Marine

Orsos Island - the smallest personal floating island yet in a fast growing market

Orsos Island - the smallest personal floating island yet in a fast growing market
Orsos Island is 20 meters wide and 37 meters long, with 1,000 m² of living space available
Orsos Island is 20 meters wide and 37 meters long, with 1,000 m² of living space available
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The building of Dubai's islands
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The building of Dubai's islands
Dubai quadruplued its amount of waterfront land to cater for this lack of supply with the clever creation of waterfront property with its ingenious Palm, World and other man-made island projects.
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Dubai quadruplued its amount of waterfront land to cater for this lack of supply with the clever creation of waterfront property with its ingenious Palm, World and other man-made island projects.
The building of the Palm
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The building of the Palm
Thar's gold in them there islands
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Thar's gold in them there islands
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The Orsos Island
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Orsos Island from above
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Orsos Island from above
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Orsos Island
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Orsos Island
Orsos Island is 20 meters wide and 37 meters long, with 1,000 m² of living space available
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Orsos Island is 20 meters wide and 37 meters long, with 1,000 m² of living space available
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Wally Island
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Wally Island
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Wally Island
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Wally Island
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The Project Utopia Floating Island
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The Project Utopia Floating Island
The Project Utopia Floating Island
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The Project Utopia Floating Island
The Project Utopia Floating Island
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The Project Utopia Floating Island
The Project Utopia Floating Island
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The Project Utopia Floating Island
Jules Verne's floating island
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Jules Verne's floating island
Wally Yachts floating island
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Wally Yachts floating island
Yacht Island Design's "Tropical Island Paradise", is a 90 metre island with a top speed of 15 knots
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Yacht Island Design's "Tropical Island Paradise", is a 90 metre island with a top speed of 15 knots
Yacht Island Design creates tailored environments such as this "Streets of Monaco" design
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Yacht Island Design creates tailored environments such as this "Streets of Monaco" design
Orsos Island
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Orsos Island
Michele Puzzolante's Solar Floating Resort
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Michele Puzzolante's Solar Floating Resort
Michele Puzzolante's Solar Floating Resort
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Michele Puzzolante's Solar Floating Resort
Michele Puzzolante's Solar Floating Resort
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Michele Puzzolante's Solar Floating Resort
Michele Puzzolante's Solar Floating Resort
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Michele Puzzolante's Solar Floating Resort
Michele Puzzolante's Solar Floating Resort
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Michele Puzzolante's Solar Floating Resort
Michele Puzzolante's Solar Floating Resort
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Michele Puzzolante's Solar Floating Resort
Michele Puzzolante's Solar Floating Resort
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Michele Puzzolante's Solar Floating Resort
Michele Puzzolante's Solar Floating Resort
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Michele Puzzolante's Solar Floating Resort
Michele Puzzolante's Solar Floating Resort
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Michele Puzzolante's Solar Floating Resort
Michele Puzzolante's Solar Floating Resort
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Michele Puzzolante's Solar Floating Resort
Michele Puzzolante's Solar Floating Resort
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Michele Puzzolante's Solar Floating Resort
Michele Puzzolante's Solar Floating Resort
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Michele Puzzolante's Solar Floating Resort
Michele Puzzolante's Solar Floating Resort
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Michele Puzzolante's Solar Floating Resort
Michele Puzzolante's Solar Floating Resort
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Michele Puzzolante's Solar Floating Resort
Michele Puzzolante's Solar Floating Resort
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Michele Puzzolante's Solar Floating Resort
Michele Puzzolante's Solar Floating Resort
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Michele Puzzolante's Solar Floating Resort
Michele Puzzolante's Solar Floating Resort
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Michele Puzzolante's Solar Floating Resort
The pre-fabricated Loftcube offers a made-to-order cube helicoptered into position, commissioned and fully functional in 24 hours.
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The pre-fabricated Loftcube offers a made-to-order cube helicoptered into position, commissioned and fully functional in 24 hours.
The free space on top of buildings rarely gets any consideration on a balance sheet, but offers a major opportunity in creating very valuable virgin real estate.
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The free space on top of buildings rarely gets any consideration on a balance sheet, but offers a major opportunity in creating very valuable virgin real estate.
First Penthouse builds bespoke skyward extensions that perfectly match the character of the existing building and can add an entire floor to your building in 24 hours.
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First Penthouse builds bespoke skyward extensions that perfectly match the character of the existing building and can add an entire floor to your building in 24 hours.
Jules Verne's Floating Island
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Jules Verne's Floating Island
The Trilobis submerged floating apartment concept
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The Trilobis submerged floating apartment concept
The Nackros Villa
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The Nackros Villa
"Floating islands are environmentally friendly and leave a zero footprint after its lifespan, and opens opportunities where there is a scarcity of land," Jasper Mulder, General Manager of Dutch Docklands Maldives told Gizmag.
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"Floating islands are environmentally friendly and leave a zero footprint after its lifespan, and opens opportunities where there is a scarcity of land," Jasper Mulder, General Manager of Dutch Docklands Maldives told Gizmag.
"They (islands) are the answer to urban limitations and climate change. It secures a safe and sustainable future where conventional building methods fail."
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"They (islands) are the answer to urban limitations and climate change. It secures a safe and sustainable future where conventional building methods fail."
Japan’s Shimizu Corporation plans to build a self-sufficient, carbon-negative floating city in the Pacific Ocean
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Japan’s Shimizu Corporation plans to build a self-sufficient, carbon-negative floating city in the Pacific Ocean
Paypal founder Peter Thiel is investing in a project that hopes to create floating cities that are free from political agendas (image by Seasteading Media)
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Paypal founder Peter Thiel is investing in a project that hopes to create floating cities that are free from political agendas (image by Seasteading Media)
Paypal founder Peter Thiel is investing in a project that hopes to create floating cities that are free from political agendas (image by Seasteading Media)
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Paypal founder Peter Thiel is investing in a project that hopes to create floating cities that are free from political agendas (image by Seasteading Media)
Paypal founder Peter Thiel is investing in a project that hopes to create floating cities that are free from political agendas (image by Seasteading Media)
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Paypal founder Peter Thiel is investing in a project that hopes to create floating cities that are free from political agendas (image by Seasteading Media)
The Lilypad floating city concept is designed to house climate change refugees
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The Lilypad floating city concept is designed to house climate change refugees
The Lilypad floating city concept is designed to house climate change refugees
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The Lilypad floating city concept is designed to house climate change refugees
The floating city would also include the full complement of renewable energy technologies, including solar, thermal, wind, tidal, and biomass to produce more energy than it consumes.
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The floating city would also include the full complement of renewable energy technologies, including solar, thermal, wind, tidal, and biomass to produce more energy than it consumes.
The Lilypad floating city concept is designed to house climate change refugees
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The Lilypad floating city concept is designed to house climate change refugees
View gallery - 118 images

