Cities of the Future 3D

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Cities of the Future key art
Image attribution
MacGillivray Freeman Films

NOW PLAYINGCities of the Future 3D invites you to step into the future and discover the exciting innovations engineers are working on right now that will help us meet the challenges of a changing world and transform the way we live forever. Renewable energy will be our primary power source, solar energy beamed down from space will power entire cities, smart buildings will keep us cool, and we will travel on aerial highways in individualized pods that run on little or no energy. We can also ride an electric air taxi! Traffic jams will be a thing of the past. This isn’t science fiction—this is the world engineers are designing right now.

Visit some of the world's great cities where profound change is already happening and discover the human ingenuity and innovative thinking that are forging a brighter, more sustainable future for us all.

Narrated by actor John Krasinski, Cities of the Future 3D is produced by MacGillivray Freeman Films in partnership with the American Society of Civil Engineers, the same award-winning team that created the blockbuster film Dream Big: Engineering Our World. Runtime: 40 mins. 

Buy Tickets

SHOWTIMES NOW - DECEMBER 13, 2024

9:30 a.m. (Groups only)
11:30 a.m.
1:30 p.m.

SHOWTIMES DECEMBER 14, 2024 - JANUARY 5, 2025

Closed Christmas and New Year's Day
11:30 a.m.
1:30 p.m.

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Metal mechanical lion created by Leonardo da Vinci.

Enhance Your IMAX Experience

They're designing for the future—and he did, too! Be transported to the world of da Vinci in Leonardo Da Vinci: Inventor. Artist. Dreamer. and marvel at his fantastic machines, each built in extraordinary detail according to his drawings. Don't miss the North American premiere of the Mechanical Lion!

Official Movie Trailer
Cities of the Future cover photo
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A modern building in Singapore is made more sustainable by mixing in trees into the space.
Image attribution
MacGillivray Freeman Films

A tropical city-state in Southeast Asia, the heart of Singapore is a 30-mile-long island populated by five and a half million people. It could be scorching and claustrophobic, but it is the complete opposite—an enthralling cultural melting pot shaded by abundant trees and innovative garden structures that are cool in both senses of the word.

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A view of the solar-powered Silver Garden Supertrees observation deck and the Cooled Conservatory, both located at the Gardens by the Bay in Singapore. Singapore uses abundant trees and innovative garden spaces to help keep the city cool while conserving energy - making it one of the greenest cities in the world.

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Smart building, The Edge, found in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Image attribution
MacGillivray Freeman Films

The Edge, located in Amsterdam, has been internationally acknowledged as the most sustainable and most likely the smartest office building in the world. British rating agency BREEAM gave The Edge the highest ­sustainability score ever awarded: 98.4 percent. The Edge is orientated and shaped in such a way that the power of the sun is optimally utilized, and the heating and cooling of The Edge is regulated in a sustainable way. Beyond its eco-friendly features, employees can control lighting, heating, and even find parking spaces through a mobile app, saving energy and time.

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Los Angeles-baed engineer Paul Lee mentors students.
Image attribution
MacGillivray Freeman Films

Cities of the Future 3D followed Los Angeles-based engineer Paul Lee, who is racing to help sprawling the city tackle its looming water, energy, and transportation challenges. He also mentors a group of elementary school students, who are on their own determined quest: to triumph at the Future City competition, for which they must dream up and build the ultimate 3D model of a 100% electrically powered city that fights climate change.

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A high density of bicycles are stored outside of a museum in Amsterdam.
Image attribution
MacGillivray Freeman Films

Often dubbed "city of bikes," Amsterdam boasts a higher quantity of bicycles than humans. Nearly everyone, from businesspeople to grandparents, rides one for everyday errands. Some 68% of all traffic to work and school in Amsterdam is by bicycle.

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Marina Bay Sands complex in Singapore.
Image attribution
MacGillivray Freeman Films

The spectacular Marina Bay Sands complex is a vast resort featuring three striking towers designed to capture and recycle waste heat from its air conditioning units. The resort has also reduced its carbon footprint by 50% with energy efficient lighting, solar power systems, and an Intelligent Building Management System that tracks 125,000 data points including lighting, heating, and water supply.

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Gardens by the Bay in Singapore.
Image attribution
MacGillivray Freeman Films

Located in Singapore, Gardens by the Bay is a stunning nature park built around a "supertree grove," a one-of-a-kind mechanical forest featuring 18 building-sized steel trees that house vertical living gardens, generate solar electrical power, send breezes through surrounding areas, and collect rainwater. The gardens boast a rainbow-colored array of 200 different species of plants and draws rare birds right into the heart of urban downtown.

