Ahmed 1
Sania Ahmed
City of Glass
1,935 Words
International Academy East
2012
Ahmed 2
Sania Ahmed
Mrs. Jorgensen
Product Team
9 December 2012
The City of Glass
Criterion B:
One of the most fascinating things about a city is the way it is structured. From the
strong buildings to the systematic streets, the thought that goes into creating a city is
something that is taken for granted. As I got older, I noticed my settings and watched the city
change and grow along with me. New buildings were built while older ones were torn down.
Streets were improved, lawns were taken care of, and everyone was happy with the progress
cities had made.
This beautiful phenomenon has fascinated me for as long as I can remember. Because of my
interest in the field, I want to become an architect. Being able to design and build structures in
the world would be an amazing achievement for me.
When I entered into my product team class, I knew that there was a lot of potential to
create something truly magnificent and meaningful. This is why I decided to channel my
inspiration from architecture into building a model of a futuristic city.
The focus of my project will be revolving around the concept of brainstorming brand new ideas
for the structure of a city and its buildings so technology can progress. I want my project to be 3
feet by 2 feet, and be to scale. I also want to create all of the individual buildings in my city
along with signs on each, explaining the significance of each. I want to make a very interesting
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city that provokes thoughts about what may be possible in the future. I am also planning to
create a video that shows the process of me creating my futuristic city.
The Area of Interaction that this project goes under is Human Ingenuity for a few
reasons. Human ingenuity is also about making a change and being creative, which is exactly
what my project is based on. I am making a difference by bringing innovative ideas to renovate
and completely change our world. Of course, it is also very creative since I am using my
imagination to create these designs. With this project, I am also trying to inspire others to take
from my suggestion and make an even better city! Hopefully, we can all learn from each other.
Goal Specifications (original):
-3 ft by 2 ft model city to show what I've learned
-Wooden base; painted
-Everything made to scale (measurements written on base)
-At least 30 houses [made to scale]
-At least 10 buildings (recreation centers, restaurants, etc.) [made to scale]
-Signs on each building; explaining their significance (why are they better than what we
have today?)
-Video showing myself building the model and explaining what I am doing
Criterion C:
When attempting to do a project like this, research is always required. In order to obtain
a useful amount of information, one must always use sources that are varied, and of course,
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reliable. Although I didn’t manage to discover all of the information that I should’ve had, I think
I still found some helpful sources from various types of media.
All of my sources came from two places: people and the internet. Through the internet, I
found articles, research studies, and organizations that were dedicated to showcasing and
discussing ideas for futuristic cities. My second source is through people. People can be a huge
inspiration and can give you guidance when you are in need of it. Although the people I talked
to weren’t professors with majors in architecture, they helped me out a lot and contributed
valuable information to my project.
The websites that I found ranged from simple blogs that featured pictures of futuristic
city concepts to more sophisticated corporation sites that had people submit their own ideas
into them. Although it could be argued that one source was more reliable than the other, both
types gave me the same amount of aid and inspiration. Looking at various pictures really helped
open up my imagination and allowed to go outside of the box when creating my own city. On
the internet, I also found out how cities were designed, which is a process called urban
planning. The whole system really assisted me in pushing me to put my ideas down on paper.
There were also many people that I talked to during every stage of the personal project.
My friends and family gave me a lot of good advice that helped me throughout this project. The
first person I talked to was my Dad. Since he is an engineer, he was very interested in what my
plan was, and how I was going to execute it. He helped me realize what I could and couldn’t
make. My friends also helped me a lot- Shreeya Bakshi supplied me with a few ideas while
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adding onto my own, and Connor Healy took me deep into the technical aspects of what was
possible to do for my futuristic city.
I don’t think that my sources were as reliable as they could’ve been, and I could’ve
gotten more, but the ones that I did have were very useful.
Criterion D:
After spending a lot of time preparing, the time has finally come to start making my
personal project. All of the information that I have gathered will be used to finalize my city
layout and decide how I want to build the model of my city.
While I was brainstorming, I had a lot of ideas running through my head, which made it
very hard for me to decide what my city was going to look like. Thankfully, I eventually sketched
out an idea that I knew would work well for my project. My city was designed with all of the
information I had looked through and all of the planning that I had done beforehand.
The setting that I am placing this city in is underwater. Having a city underwater, as
ridiculous as it may sound, brings about a lot of economic and environmental opportunities that
couldn’t be found elsewhere. Perhaps the most important aspect of an underwater city is that it
can be powered by its surroundings-the water! Hydropower is a renewable resource of energy
that is, of course, perfect for a city located inside water itself. Also, the buildings that will be
occupied by people are compartments connected with tubes. They have been designed this
way because one huge structure would not be able to hold up underwater. However, if parts of
the city are spread across the sea, then the pressure on them will be reduced greatly.
