人類計劃建設的10座超級建築(上)

Bigger is better. That's the logic our species seems to function on, whether it's the Saudi Royal family and their kilometer-high Kingdom Tower or China trying to build a dam so big it will literally slow the rotation of the Earth. But it's one thing to dream big and quite another to invest in superstructures so massive they defy all sense, logic, and reason. We told you recently about 10 architectural wonders deemed too impractical to ever build. Here are 10 projects even less practical that they haven't quite given up on yet.

"越大越好"，這似乎是人類思考的邏輯基礎，無論是沙特皇室和他們千米高的國王塔，或是中國計劃建造的大到能夠減慢地球自轉的河壩。夢想是一回事，而藐視常理、無視邏輯、忽略理性，斥巨資建造超級建築則是另外一回事。我們曾列出過十大不可能成真的建築構想。而這次，我們將介紹十個更不現實、但是尚未被放棄的超級建築項目。

Chinese Supercity Bigger Than Many Countries

10.中國的超級大城市--比許多國家都大

With a land surface area of 790 square kilometers (305 mi2) and a metropolitan area population of over 20 million, New York is considered one of the largest cities on Earth. Jing-Jin-Ji in China laughs in the face of such paltry numbers. A planned project to link Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei (Jing-Jin-Ji is a play on their Chinese names) into one giant megacity, it would house approximately 130 million people and be bigger than nearly half the world's countries.

憑藉佔地790平方千米的面積(305平方英里)以及超過2000 萬的城市人口，紐約被認爲是世界上最大的城市之一。面對這樣微不足道的數字，京津冀笑了。中國已有計劃連接北京、天津以及河北(京津冀爲簡稱)，實現京津冀一體化，將其打造成世界級城市羣，將容納約1.3億人口，比世界上幾乎一半的國家還大。

Everything about the project is enormous. At an estimated size of 212,000 square kilometers (82,000 mi2), Jing-Jin-Ji will be about the size of Kansas. Or, to put it another way, it will cover a larger surface area and house more people than Austria and Greece combined. It will also require an unprecedented amount of planning. President Xi Jinping has declared that each city within Jing-Jin-Ji will have a special role, with Beijing becoming its cultural and tech district, while Tianjin will be devoted to manufacturing. Hebei will hoover up the remaining smaller industries. High-speed rail networks are already being built to link each of these parts of the supercity in under an ough it sounds like science fiction, Jing-Jin-Ji is well on its way to becoming fact. Work started in 2013. By 2020, the high-speed railways should already be in place. How far this behemoth will grow beyond that point is anybody's guess.

關於這個項目的一切都可以用"巨大"來形容。預計佔地 212000平方千米(82000平方英里)，京津冀將和堪薩斯州一樣大。或者換一種說法，這座城市的佔地面積和所能容納的人口是奧地利和希臘的總和還多。如此大規模的建設需要史無前例的大量規劃。習近平主席稱，京津冀的每座城市都有各自特殊的作用：北京作爲文化、科技中心，那麼天津主營製造業，而河北則會是中小企業的孕育地。高鐵網絡已經在建造當中，今後三個城市之間的路程將不會超過一小時。雖然聽起來就像科幻小說，但京津冀一體化正在逐漸趨於現實。項目從2013年開始實施，到2020年，高鐵網應該已經建造完成。這隻巨獸最終會變成什麼樣，恐怕沒人能猜到。

San Francisco–Los Angeles Hyperloop

9.舊金山-洛杉磯的超級高鐵

Before he became famous for trying to single-handedly conquer space, billionaire CEO Elon Musk was making waves with his proposal for a "hyperloop." A system of pressurized tubes that would propel commuters between San Francisco and Los Angeles at super-high speeds, the idea was initially dismissed as impossible. Reality would beg to differ. In May 2015, a Californian transportation company received the go-ahead to start building the world's first hyperloop test track.

