Schoonschip is Amsterdam’s innovative circular neighbourhood, a community-driven project set to become a prototype for floating urban developments. With a masterplan designed by Dutch architecture practice Space&Matter, the project comprises 46 dwellings across 30 water plots connected by a jetty and features decentralised and sustainable energy, water and waste systems. With the last of its buildings completed this year, the development showcases a valid adaptation strategy in the face of climate change and rising sea levels.
Slovak designer Lenka Petráková has won the 2020 Grand Prix Award for an ocean-cleaning research facility in the Pacific. The "8th Continent" project is a floating station that restores the marine environment by collecting plastic debris from the surface and breaking it down to recyclable material. The plastic recycling center connects with a research and education facility to create an interdisciplinary and sustainable platform for the future.
When we talk about cities or their lesser variations – villages, towns, communities –, we are used to evoking stereotyped scenarios that relate to streets, cars, buildings, and we often end up forgetting that there are plenty of other surprisingly unique patterns.
Many people study the cities and wonder about the exact moment when they were invented, given that they are open, unfinished works in progress. Some assume that their origin was due to the need for protection, which caused humans to quit nomadic lifestyles and settle as groups in a specific land to increase their chances of survival.
Architecture is defined by its permanence. While the discipline's most celebrated works are often those that were built to last, there's inherent beauty and value in an architecture of impermanence. Moving beyond conventional buildings and considering environmental and social impacts, temporary structures hold the potential to push the boundaries of architecture and the categorization of art.
Marshall Blecher & Studio Fokstrot have introduced “wilderness and whimsy”, to the Danish capital by creating a series of floating islands in the city’s harbor. Adding a new archetype to the urban space, the project can be used by boaters, fishermen, kayakers, stargazers, and swimmers.
Located on Qetaifan Island North in proximity to Lusail International Stadium, which will host the opening and final games of the FIFA World Cup 2022, ADMARES and Sigge Architects are developing 16 floating hotels to serve tourists and fans that will be visiting Qatar.
In the days of witnessing the nature's responses to climate change and facing the risk of loosing basic life sources we are calling (inviting) all the academicians, designers, and all other interested parties to take a part in sharing their idea about the importance of ecofriendly, responsive and nature responsible design. We are curious to hear your opinions. We proudly announce the 2nd International Symposium of Design for Living with Water!! It is our turn to take a part in responsibility toward water and nature!
Powerhouse Company has revealed a new design for Floating Office Rotterdam (FOR), the headquarters of the Global Center on Adaptation (GCA). As the team states, construction will start this spring, and the all-timber project will be both energy-neutral and self-sufficient. The GCA will be housed in the Rijnhaven in Rotterdam for a period of 5 to 10 years.
The International Conference on Amphibious Architecture, Design and Engineering (ICAADE) 2019 will bring together researchers, practitioners, authorities, students, NGOs, communities, and investors to discuss amphibious construction. Amphibious construction allows otherwise-ordinary structures to temporarily float in-place when flooding occurs.
Aquatecture 2018, a competition that challenges to explore innovative designs on water for our aquatic future Come join the movement and define the next big thing on Water!!
Water – an element in nature that life is constantly surrounded by; an element that has given birth to life on Earth and continues to support it. Although we made our shift to land, our bond with water still remains significant as ever; it is an element that is a basic necessity for our survival. The life on Earth is today plagued by adverse climate changes, global warming, the increasing toxic emissions, rising population, and scarce land resources. With various countries, such as Holland , fighting rising water levels for decades and with the current trends, it is now time to brace ourselves against the unseen future and design solutions to cope with the ever-changing community on Planet Earth. Today, the discourse of ‘smart cities’ has overtaken every conversation discussing the future of architecture. It is a glaring question as to how are we going to address the equation between the contrasting aspects of ecological crises and technological advancement for building our futures. Covering 71% of the Earth, it is now time to look at the water again as a harbinger of life in the near future; a place where human life can again thrive in its original glory. Creating living spaces on water will soon become a need to survive as a “What happens in the Arctic, does not stay in the Arctic” Extract - Greenpeace report on melting ice in Arctic paradigms of nature.
