arcology means urban development theory proposed by Paolo Soleri involving three-dimensional building methods and efficient use of space and resources. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 89 out of 100.
arcology is pronounced /ɑːˈkɒl.ə.d͡ʒi/.
Why “arcology” is a great word
ARCOLOGY — [Noun] A concept of urban design, or a structure built according to it, that integrates architecture and ecology to create a densely populated, self-sustaining habitat within a single massive building or complex. The word is a blend of architecture and ecology, coined in 1969 by the Italian architect Paolo Soleri. Unlike a “megastructure,” which denotes sheer, often sterile scale, or an “ecocity,” which disperses green principles across a conventional urban plan, an arcology compresses an entire, balanced metabolism into one soaring, vertical envelope. It is the heat of a million bodies recycled into greenhouse warmth, the scent of loam from interior food forests, and the hum of recycling systems sustaining a closed-loop life—a vision of survival through profound and deliberate containment, a gilded terrarium for a species that has outgrown the garden.
noun
- Urban development theory proposed by Paolo Soleri involving three-dimensional building methods and efficient use of space and resources.
- An extremely large building or complex, sufficient to maintain an internal ecology as well as an extremely high human population density.“Behind the port lay the city, factory domes dominated by the vast cubes of corporate arcologies.”