Revealed: 2050 vision of Paris

COULD this be the skyline of Paris in 2050?

According to Belgian architect Vincent Callebaut, yes, it could. The “Paris Smart City 2050” reinvents the City of Light as an ecological utopia.

The ambitious vision was commissioned by Paris City Hall as part of its plan to reduce the city's greenhouse gas emissions by 75% in the next 35 years.

The plan features high-rise buildings that can recycle their own energy, and a series of “mountain towers” that blend a number of alternative power and insulating sources.

Meanwhile, anti-smog towers along a 23km “ecological corridor” close to disused railway lines running through the current city, would use photo-catalytic technology to slash air pollution and produce electricity using wind turbines.

Even the unpopular Tour Montparnasse is given a green makeover in the scheme, becoming part of a “photosynthesis tower” that would be covered energy-producing green algae that would - among other things - power the tower’s elevators.

It may all sound improbably futuristic, but the architect says that the design is based on existing technologies or ones that are currently being developed.

The Mayor’s office said that the plan has not yet been submitted to authorities, and added that it was not the only idea for the future of Paris.

For a look at the architect’s plans, click here

Image: Vincent Callebaut Architectures