Floating cities: history and future of a sustainable dream that could one day come true

Floating cities: history and future of a sustainable dream that could one day come true

My list

Author | Jaime Ramos

Defining the long-term future of cities involves using the imagination to the point of bordering on fantasy. What will happen a century from now? How will urban spaces adapt in order to respond to the challenges ahead, such as large populations, migratory movements or the progression of the economy and lack of resources?

Man’s imagination is already providing us with visions to answer these questions. While some insist on looking to the stars as an escape route, others are determined to improve the evolution of our planet. This generates solutions which, as with the space project, form part of science fiction. However, it deserves credibility when the United Nations has, officially, joined the plan to create the sustainable floating city concept.

Oceanix City: the origin of floating cities

Pasarela sobre el mar en LisboaThis is how the UN recently held the first ever round table to discuss floating cities on water. Far from being an extension of a novel by J. G. Ballard, this round table included a group of experts with perfectly studied and specific projects. The round table included the CEO of the company Oceanix, Marc Collins Chen; the Bjarke Ingels group or the MIT Center for Ocean Engineering, among others.

The session determined the actual capacity of humans to colonise oceans. And, should this be implemented, the formula to do so in a sustainable manner was explored and the advantages it would provide for us. The truth is that two thirds of our planet is covered with water.In fact, this liquid, which is the origin of life, is also under threat as a result of rising sea levels due to climate change. Therefore, the purpose of these types of projects has to be to redesign a 100% sustainable form of urban infrastructures, with the exception of doing so in an aquatic environment.

Aquatic colonies

This is why the Oceanix project, a true aquatic village, is designed to grow and transform organically over time, starting with small aquatic neighbourhoods designed as modules. These elements respond to the first habitability requirements of a city. The aquatic colonies would consist of seven-storey buildings, enabling them to create a consistent centre of gravity to withstand strong winds.

Six of these modules arranged in a circle, would form a small urban concentration of 12 hectares, which would be able to house 1,650 residents. This type of aquatic village would meet the social, labour, commercial and leisure requirements, applying the sustainability criteria of smart cities.OceanixAnd, of course, this modular structure would be able to be connected to other hubs. Therefore, these cities can grow without limitations by adding modules and with the advantage of not having geographical boundaries. However, certain challenges do need to be resolved, such as how they would withstand extreme weather conditions.

Escape route for overpopulation

We are already populating the seas. In Lagos, a city that could have 61 million inhabitants by 2100, the lack of land in the surrounding areas is leading the population to choose floating cities. This is not a scene from a science fiction movie. It is the reality of the second most populated city in Africa.

The UN, in turn, insists that these initiatives are being considered as a resource for an uncertain future, in which water may be an inconvenient obstacle for human development. This is due to phenomena such as climate change. For example, cities such as Bangkok have areas that are sinking by around 2 centimetres each year. Recovering the lost space could be an alternative solution for the creation of new cities to alleviate the pressure exerted on existing cities.Images | iStock/Kesu01, Oceanix, iStock/studiof22byricardorocha

Related content

Recommended profiles for you

JS
Jordi Serrat Padrós
La salle campus Barcelona
Student of the 1st year degree in management of business and technology
AR
Alvaro rodriguez
Vórtice arquitectos
Gerencia de Proyectos, urbanos y arquitectónicos.
UM
Uyttendaele Morgane
Besix
Stagair
SA
Suchandra Addya
Intec infra Technologies Pvt Ltd
Project manager Architect
DC
De Decker Christian
Citymesh SA
Expert, Advisor and Sales
KS
Kushank Sinh
Hindustan college of science and technology
Student
JD
Jean Carlos Domínguez Lora
MOPC
Civil Engineer
CD
Camila das Posses Borges
UNIP
architecture and urbanism student
BC
Brian Christian Chandraputra
SSEAYP International Indonesia Inc.
Director of Media & Information
JV
João Victor Pinho da Silveira Vitao
Fortestecnogia
Fortestecnogia
CC
carlos cubillos
Gensler
Principal. Global leader in Cities + Urban Design
PB
Pieter Brouwer
Rijkswaterstaat
Trainee
LD
Luciana da Silva
Profissional Autonoma
Engenheira Civil
JH
Jang Hoon
Basissoft
Manager
JJ
Jorge Jimenez
ICE
O&M buildings Manager
JL
Joseph Losavio
World Economic Forum
Specialist- Internet of Things and Urban Transformation, World Economic Forum
CS
Carlos Sendra
Universidad de Sevilla
Master of Architecture (MArch)
AK
Ashish Kakroo
InnoDi Water Technologies
Director
DS
David Sheehan
The DWS Group
Managing Director / The DWS Group
VP
Vandi Prasetyo
J Smart City
Member