ZDF, Planet e, 27.3.2022
The world's cities must reinvent themselves. Only in this way will it be possible to achieve climate neutrality in the future. Vicente Guallart, an architect from Barcelona, wants to bring agriculture back to the big cities. Photovoltaics are to be used on roofs and the walls of houses. The top floor will become a greenhouse, and vegetables can be produced where they are eaten: in the city itself.
A similar path could be taken with green hydrogen: Residential buildings would become clean energy suppliers. The surplus hydrogen would then be available for heavy transport, for example. Visions of the future that are being tested in Esslingen's new West City.
Arno Brandlhuber's architectural firm B plus (B+) likes to lure the industry out of its shell with unusual proposals. Intelligent concepts for tomorrow's cities rely on the consistent conversion of existing buildings. Because it is clear that this is the only way to achieve the climate targets.
https://www.zdf.de/dokumentation/planet-e/planet-e-cities-of-the-future-100.html
The first broadcast on ZDF in the documentary series planet e was on 27.03.2022.
What will the city of tomorrow look like?
Architecture and urban planning are facing the greatest challenges ever: they must do nothing less than save the world. In the future, building materials should come from the environment. Preferably only from renewable raw materials. Even better: as little new construction as possible. It is better to continue using existing substance. Because that's the only way to achieve the climate targets, as architect Arno Brandlhuber knows.
Vicente Guallart goes one step further. The architect from Barcelona wants to bring agriculture into the big cities themselves. Vegetables are to be produced where they are eaten: in the city. For Xiong'An, a huge new development near Beijing, Guallart is currently planning a city that absorbs Co2 instead of emitting it: "Trees absorb Co2. We want to build buildings that are like trees, and cities that function like forests."
Guallart's preferred building material is wood. Vicente Guallart is also head of Valldaura Labs, an experimental applied architecture department at Catalan University. In the hills above Barcelona, new concepts for combining nature and urbanity are being tested. Most important for this is an understanding of sustainability and cycles as nature dictates.
Home-grown energy - imports were yesterday
Economically efficient yet climate-friendly? That's what people in Esslingen, Baden-Württemberg, are counting on: Green electricity generated by photovoltaics is used there to split hydrogen. This "green hydrogen," which is unique in the world so far, is generated in residential areas. In the long term, this could make it possible to achieve independence from imported energy sources. In Esslingen, the electrolyzer - the device in which the hydrogen is split - is located right next to the underground parking garage in Neue Weststadt. The hydrogen is used for transporting loads and for industry. The houses in the Weststadt, however, feed their heating and hot water needs from the cooling water of the electrolyzer. In this way, energy generated in residential areas could enable emission-free mobility and industry for the city in the future.

Laboratory cities - the way to the future
How the cities of tomorrow develop is also an important topic for corporations. Some large companies are even building their own cities to act as laboratory cities.
Japan is at the forefront here: "Woven City" is being built directly on Mount Fuji for the mobility giant Toyota, a "woven" city in which traffic levels are separated and overlapped. Built with a lot of wood. 2000 people are to live in this "living laboratory". Animations at least show an idyllic coexistence with a lot of greenery, but in which movements of the inhabitants are measured. It's a similar story in Panasonic's cities. The Japanese electrical company has already inaugurated its third sustainable smart city. Cities like these allow the company to do field research on product decisions, directly with consumers. James Kuffner, CEO of Woven Planet Holdings, is optimistic: "We're using artificial intelligence... We can make a kind of digital twin that allows us to draw conclusions about the city of the future, for example, in terms of transportation planning or food or energy supply." Digital twin sisters and brothers help plan tomorrow's cities.