Subterranian City Planning

[Raptori]

Very good points THW

Living space:
I disagree with Raptori that space would be at a premium. Underground, you have far more space than above ground, especially when you factor in the ability to develop vertically as well as horizontally.

I was assuming a slow excavation rate; thinking about it that would make no sense at all in this situation!

Temperature:
I think I remember hearing that, in architectural history terms, living underground makes a lot more sense from the point of view of temperature. In cold climates, the insulation would keep the town warm (relative to the surface temperature), and in hot climates it would keep the temperature low. All year round, as MCC says, it would keep the temp stable.

Not 100% sure, but I think that principle was applied mostly to moderately buried houses (like hobbit holes) rather than deep in the core of a mountain - though it stands to reason that it should be roughly similar. The rock would act as an effective heat sink, so once you've got it warmed up initially it should be quite easy to keep a good temperature once it's warm enough.

Some other thoughts:
I don't think houses would necessarily be open-plan. It would help with the ventilation, but would weaken the supports holding up the roof. Here is what I think would be sensible architectural features for this city:
-front doors might be nothing more than metal bars in a door frame (provides security, without blocking the fresh air). The front room in historic cities often contained only a shop, workshop or lobby anyway, and so privacy isn't going to be an issue (and curtains can be used to provide privacy through those doors). Sound also won't be a problem due to the thickness of walls.
-as much as possible, ventilation will be built into the design: internal doorways will be very large, and perhaps have no doors or gates; rooms will try to have direct access to the thoroughfares.

Yeah with that bit I was thinking along the lines of the sietch communities in Dune... what you said makes a lot more sense given that we're probably talking more active excavation in this case.


I like long posts