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The things that I learned over the course of this project influenced my decision making a
lot. In fact, it was actually quite difficult for me to decide on what to do for my project because
of all the barriers that my newfound knowledge had put onto me. Thankfully, this phase only
lasted for a little while. I was able to define the line between planning and acting. Although
planning is wonderful, it should be done in moderation. There is a time when we should begin
to act upon our ideas instead of pondering over them.
Criterion E:
As I look back at my original specifications, I realize how much I have changed. My final
project is very different from what I had expected it to be. Previously, I was planning to use
wood in order to build the majority of my model. However, instead of wood, I ended up using
mainly plastic. I was also thinking of having a base for my city, but had it built inside of a fish
tank instead.
These are only a few examples of the many things that I changed along the way.
Although the uncertainty of everything made me a little nervous, I do think that most
everything worked out for the better. Working with plastic was a lot easier than wood would’ve
been. I was able to find soap bottles that I used to represent the various buildings in my city.
Because of this, I didn’t have to bother with actually constructing the buildings. They served my
purpose well and made my life a lot easier.
Another vital component that I added was the tubing that ran around in the fish tank.
The tubes that connected the buildings together were like roads. Since not everyone would be
able to swim around in the water from building to building, building these walkways in the
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ocean was my way of making life in the city more convenient. The second set of tubes ran from
the rooftops of the buildings to above the island. These are perhaps the most vital part of my
whole structure. Their purpose is to provide oxygen inside the pressurized buildings. Not only
do they enable the citizens to survive, but they can also give them heating/cooling when
needed.
There were also many things in my project that I wish I could’ve changed. Since I had
never attempted anything like this before, I ran into many obstacles along the way. First of all,
my project turned out to be a little messy. My hot glue gun left excess glue all over my fish tank
and buildings. On the buildings themselves, I had drawn windows on them a bit sloppily. Also, I
had to glue pieces of tubes together since some pieces were too short. Needless to say, the end
result was not as pretty as I had hoped.
Second of all, I believe that the overall design of my city could have been a lot better. I
was hoping to create a massive, involved world underwater. Unfortunately, reality crushed my
hopes of building something that was truly outside of the box. I am usually a creative person,
but I feel as if I could have pushed my boundaries more with this project.
There were many ups and downs of this project. Despite all the hardships that I went
through, I really am proud of my city model. I put a lot of time and effort into it, resulting not
only in a successful model, but also a valuable learning experience for myself. The display of my
city could have been much more dramatic, and the planning more technical, but I believe that it
was still quite rewarding.
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Criterion F:
Creating from your inspiration is one of the most powerful things a person can do.
Having the ability to properly express your visions is a valuable tool. Through this project, I have
learned about the power of imagination, creativity, and willpower. Without these three things,
our society would not be able to advance the way it has.
On the note of advancing, going forward is what my project is revolved around. It is up
to us to decide what our future will be like. Thanks to this project, I was able to get a real-world
feel of just how much work it takes to make significant changes happen.
Not only has this project allowed me to gain more experience, it has also made me grow
as a learner. I’ve learned about the physics aspect of how building a city underwater would be
possible. I discovered different factors such as water pressure, tension, and distribution of
pressure.
I am very thankful to have been given this opportunity to develop so much as an
individual. Although everything may have not gone as planned, that’s the beauty of life. There
will always be bumps along the way; but the only thing that matters is how you deal with them.
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Sania Ahmed
Mrs. Jorgensen
Product Team
14 December 2012
Works Cited
"Architecture and Government." Architecture and Government. U.S. General Services
Administration, 23 Feb. 2012. Web. 19 Sept. 2012.
<http://www.gsa.gov/portal/content/105183>.
Grunwald, Michael. "Rise of the Smart Grid." TIME.com. TIME, June-July 2012. Web. 19 Sept.
2012. <http://business.time.com/2012/07/26/obamas-smart-electrical-grid-plan/>.
Hewitt, Mark. "Big Think." The Future of Architecture = No New Buildings. N.p., 12 May 2012.
Web. 19 Sept. 2012. <http://bigthink.com/experts-corner/the-future-of-architectureno-new-buildings>.
"Renewable Energy Sources." EIA Energy Kids. U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2012.
Web. 19 Sept. 2012. <http://www.eia.gov/kids/energy.cfm?page=renewable_homebasics>.
"URBAN DESIGN." Urban Design. Urbandesign.org, 2012. Web. 19 Sept. 2012.
<http://www.urbandesign.org/>.