Imagine, for a moment, a futuristic fantasy China that not only controls 90 percent of the global market for earth minerals, but has exclusively gained rights to "minerals" imported from space. Now imagine all that in shocking pinks and oranges. Such is the vision of architect Zhan Wang, whose Lunar Economic Zone animation depicts the architecture that would be needed for China to serve as "a giant port to distribute minerals mined from the moon." Set in the year 2028, the cartoon metropolis is a triumph of wealth and technologically, with 32,808-foot-tall "space elevator" buildings, lantern-shaped drones, and candyland-esque residences. Despite the cotton candy clouds and and anime landscape, though, there's an incredibly creepy air of menace throughout the clip.
"Through projecting China in this way, the project intends to evoke our fear of a localised resource economy," explains Wang. "The important takeaway from the project is that it is an external propaganda of a technotopian future set against the realities of our fears and desires." Watch the video, this way.
· Zhan Wang's animation imagines China as a trade leader in extra-terrestrial minerals [Dezeen]