Photo: waterstudio.nlThe Maldives has partnered with architecture studio Waterstudio to create a brain-shaped floating city that will house 20,000 people in a lagoon near the country's capital.
Called Maldives Floating City, the development will contain 5,000 low-rise floating homes floating within a 200-hectare lagoon in the Indian Ocean. As sea levels rise, so too will the city, which will be built upon a series of hexagonal-shaped floating structures.
PHOTO: WATERSTUDIO.NL
In the Maldives, 80 per cent of the country sits less than one metre above sea level. With the Maldives islands predicted to be uninhabitable by 2100 due to rising sea levels, the government of the Maldives hopes to offer up to 20,000 locals and foreigners the opportunity to move to the floating city as early as 2024.
PHOTO: WATERSTUDIO.NL
Construction is planned to begin later this year on the development, which will be 10 minutes by boat from the Maldivian capital Male.
"This first-of-its-kind island city offers a revolutionary approach to modern sustainable living perched against a backdrop of the azure Indian Ocean," said the studio. "It's the world's first true floating island city – a futuristic dreamscape finally poised to become reality."
"While attempts at floating cities have been tried before, none have featured Maldives Floating City's most compelling selling points: full-scale technical, logistical and legal expertise," explained developer Dutch Docklands.
PHOTO: WATERSTUDIO.NL
The development, which is set to be fully completed by 2027, will be composed of a series of hexagonal islands modelled on the geometric shapes of a local coral called brain coral. When combined and viewed from above the development will resemble a brain.
Artificial coral banks will be attached to the underside of the floating city to stimulate natural coral growth. The living platforms will support houses, hotels, restaurants, shops, a hospital, a school and a government building.
PHOTO: WATERSTUDIO.NL
Each seafront residence will be 100-square-metres and have a jetty attached to its front and a terrace on its roof. Dutch Docklands says they will be priced from $250,000.
PHOTO: WATERSTUDIO.NL
Waterstudio, Dutch Docklands and the Maldivian government drew on the sea-faring culture of the Maldives for the concept.
PHOTO: WATERSTUDIO.NL
"As a nation at the front lines of global warming, the Maldives is perfectly positioned to reimagine how humankind will survive — and, indeed, thrive — in the face of rising seas and coastal erosion," said the Dutch Docklands."Inspired by traditional Maldivian sea-faring culture and developed in close cooperation with Maldivian authorities, Maldives Floating City homes will eventually be joined by hotels, restaurants, stylish boutiques and a world-class marina."
Source: dezeen.com
Photo: waterstudio.nl