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Joby eVTOL aircraft
Image attribution
MacGillivray Freeman Films

Aside from the sheer fun factor, flying cars have the potential to completely revolutionize the transportation landscape. At scale, they might reduce travel time, enhance mobility, and boost productivity, all while reducing the environmental pressures brought on by gas-guzzling cars. Joby Aviation’s groundbreaking new vehicle, an eVTOL (electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing) aircraft, features a carbon-fiber body with tilted propellors powered by six electric motors and a network of lightweight, distributed batteries. This allows it to move vertically like a helicopter, cruise horizontally like an airplane, attain zero emissions, operate very quietly, and fly at up to 200 mph.

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A modern building in Singapore is made more sustainable by mixing in trees into the space.
Image attribution
MacGillivray Freeman Films

A tropical city-state in Southeast Asia, the heart of Singapore is a 30-mile-long island populated by five and a half million people. It could be scorching and claustrophobic, but it is the complete opposite—an enthralling cultural melting pot shaded by abundant trees and innovative garden structures that are cool in both senses of the word.

Image

A view of the solar-powered Silver Garden Supertrees observation deck and the Cooled Conservatory, both located at the Gardens by the Bay in Singapore. Singapore uses abundant trees and innovative garden spaces to help keep the city cool while conserving energy - making it one of the greenest cities in the world.

Image
Smart building, The Edge, found in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Image attribution
MacGillivray Freeman Films

The Edge, located in Amsterdam, has been internationally acknowledged as the most sustainable and most likely the smartest office building in the world. British rating agency BREEAM gave The Edge the highest ­sustainability score ever awarded: 98.4 percent. The Edge is orientated and shaped in such a way that the power of the sun is optimally utilized, and the heating and cooling of The Edge is regulated in a sustainable way. Beyond its eco-friendly features, employees can control lighting, heating, and even find parking spaces through a mobile app, saving energy and time.

Image
Los Angeles-baed engineer Paul Lee mentors students.
Image attribution
MacGillivray Freeman Films

Cities of the Future 3D followed Los Angeles-based engineer Paul Lee, who is racing to help sprawling the city tackle its looming water, energy, and transportation challenges. He also mentors a group of elementary school students, who are on their own determined quest: to triumph at the Future City competition, for which they must dream up and build the ultimate 3D model of a 100% electrically powered city that fights climate change.

Image
A high density of bicycles are stored outside of a museum in Amsterdam.
Image attribution
MacGillivray Freeman Films

Often dubbed "city of bikes," Amsterdam boasts a higher quantity of bicycles than humans. Nearly everyone, from businesspeople to grandparents, rides one for everyday errands. Some 68% of all traffic to work and school in Amsterdam is by bicycle.

Image
Marina Bay Sands complex in Singapore.
Image attribution
MacGillivray Freeman Films

The spectacular Marina Bay Sands complex is a vast resort featuring three striking towers designed to capture and recycle waste heat from its air conditioning units. The resort has also reduced its carbon footprint by 50% with energy efficient lighting, solar power systems, and an Intelligent Building Management System that tracks 125,000 data points including lighting, heating, and water supply.

Image
Gardens by the Bay in Singapore.
Image attribution
MacGillivray Freeman Films

Located in Singapore, Gardens by the Bay is a stunning nature park built around a "supertree grove," a one-of-a-kind mechanical forest featuring 18 building-sized steel trees that house vertical living gardens, generate solar electrical power, send breezes through surrounding areas, and collect rainwater. The gardens boast a rainbow-colored array of 200 different species of plants and draws rare birds right into the heart of urban downtown.

Image
Joby eVTOL aircraft
Image attribution
MacGillivray Freeman Films

Aside from the sheer fun factor, flying cars have the potential to completely revolutionize the transportation landscape. At scale, they might reduce travel time, enhance mobility, and boost productivity, all while reducing the environmental pressures brought on by gas-guzzling cars. Joby Aviation’s groundbreaking new vehicle, an eVTOL (electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing) aircraft, features a carbon-fiber body with tilted propellors powered by six electric motors and a network of lightweight, distributed batteries. This allows it to move vertically like a helicopter, cruise horizontally like an airplane, attain zero emissions, operate very quietly, and fly at up to 200 mph.

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Listen Behind the Scenes

In this episode of the ASCE Plot Points podcast, hear from Paul Lee—a Los Angeles-based engineer featured in Cities of the Future 3D—about what it has been like filming a new movie all around the world and his work to fight climate change through different renewable energy and sustainability projects. 

A family wearing 3D glasses and watching a film in the IMAX theater
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