Matthew Pratt's proposal to raise all human activities onto elevated cities built on slender stilts has been awarded joint third place in Dezeen's Redesign the World competition powered by Twinmotion.

Pratt's proposal imagines an alternative reality where humans' ancestors never left the forest canopy and people live a quieter life in harmony with nature.

Named Higher Ground, the project imagines slender, towering structures to accommodate all human activity high above ground to minimise disturbance on the Earth's surface.

Large, elevated planters are used to cultivate crops to facilitate a controlled supply of food whilst avoiding taking up large expanses of land.

Pratt's entry has been named joint third place in the Redesign the World competition alongside Bless Yee's Carbon Capture Refuge X proposal, which imagines a world of floating habitats that capture carbon from the air.

"Pratt's Higher Ground was one of the most visually stunning entries that we saw," said the Redesign the World judges.

"Rather than simply proposing an elevated city for people to live in, separated from the natural world, his project presents a vision of humanity living in close harmony with nature, which is both powerful and poetic."

Pratt describes the speculative proposal as an "alternative vision of humankind, with thriving communities elevated in beautiful landscapes".

Read more on Dezeen: https://www.dezeen.com/?p=1737335
See all the Redesign the World finalists: https://www.dezeen.com/redesigntheworld/finalists/
Find out more about Redesign the World: https://www.dezeen.com/redesigntheworld/