Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.
- 178
- 2
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
Notes -
I always thought the main problems with just scaling up a cube were:
People will complain about the lack of natural light in the interior rooms. For example Munger Hall. I personally think this is way overblown, especially for college students staying out until 4 AM and waking up at 11 AM. Or people in Minneapolis with no sun for normal at home hours in the winter, and the sun waking you up at 4 AM in the summer. With high CRI, high intensity, fresnel lens adjusted, power efficient LEDs atifical lighting can be better than the sun. Completely controllable timing and intensity, no unwanted solar heating, controlled glare, controlled color temperature, etc.
The mechanical integrations eat up much of the cost savings of the structure. Isolating and running the HVAC for that many units requires a bunch of ducting runs, eating up interior volume. Additional expensive and loud air handling units are required to over come the static resistance of all the ducting. Times 2 for the plumbing. This is why it's so hard to convert a space designed for a cube farm to residential use. You can feed an open space with a single giant plenum, but individual dwelling units require individual ducting for air quality.
Of course, you can overcome these by only scaling on the z-axis, but then you lose much of your scaling law advantage. You also run into other scaling problems, for example The Mile-High Illinois, where you would have eaten up most of the lower floor space with elevators.
That wiki article is almost as detached from reality as its subject. Love it.
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link