An international forum on vertical cities was held in Tianjin on October 13, at which global experts in architecture, engineering and the environment discussed "vertical cities" from technical, managing and economic perspectives, saying that such cities may promote the development of urban life in China.

Vertical city refers to a super high architectural structure with multiple layers and functions. Generally, such buildings have all the urban functions such as three dimensional transportation, food and clothing, employment, garbage disposal and residences, yet only cover 800 square meters, which means people can reach any place within 15 minutes.

An international forum on building a vertical city is held in Tianjin on Oct 13. [Photo/tj.people.cn]

Kenneth S.H. King, the initiator of "vertical city", said solving the problem of building super high structures with high capacity and effect on a relatively small plot of land is currently the main subject under discussion.

In a vertical city King proposed, only two percent of land is used for residences and the rest is used for planting vegetables and other crops. Meanwhile, hospitals, schools, parks, stores and gymnasiums would be contained in the city as well. Such a city could become a sustainable model which once adopted in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei province would relieve pressures brought by population explosion, housing price up-surges and social management.

About 300 experts and professional representatives of design institutes attend the forum. [Photo/tj.people.cn]

Richard Register has compared urbanization in the US and China and analyzed threats that people and animals face. He said vertical cities could play an important role in solving these problems.

Hong Zaisheng, president of the Tianjin University Research Institute of Architectural Design and Urban Planning, stressed that vertical cities not only offer a sustainable lifestyle, but also provide a new approach to low impact management, or LIM, which refers to heavy rain management and pollution treating techniques. Building a vertical city can meet people's work, living and leisure demands in limited space.

Kenneth S.H. King, initiator of "vertical city", gives his book -- Vertical City: A Solution for Sustainable Living -- to Tianjin and Nankai universities. [Photo/tj.people.cn]

During the forum, Dennis Poon, a structural engineering expert, and Karl Schollkopf of Thyssenkrupp Elevator Technology, agreed that it is possible to create a vertical city with a high quality environment. Poon said engineers are well prepared to welcome the design and building challenges construction of such cities would bring. For example, damping devices now used on super high buildings are well-matched to vertical city architecture.

In terms of the construction costs of vertical cities, Lei Yian, a professor at Peking University, believes that a vertical city's construction and operating costs would be lower than those of a traditional city.