In a world increasingly obsessed with the potential of Blockchain (the decentralized technology behind Bitcoin), lawyer and cryptocurrency millionaire Jeffrey Berns has purchased an enormous 67,000-acre plot of the Nevada desert near Reno envisioned as an “experimental community” revolving around the technology.
His company, Blockchains LLC, has worked in collaboration with Tom Wiscombe Architecture and Ehrlich Yanai Rhee Chaney Architects (EYRC) to design “Innovation Park” which will be “developed into a smart city with decentralized Blockchain underlying all infrastructure.”
The city will be a mixed-use economy of housing, schools, financial, business, and retail concepts all taking advantage of emerging technologies. Based on the principles of efficiency, sustainability, transparency, and provenance, the scheme will feature autonomous vehicles circulating throughout vast buildings, married with a human-centric pedestrian experience through shaded green courtyards in large civic-scale spaces.
Energy for homes will be harnessed by next-generation solar and wind sources, while precious water will be recycled and reclaimed “to get the most from every drop.” Residential typologies will accommodate individuals, couples, and families, ranging from hillside homes to communal living.
As reported by The New York Times, Berns’ faith in the project stems from his ownership of Ether, a digital token associated with the cryptocurrency Ethereum. Berns believes that in his crypto-landscape, people will own Ethereum addresses, used to vote on local measures and store personal data, without the interference of a central government.
Find out more about the project from the Blockchains LLC website here.
Owner: Blockchains, LLC
Architecture: EYRC Architects + Tom Wiscombe Architecture
Visualization: EYRC Architects + Tom Wiscombe Architecture
(Image 8) Digital Domain retouched by EYRC Architects + Tom Wiscombe Architecture
Holo-Gauze Animation: Digital Domain
Additional Media Assets: Postal
News via: The New York Times / Tom Wiscombe Architecture