More than half of the planet is composed of water and most of the population lives in its vicinity. These sites are increasingly affected by environmental disasters or the increase in water levels caused by global warming, forming a scenario that brings new challenges to the way we live and think the buildings in coastal or riverine areas.
Floating architecture can adapt to changes in water levels and different climatic conditions, signaling a possible way to solve the problems pointed out. To increase your repertoire of floating references, we have gathered here 15 projects that have been implemented directly in the waters and have the most different uses: housing, cultural, educational, recreational and infrastructure.
One of Louis Kahn’s most unique and lesser-known projects, the floating concert hall known as Point Counterpoint II, is at risk of demolition, reports the Pittsburgh Post Gazette.
Built from 1964 to ’67 as part of celebrations for the American Bicentennial, the 195-foot-long vessel has since been used as the waterborne home of the American Wind Symphony Orchestra (AWSO), allowing the group to take their own venue places as far away as Paris, France and St. Petersburg, Russia. Along with circular doorways and portholes, the structure features a 75-foot-wide stage that can be opened and closed using a hydraulic lift system.
The capsules will slowly float 3.75 miles to the island overnight
It’s an age old question: How do you transport visitors to your Dutch-themed Amusement Park located four miles off the coast of Japan while also providing them with a place to sleep under the night sky?
Okay, age-old it isn’t – but it was the scenario facing the Huis Ten Bosch theme park in Sasebo, Japan, who recently acquired a 420,000 square-foot-island off the coast of the Nagasaki Prefecture. Their proposed solution? A fleet of floating capsules capped with a glass-roofed sleeping chamber that will slowly float overnight to the island housing new adventure-type attractions.
The British government have come to the realisation that the Palace of Westminster—the iconic UK Houses of Parliament designed by Charles Barry and Augustus Pugin—is in desperate need of full-scale restoration and renovation. The decision to move ahead with the plans will be costly and inconvenient; aside from the need to repair the structure, the UK government is bracing itself for eye-watering "relocation" fees. In response to this, Gensler have proposed a temporary parliament on the banks of the River Thames.
https://www.archdaily.com/797480/project-poseidon-genslers-radical-proposal-for-a-temporary-uk-parliamentAD Editorial Team
"We're not only invested in building on water. It's not about 'floating architecture,' that's really not what my practice is focused on. It's really the relationship between water and the city, between water and humans."
In this intriguing interview produced by Louisiana Channel, founder of NLÉ ArchitectsKunlé Adeyemi discusses the relationship of his work to water through projects such as Chicoco Radio, their proposal for the Chicago Lakefront Kiosk contest, and of course the Makoko Floating School project. Reflecting on the role of water in human settlement, Adeyemi explains how designing with in the context of water introduces both challenges and opportunities, adding that around the world he believes "we are just starting to brace ourselves and learn to live with water as opposed to fighting it."
Thousands of years ago, a small civilization of hunter gatherers migrated to the coastal regions of Southeast Asia. These people progressed into a widespread tribe of travelling sea dwellers. To this day, they remain a stateless people with no nationality and no consistent infrastructure, sometimes living miles away from land. Yet these people are one of the few civilizations whose collective life practices have survived so long through human history. They are called the Badjao, and they have a surprising amount to teach us about architecture.
With the earth’s population increasing at an exponential rate, sustainable agriculture and access to clean water are becoming desperately important. Cristiana Favretto and Antonio Giraridi of Studiomobile recognize this and have proposed a solution. Dubbed the Jellyfish Barge for its shape and translucency, this floating greenhouse is capable of growing its own food hydroponically and producing up to 150 liters of fresh drinking water per day. Even more beneficial is its low-cost, easy-to-assemble design that can be implemented in a variety of locations. Learn more about how this fascinating project works, after the break.
