Megastructures are artificial constructs so huge that they challenge our preconceptions of size.
A megastructure, by definition, has to be a single, unified structure. A modern city may be huge in scale, but its is actually composed of many thousands of individual buildings, all built at different times for different purposes. The Great Wall of China may be considered a megastructure, however, as it is a single complete structure with one dedicated purpose.
Megastructures may be intelligent life's ultimate expression of existence, as they challenge the very scale of the universe.
Terrestrial Megastructures are constructs that are built on the surface of the Earth, and despite their massive size are still on the scale of current human civilization.
| MEGASHIPS | Ocean-going behemoths. |
| ARTIFICIAL ISLANDS | New ocean real estate. |
| ARCOLOGIES | City-sized buildings. |
| MEGACITIES | Super-Sized urban environments. |
| INFLATABLE LAUNCH TOWER | Flinging payloads from a 9-mile high inflatable tower. |
| SPACE FOUNTAIN | Keeping space stations aloft by shooting them with millions of hypersonic bullets. |
| SPACE ELEVATOR | A 40,000 mile long railroad track right into space. |
| HOME |