'Earth Rights'

The New York construction industry of the future will go underground. Given the lack of land, and the zoning and preservation restrictions, the only place left to go will be down!

With Manhattan continuing to be the most sought after location, clever real estate owners will realize that the value of a property will be in its "earth rights," and demand that construction professionals find ways to drill and excavate under existing buildings to add to the valuable rentable space of a building.

Engineers will perfect the technique of adding twenty and thirty stories of office or living space underground with the "super bathtub" technique. Architects will develop clever techniques in lighting and design to make underground environments more pleasant, with high intensity lighting used to simulate sunlight projecting through glass decorated with etchings of outdoor scenes. Rates of skin cancer will greatly decline.

Charles D. Urstadt
Publisher Emeritus
New York Construction News

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