In his talk at TEDx Vilnius, Koen Olthuis compares the cities of today with those at the turn of the 20th century: "cities are not full, we just have to search for new space... they made elevators and built a vertical city. We have to do exactly the same, but our generation has to look at water." With that in mind he looks at the top 10 reasons that floating cities are becoming a more popular idea, including: they provide solutions for topical issues such as flooding and sustainability; they can be used as 'plug in' travelling global amenities, useful for things like Olympic Stadiums; or could even allow us to rearrange urban areas.
Floating Architecture: The Latest Architecture and News
TED Talk: 10 Reasons that Future Cities Will Float
https://www.archdaily.com/482835/ted-talk-10-reasons-that-future-cities-will-floatRory Stott
VIDEO: The Floating Metropolis That Could Support Brazil's Offshore Oil Rigs
In Brazil, the offshore oil mining industry is expanding. Unfortunately for oil companies though, it's expanding away from the coast, as new oil deposits are found further and further from land - so far, in fact, that they're outside the range of the helicopters that usually transport workers to and from the rigs. That's why Rice University students took on the challenge of designing "Drift & Drive," a floating community where workers and their families could stay for extended periods of time, eliminating the inconvenience of the usual "two weeks on, two weeks off" cycle.
The project won the Odebrecht Award last year, and now one of the largest petrochemical companies in Brazil, Petrobras, is working on a plan to implement elements of the design.
Read on after the break for more about how the project functions
https://www.archdaily.com/482363/video-the-floating-metropolis-that-could-support-brazil-s-offshore-oil-rigsRory Stott
Local Solutions: Floating Schools in Bangladesh
In Bangladesh, where rising sea levels are having profound effects on the landscape, one nonprofit organization called Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha run by architect Mohammed Rezwan is fighting back by adapting, a true quality of resilience. Rising water levels and the tumultuous climate is displacing people by the thousands; a projected 20% of Bangladesh is expected to be covered in water within twenty years. For a country that is one of the densest populated state on the planet, this figure has disastrous consequences for a population that has limited access to fresh water, food, and medicine. In response to these conditions, Shidhulai has focused on providing education, training and care against the odds of climate change by adapting to the altered landscape: moving schools and community centers onto the water – on boats.
https://www.archdaily.com/307128/local-solutions-floating-schools-in-bangladeshIrina Vinnitskaya
Icebergs / Daniel Andersson
Daniel Andersson shared with us his project Icebergs. An iceberg only shows the tip above the water surface, the rest stays hidden below. These floating summer cottages in sheltered bays an lakes around Åland Islands, Finland investigates this concept. See more images and architect’s description after the break.
https://www.archdaily.com/74221/icebergs-daniel-anderssonSebastian Jordana