing the role of artist with that of architect, engineer and urban planner.The peculiar edifices -- the hybrid of a beach house, a bunker and a space ship -- were designed withthe residents of Dauphin Island in mind. Located off the coast of Alabama in the Gulf of Mexico, thetiny landmass is known for experiencing perpetual and catastrophic hurricanes. When a storm hitsthe small island of around 1,200 people, it often washes away much of the coastline, leavingresidents to rebuild their homes again and again.

Gonza?lez created hypothetical blueprints for his forts, illustrating how his bulbous, concretestructures would better suit the fraught island's populous. You can learn more about the project onhis website. Keep in mind, these structures are not yet slated for reality, but they certainly paint aninteresting picture of what futuristic island homes could look like.

6. Sweaters for Skyscrapers

(Photo courtesy of OP-EN)

Dubai's Burj Khalifa is widely known as the world's tallest building, measuring in at a whopping2,716.5 feet and 160 stories. The structure itself is mesmerizing, but what's even more intriguing isa think tank's bizarre proposal to cover the towering skyscraper in a giant fabric casing made ofreflective material.

We learned about the project, dubbed EXO-BURJ, in 2014. The strange, sock-like covering wouldwrap around the entire building, from spire to ground level, in a "super-lightweight, reflective andsemi-transparent fabric material," according to a description by the Dubai-based think tank, OP-EN.The temporary "sweater" would reflect the expansive urban scenes around it, turning the BurjKhalifa into a massive mirror in the vein of Christo and Jeanne-Claude.

7. Green Power Plants

What is there to do with an outdated, eyesore of a power plant in the future? Why not give thesprawling facilities a green makeover, one that would serve two functions: to beautify the structureand provide a new way of dealing with CO2 emissions.

Here's how it would work: The architecture firm AZPA (Alejandro Zaera-Polo Arquitectura) plans toturn the existing Wedel Vattenfall power plant in Germany into a new industrial complex, one thatwould be built up from the previous facilities and wrapped with a corrugated skin of creeper plants.This strategically-placed skin would not only soften the exterior aesthetic of the plant, but it wouldcreate a sheath of creepers to absorb CO2 emissions. AZPA describes the endeavor, imagined in2013, as "an attempt to resolve the conflict between the natural ecology and the manmadeenvironment."

8. Compostable Towers

(Photo courtesy of The Living)

Earlier this year, the Museum of Modern Art and MoMA PS1 selected The Living's "circular tower oforganic and reflective bricks" -- called "Hy-Fi" -- as the winner of the Young Architects Program's(YAP) 15th edition. The temporary structure will be built using a new method of bio-designincorporating entirely organic material.

As Arch Daily reported back in February, the tower will involve "the unique stacking of two newmaterials: Ecovative-manufactured organic bricks, made from corn stalks and specially-developedliving root structures; and reflective bricks, designed by 3M, that were used as growing trays for theorganic bricks before being implemented into the structure."

Bonus: According to MoMA's site, Hy-Fi will is the first sizable structure to claim near-zero carbonemissions in its construction process and represents a 100% compostable design. "Recurring to thelatest developments in biotech, it reinvents the most basic component of architecture -- the brick --as both a material of the future and a classic trigger for open-ended design possibilities."

9. 3D-Printed Interiors

Forget interior decorators, the future of indoor design will be run by 3D printers. We have architectsMichael Hansmeyer and Benjamin Dillenburger to thank for introducing us to this concept. The twopulled off a three-dimensional printing feat to rival them all just last year. As part of the project"Digital Grotesque," the duo 3D printed an entire room, creating a 16-square-meter cube adornedwith unbelievable ornamentation that looks like it belongs in a futuristic cathedral.

"We aim to create an architecture that defies classification and reductionism," states the group'swebsite. "Digital Grotesque is between chaos and order, both natural and the artificial, neitherforeign nor familiar. Any references to nature or existing styles are not integrated into the designprocess, but are evoked only as associations in the eye of the beholder."

