The business of construction can be somewhat unsightly, even if modern machinery is eerily beautiful and a component like an eye bolt has an elegance of engineering that is admirable. The disruption, dirt and dust that is kicked up by major works can sour proceedings and even if they don’t, the finished building might prove controversial.

The only area which can be free from complaints and public consternation is the conceptual stage of construction, at which point plans and early renderings paint an optimistic future for a yet to be realised design.

This is why when old blueprints and concept images of uncompleted projects are rediscovered decades after they were developed, they attract attention and nostalgic adoration. Here are just a few examples of incredibly creative, often excessively ambitious ideas that never got made.

The busiest train station in London has been expanded and renovated many times over the years and still primarily caters to rail passengers. However, back in 1931 there were plans to add a runway to the roof of the main building in order to accommodate the golden age of aviation which was getting underway at the time.

The idea was dreamt up by Charles Glover, an architect who thought that it would be sensible to create a cross-hatched series of landing strips, with individual spokes connected to an outer ring where aircraft could be parked up upon arrival.

Enclosing an entire city beneath a transparent dome is a concept that has been used in works of fiction, so you might not expect that this was actually tabled as an option in the real world.

Using a geodesic dome to shield the island of Manhattan in New York City from the outside elements, while also keeping the air within it free from pollutants, was suggested by Buckminster Fuller back in the 1960s.

Fuller was more than willing to admit that he neither knew how such a vast structure might be built, nor how much it would cost to construct. However, his argument that the cost savings that could be accrued because fluctuations in temperature and adverse conditions would be eliminated could easily justify the expense and effort in the long term.

Another example of the overreaching ambition which seemed to dominate architecture during the first half of the 20th century, a design for a tower which was wrapped in a spiralling road designed to accept motor traffic came surprisingly close to being built. Known as the Phare du Monde, which means ‘lighthouse of the world’, it is retrospectively apparent why it remained nothing more than a concept.

Not only did the design call for the tower to reach a height of 2,300 feet but it also included enough parking for 500 vehicles at the top, along with a hotel and a restaurant for guests to dine while enjoying unrivalled views over the French capital.

For comparison, the Eiffel Tower stands at 984 feet and was already a dominant architectural feature of the city at the time. While the tower concept was being reported on as early as 1931, it never arrived in time for the 1937 Paris Exposition that was to act as its great unveiling.

Giving up life on dry land for an existence spent sailing the world’s oceans may sound like a concept from a post-apocalyptic novel that warns about the dangers of global warming. However, it is also an idea which inspired the Freedom Ship project, which was originally put forwards at the end of the 1990s and is technically still being pursued by those who believe in its potential.

The vessel itself will be the largest ever built, measuring over 1.1 miles in length and providing enough space onboard for 80,000 people to live and work. Accommodation is not the only thing the ship offers, as it will also be able to feed, clothe, educate, heal and entertain its citizens. There will even be offices where they can work and a casino where they can gamble.

The fact that the designs have sat in limbo for so long is largely down to the exorbitant cost of construction, currently pegged at around $10 billion. The creativity of the concept is undeniable, as it would effectively allow for endless cruising, travelling the world and stopping at ports along the way.

Alleviating the issue of overcrowding in a city that is as densely populated as Tokyo has proven to be a challenge. One proposal that has yet to come to fruition is the Mega-City Pyramid, an imposingly-named structure designed by the Shimizu Corporation as a means of housing a million people in a floating building that stands almost 2400 feet high.

The key to making this concept a reality is the use of carbon nanotubes. These allow for construction materials to be made which are not just light in weight but also incredibly strong. Ongoing research into their production could eventually lead to this concept becoming a reality, although with an expected completion date of 2110, its designers are at least honest about how difficult it will be to execute.

Looking into all of these creative construction endeavours is intriguing not just because it allows us to imaging alternative futures that may have arisen if ambitious projects from the past had been built; it also helps us to ignite our own imaginations and realise that sometimes it is important to pursue the outlandish and the impossible.

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