億萬富翁兼特斯拉CEO埃倫·馬斯克因其嘗試單槍匹馬征服太空而出名，然而在這之前，他提出的"超級高鐵"的想法轟動一時。該運輸系統通過壓力管道推動乘車上班族以超高速度往返於舊金山和洛杉磯之間，一開始這個想法因爲太不實際而被置之不理。現實並不接受這樣的想法。直到2015年5月，加州的一家交通運輸公司才接受了這個超前的想法，開始修建世界上第一條超級高鐵的測試軌道。

Although it's in its early days yet, the goal is absolutely to get a track installed between the two cities in the near future. The company has already reached a deal with landowners along Interstate 5 to start construction, and successful tests could result in the thing actually being built. That would revolutionize travel. Moving at just under the speed of sound, the hyperloop would be able to get you from Los Angeles to San Francisco in 35 minutes. For our European readers, that's like getting from Prague to Strasbourg in less time than your lunch normally takes. Construction on the test track begins in 2016. If it receives the go-ahead, the LA-SF hyperloop could be ready by as early as 2025.

雖然項目才處於初期階段，但最終目標始終是在兩個城市之間鋪設一條軌道。這家公司已經和5號州際公路的沿線地主達成協議並開始建造。一旦測試成功，那麼就可以開始建造真正的軌道。這將給出行方式帶來革命性的改變。憑藉接近於聲音的速度，超級高鐵可以讓你在35分鐘之內從舊金山到達洛杉磯。對於歐洲的讀者來說，這相當於不到一頓午餐的時間，你從布拉格到斯特拉斯堡兜了一圈。測試軌道將於2016年開始建造，如果一切順利，超級高鐵最早將在2025年建成。

ragua's Continent-Slicing Canal

8.尼加拉瓜的跨洋運河

At 77 kilometers (48 mi) long, the Panama Canal remains one of the greatest engineering feats of all time. Yet the continent-cutting canal could be about to lose its crown. In 2014, work began to build a canal three times longer than Panama's and over twice as deep. Costing around $50 billion, the project would see workers construct a waterway that would slice Nicaragua in half.

一直以來巴拿馬運河以其77千米（48英里）的長度穩坐世界七大工程奇蹟之一的寶座，而如今這座跨洋運河很有可能會丟掉王冠。2014年，一項工程開工，打算修建出一條比巴拿馬運河長三倍，深兩倍多的運河。該項目耗資約500億美元，將見證工人們修建出一條河道把尼加拉瓜一分爲二。

The brainchild of Chinese telecom billionaire Wang Jing, the Nicaragua Canal will require the removal of more than 4.5 billion cubic meters (160 billion ft3) of earth. As The Guardian put it, that's enough to "bury the entire island of Manhattan up to the 21st floor of the Empire State Building." It will also completely upend the Central American nation's ecosystem. Plans show the canal bulldozing through four separate nature parks, as well across the largest freshwater lake in the region, Lake Nicaragua. Since the lake's natural depth of 14 meters (45 ft) is only half what's needed, this will involve dynamiting the lakebed until a 100-kilometer (65 mi) channel can be carved through it. Insane as this is, there's another, even crazier aspect to the canal. No one wants it. The Chinese government is worried it will strain relations with the US, Nicaraguans are worried it'll destroy their country, and shipping companies are worried it'll be ill suited to their needs. Yet it's going ahead. The most optimistic projections claim the first ship could cross the canal by 2019.

根據信威集團董事長億萬富翁王靖的觀點，尼加拉瓜運河需要挖去超過45億立方米（1600億立方英尺）的土地。因此英國《衛報》稱，那些土足以"埋掉整個曼哈頓島並且壘到帝國大廈21層樓那麼高。"運河的修建將會徹底打破中美洲國家的生態系統。修建計劃裏，運河將會夷平四個獨立的自然公園，同時會穿過最大的淡水湖，尼加拉瓜湖。然而尼加拉瓜湖的天然深度爲14米（45英尺），只達到所需深度的一半，這意味着河牀將被爆破，直到鑿出一個長達100千米（65英里）的渠道使其能夠通過。較之以上，還有更令人抓狂的方面，無人樂見。中國政府擔心此舉將導致與美國的關係更爲緊張；尼加拉瓜人民擔心自己的國家將遭到摧毀；船舶公司則擔心市場需求會遭到削減。然而工程依舊。以最樂觀的情況估計，第一艘船可能會於2019年從運河上通過。

sia's Gigantic Solar Farm

7.突尼斯的巨型太陽能農場

The amount of energy the Sun pumps into the Sahara is beyond comprehension. Harnessing a mere 0.3 percent of it would be enough to power Europe for an entire year. Energy company Nur Power is suggesting we do just that. In a proposal put forward at the end of 2014, they outlined plans to build a 100-square-kilometer (40 mi2) solar farm in Tunisia by 2018.