The concept of a floating island has been with us throughout history, but sprang back into the limelight just four years ago when Wally Yachts came up with an island-themed megayacht named the Wally Island.

The Wally Island was a 99 meter (325 feet) "gigayacht" design that dwarfed the vast majority of luxury megayachts and reconceived the yacht as a floating personal island, a mobile address that can be used as a home, an entertaining space or even a moving exhibition or show space.

At an estimated US$200 million, the Wally Island was not for the common man, but the concept appears to have ignited a flurry of activity in the marine industry, with these new designs all more focused on a comfortable movable living space framed as a floating island more than a boat.

It seems that now the naval architectural mold is broken, and has moved outside traditional areas, newer purpose-built, holistic designs have begun to emerge, most notably the work of work of Wally Yachts, Dutch Docklands Maldives and Italian industrial designer Michele Puzzolante.

"Floating islands are environmentally friendly and leave a zero footprint after its lifespan, and opens opportunities where there is a scarcity of land," Jasper Mulder, General Manager of Dutch Docklands Maldives told Gizmag.
"Floating islands are environmentally friendly and leave a zero footprint after its lifespan, and opens opportunities where there is a scarcity of land," Jasper Mulder, General Manager of Dutch Docklands Maldives told Gizmag.

"Floating islands are environmentally friendly and leave a zero footprint after its lifespan, and opens opportunities where there is a scarcity of land," Jasper Mulder, General Manager of Dutch Docklands Maldives told Gizmag. "They are the answer to urban limitations and climate change. It secures a safe and sustainable future where conventional building methods fail."

"They (islands) are the answer to urban limitations and climate change. It secures a safe and sustainable future where conventional building methods fail."
"They (islands) are the answer to urban limitations and climate change. It secures a safe and sustainable future where conventional building methods fail."

There's also a significant research project developing "amphibian houses" that are designed to float in the event of a flood. The FLOATEC project sees the primary market for the houses as the Netherlands, whose low-lying land makes it particularly susceptible to the effects of rising sea levels. Such housing technology could also allow small island-states in the Indian and Pacific Oceans that are at the risk of disappearing in the next 100 years to maintain their claim to statehood through the use of artificial, floating structures.

Paypal founder Peter Thiel is investing in a project that hopes to create floating cities that are free from political agendas (image by Seasteading Media)
Paypal founder Peter Thiel is investing in a project that hopes to create floating cities that are free from political agendas (image by Seasteading Media)

Indeed, as we reported last September, Paypal co-founder and billionaire Peter Thiel, is currently being very generous towards the Seasteading Institute which is intending to create floating autonomous states.

Paypal founder Peter Thiel is investing in a project that hopes to create floating cities that are free from political agendas (image by Seasteading Media)
Paypal founder Peter Thiel is investing in a project that hopes to create floating cities that are free from political agendas (image by Seasteading Media)

The initiative is inspired by the idea of creating cities that are free from political agendas and social construction.

Paypal founder Peter Thiel is investing in a project that hopes to create floating cities that are free from political agendas (image by Seasteading Media)
Paypal founder Peter Thiel is investing in a project that hopes to create floating cities that are free from political agendas (image by Seasteading Media)

These "floating cities will allow the next generation of pioneers to peacefully test new ideas for government," says the Seasteading Institute. "The most successful can then inspire change in governments around the world."

