OUR planet is becoming more unbearably crowded by the day.
So where do you go to escape it all?
From
overpopulation to flooding or disaster, floating cities are touted as the
ultimate solution to mankind’s troubles. And get ready, they’re coming sooner
than you may think.
According to
sustainability company The Seasteading Institute,
autonomous ocean settlements could become a reality within the next five years.
So as part of their plan to build the world’s first city at sea, the company
has launched a contest to find the best design called the Floating City Project.
They will pick a
winner in August.
In the meantime,
here are some cool floating city designs that are already out there, as
compiled by Inhabitat. So will this be where many of us will live
soon?
The Lilypad
Designed
to house those seeking to escape rising sea levels, the Lilypad was created byVincent Callebaut Architectures. The waterlily-shaped,
self-sufficient floating city could either be stationed near a coastline, or
travel around the ocean.
It would use
technologies such as solar, wind and biomass to produce its own energy and
process CO2 in the atmosphere, that would then be absorbed into its titanium
dioxide skin.
Approximately
50,000 people could fit into one Lilypad.
Floating
city
With more than 1
billion people, China is the world’s most populous country and holds 20 per
cent of the entire planet’s population. So it’s little wonder that there’s
serious concern about where the next generations will be able to fit.
So Chinese
construction company CCCC commissioned AT Design
Office to come up with a solution. The result is a plan for a
self-sufficient artificial island that would be energy efficient and include
vertical farms and areas for catching fish.
Silt
Lake City
Nope, it’s not
meant to be “Salt Lake City”. Instead, this “hydropolis”
would focus on solving flooding issues in the Nile Valley in Africa. That’s
because the new cities could ride the tides when needed.
Noah’s
Ark
Created for a
post-apocalyptic world, the new-age Noah’s Ark would be powered on renewable
energy. The work of Serbian designers Aleksandar Joksimovic and Jelena Nikolic, it could
either be one large mainland, or be broken off into a series of smaller
islands.
A wall
stretching up to 64 metres would provide protection for its inhabitants from
strong winds. And fittingly, there’s room for animals too.
Harvest
City
Though its yet
to become anything more than an idea, this was meant to help the recovery of
Haiti following the 2010 earthquake. Designed by Tangram 3DS and
architect E. Kevin Schopfer, it would fit up to 30,000 people and would feature
a canal system and crop circles.
There would be
schools and offices too, of course.
The
Green Float
The Green Float
could hold a whopping 1 million people. The series of connected islands would include a 1000 metre-tall
eco-skyscraper on each one.
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