撒哈拉沙漠所吸收的太陽能數量之龐大已遠遠超乎常人所能理解。僅僅利用其中的0.3%就足以滿足歐洲一整年的用電之需。突尼斯能源公司Nur Power建議我們應行此道。Nur Power公司在2014年末提出設想並給出大致思路，計劃到2018年在突尼斯建造一座面積爲100平方公里（40平方英里）的太陽能農場。

The plan involves scattering thousands of computer-controlled solar cells across an area of land roughly three times the size of Macau. These cells would then be used to superheat a central tower, creating steam that would spin a turbine, generating electricity. This would then be run through a 450-kilometer (280 mi) underwater cable to a substation in Italy and, from there, away into Europe. According to The Independent newspaper, the farm could power up to 2.5 million homes in Britain alone. Although it sounds like high fantasy, the plan is already underway. The British government has expressed interest, and Nur Power is hoping to get more countries onboard. However, with the security situation in Tunisia being what it is, it could be a while yet before construction actually begins.

該計劃將會把上千個智能操控的太陽能電池遍佈在一片區域內，該區域面積約爲澳門土地面積的3倍。太陽能電池把大量熱能聚集在中心塔臺，產生的蒸汽推動渦輪旋轉，生成電能。電能將依靠長450千米（280英里）的水下電纜傳送至位於意大利的變電站，隨後輸往歐洲各地。據英國《獨立報》報道，該太陽能農場僅在英國就能滿足二百五十萬戶家庭用電。儘管聽上去太像天方夜譚，可該計劃已經付諸實施。英國政府對此表現出濃厚興趣，Nur Power公司還希望獲得更多國家的支持。但由於突尼斯當地目前的安全狀況，項目要真正開始推進，大概還需一段時日。

Netherlands' Artificial Mountain

6.尼德蘭的人造山

With its liberal sex and drug laws, long life expectancy, and excellent beer, it can be tempting to think the Netherlands has it all. Dutch journalist Thijs Zonneveld disagrees. In 2011, he declared the one thing his low-lying country needed was a mountain. And he was going to make it his life's mission to ensure it got one.

以其對待性交易和毒品的法律自由化，較長的平均壽命和美味的啤酒而讓人心生嚮往，似乎荷蘭坐擁世上之美事。然而荷蘭記者Thijs Zonneveld卻不同意。在2011年，他宣稱他所熱愛的這座"低地之國"需要的是一座山。從今之後，他將實現這個願望作爲其畢生的使命。

It helped that the Netherlands is no stranger to absurd engineering projects. The province of Flevoland, near Amsterdam, was created in 1932 when Cornelis Lely drained part of the Zuiderzee, expanding the country by several thousand square kilometres. Compared to this and other insane land reclamation projects previously undertaken by the Dutch, a mountain would be ough it was proposed mainly as a joke, Zonneveld's idea caught the public's imagination—so much so that the journalist decided to really do it. While construction has still to start as of mid-2015, Zonneveld is committed fully to the project. His official website for the mountain claims his team has spoken with thousands of companies, recruited financiers, and found planning permission. They say they even came close to building a prototype earlier this year. He maintains that his mountain will be built sometime in the decade.

聽起來如此荒謬的建築工程對荷蘭來說並不陌生。阿姆斯特丹附近的弗萊福蘭省建於1932年，當時萊利提議對須德海（即荷蘭艾瑟爾湖）進行改造，採用圍墾方案，將城市擴大到數千平方公里。相比較這個和荷蘭之前開展的土地圍墾項目，一座山還不是區區小事。最初這只是當做一個玩笑話被提及，然而Zonneveld的想法卻吸引住了大衆的眼球——正因爲如此這個記者才決定真正要去實現它。儘管要到2015年年中才開始，Zonneveld 已經全身心地投入到了這個項目當中。籌建這座山的官方網站聲明，他的團隊已經和成百上千家公司和投資商進行了交流並且找到了可行性方案。據說他們今年早些時候甚至差點就建造出模型出來。他堅信他的山峯將在十年內的某個時間建成。

審稿：木木子 來源：前十網