10. Floating Pools

It's hard not to love this New York design project from Family and PlayLab, which plans to bring agiant filtration system to the murky waters between Manhattan and Brooklyn. The project wouldtake the shape of a 164-foot long floating pool set to take shape in 2016 -- if all funding efforts go asplanned. If there are swimming pools in our future, let them look like this.

In a statement released at the end of 2013, pool masterminds Archie Lee Coates IV, Dong-Ping Wongand Jeff Franklin announced they are beginning construction on Float Lab, an experimental versionof the planned 164-foot +POOL. They raised the funds for the smaller pool (35 feet by 35 feet, to beexact) through their last Kickstarter endeavor. With a launch date planned for this summer, the minipool will put the team's filtration membranes to the test in real-river conditions.

"We dont think about using the river recreationally at all," Coates explained in a previous interviewwith Huff Post. "So as an architect you think, 'What if we could change that or propose an idea thatcould change that?' We decided to pitch [+Pool] to the world. We just had no idea the response wewould get."

11. Inflatable Concert Halls

From the outside it resembles a giant, plushy purple jelly bean, and on the inside it looks more like aglowing, colored seashell. But this balloon-like form is actually the world's first inflatable concerthall, entitled "Ark Nova." Iconic British sculptor Anish Kapoor and Japanese architect Arata Isozakiteamed up to create the structure, meant to tour through areas of Japan affected by the 2011earthquake and tsunami. It's a novel idea that could make for an innovative design strategy in manyother fields.

"I am honored to have been asked to design Ark Nova for the Tohoku area," Kapoor states on the ArkNova site. "The structure defines a space for community and for music in which color and formenclose. I hope that the devastation can be overcome by creativity. Music can give solace and bringcommunity together and in so doing can help us to see we are not alone."

12. Wooden Skyscrapers

(Photo courtesy of C.F. Møller/DinellJohanssons)

While wooden skyscrapers might not be as sensational as the previously mentioned rotating tower,the idea of building 34 wooden stories on on top of the other is pretty astonishing.

And it might become a reality if Scandinavian practice C.F. Møller and DinnellJohansson -- 2013'swinners of the HSB Stockholm architectural competition -- follow through with their rendering forthe world's tallest wooden skyscraper. The design (pictured above) is one of three "ultra-modernresidential high-rises" planned for Stockholm's city center in 2023, but the catch is, only one of theseproposals will actually be built.

13. Sponge Parks

(Photo courtesy of dlandstudio)

It's no secret that New York's Gowanus Canal is a breeding ground for toxic waste, polluted runoff,and raw sewage that's -- rather unfortunately -- been dumped directly into the area's bodies ofwater. But a little project known as "Sponge Park" is hoping to transform the Brooklyn locale into acleaner, properly filtered sanctuary -- and provide a model for future urban design.

The Gowanus Canal Conservancy and the landscape architecture firm dlandstudio announced in thesummer of 2013 that they plan to employ a system of landscape buffers and remediation wetlands toslow, absorb, and filter Gowanus' polluted sewer runoff before it reaches the canal. So, not only willthe Sponge Park turn 11.4 acres of contaminated fields into a pleasant waterfront arena, it willprovide a means of absorbing harmful pollutants that continue to ooze into the industrial battlefield.

"In a process called phytoremediation, specially selected plants metabolize pollutants and heavymetals present in the contaminated water," the American Society of Landscape Architects explainson its website. "Dirty water from the combined sewer system is captured in underground storagetanks and slowly released into the landscape."

14. Sci-Fi Skylines

In 2014, Chinese architecture firm MAD unveiled renderings of Chaoyang Park Plaza, a center ofskyscrapers, office blocks and public spaces meant to mimic the appearance of mountains, hills andlakes depicted in Chinese landscape paintings. The complex is now under construction in Beijing,and will result in an expansive sky line seemingly ripped from the pages of a futuristic novel.

"By transforming features of Chinese classical landscape painting, such as lakes, springs, forests,creeks, valleys, and stones, into modern 'city landscapes,' the urban space creates a balancebetween high urban density and natural landscape," MAD writes on its website. "The forms of thebuildings echo what is found in natural landscapes, and re-introduces nature to the urban realm."

Lucky for Beijing, the innovative skyline is already under construction.