Floating homes with energy autonomy

One of the many benefits of a floating island is that you begin with a clean sheet, and hence the potential to create an entire infrastructure from scratch leaves itself open to many new technologies being incorporated to achieve synergies well beyond the normal scope - such as Japan’s Shimizu Corporation and its idea that it can construct a self-sufficient, carbon-negative floating city in the Pacific Ocean.

Japan’s Shimizu Corporation plans to build a self-sufficient, carbon-negative floating city in the Pacific Ocean
Japan’s Shimizu Corporation plans to build a self-sufficient, carbon-negative floating city in the Pacific Ocean

The Solar Floating Resort (SFR) uses dye-sensitized solar cells in the building fabric. The SFR is constructed of two 15-mm (0.6-in) layers of fiberglass reinforced balsa wood with a 30-cm (11.8-in) vacuum between. Puzzolante has solar cells in both the inner and outer layers, so that both artificial light from the interior and sunlight can be harvested. It's an indication of the amount of thought that is now being devoted to the future of marine habitats. By carefully conserving energy supplies, and reharvesting them wherever possible, Puzzolante's Solar Floating Resort offers energy autonomy.

Michele Puzzolante's Solar Floating Resort
Michele Puzzolante's Solar Floating Resort

Now an Austrian-based company intends to manufacture much smaller, tailor made miniature floating islands, at a fraction of the cost.

Position, position, position

The price of waterfront property continues to grow internationally thanks to there being a finite quantity of waterfront and a growing and ever more affluent population seeking it. "Position, position, position" is the catchcry of the real estate industry everywhere.

The whole point about a floating island is that you can reposition it. It could just as easily be moored somewhere near New York or London, as the Bahamas,

Several times in the last decade there have been ingenious attempts to create "synthetic real estate" in prime positions.

A company called First Penthouse began developing the free space on the rooftops of existing buildings just six years ago, and much value has been created by utilizing perfectly positioned real estate that had never before been ascribed much value.

First Penthouse builds bespoke skyward extensions that perfectly match the character of the existing building and can add an entire floor to your building in 24 hours. If the residents own the building, they can sometimes create significant value.

First Penthouse builds bespoke skyward extensions that perfectly match the character of the existing building and can add an entire floor to your building in 24 hours.
First Penthouse builds bespoke skyward extensions that perfectly match the character of the existing building and can add an entire floor to your building in 24 hours.

The free space on top of buildings rarely gets any consideration on a balance sheet, but offers a major opportunity in creating very valuable virgin real estate.

The free space on top of buildings rarely gets any consideration on a balance sheet, but offers a major opportunity in creating very valuable virgin real estate.
The free space on top of buildings rarely gets any consideration on a balance sheet, but offers a major opportunity in creating very valuable virgin real estate.

The pre-fabricated Loftcube addressed the same market with a made-to-order cube helicoptered into position, commissioned and fully functional in 24 hours.

The pre-fabricated Loftcube offers a made-to-order cube helicoptered into position, commissioned and fully functional in 24 hours.
The pre-fabricated Loftcube offers a made-to-order cube helicoptered into position, commissioned and fully functional in 24 hours.

Dubai quadrupled its amount of waterfront land to cater for this lack of supply with the clever creation of waterfront property with its ingenious Palm, World and other man-made island projects. More recently, Reef Island in Qatar debuted.

The building of the Palm
The building of the Palm

Orsos Island Concept

More recently, three superyachts took the idea of a floating island as their theme, but the price tag on these behemoths would be beyond US$100 million to put in the water, and at your rule-of-thumb 10% (of the purchase price) per annum in upkeep, a cool US$10 million a year minimum to run.Orsos Island Concept brings the concept within range of everyone with a lazy five million. At that price, synthetic real estate such as floating islands become financially viable.

Orsos Island
Orsos Island

Founder Gábor Orsós is aiming to combine the positive aspects of mainland real estate and luxury yachts at much reduced cost, albeit in comparison to superyachts.

The project is Austrian-based, and constructed, with manufacture in Germany and Hungary.

Orsos Island
Orsos Island

A prototype is underway and will be opened to the public at the end of 2013.

The costs of pimping your island vary dramatically depending on your tastes, but a basic model will coast around EUR 3.6 million (US$4,450,000), an order of magnitude less than previous floating islands, enabling new lifestyle possibilities.

The concept of a floating island is not new, having first surfaced in Homer's Odyssey and making countless appearances in literature from Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels, C. S. Lewis' science fiction trilogy Perelandra, Hugh Lofting's The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle and the first artificially-constructed floating island makes an appearance in an 1895 novel by the father of science fiction, Frenchman Jules Verne.

Jules Verne's Floating Island
Jules Verne's Floating Island

Building one has been a different matter and it wasn't until 2008 that we saw a design capable of living up to the concept in Wally Yachts "Floating Island" gigayacht: the Wally Island.

Since 2008, we've seen the rise of Yacht Island Design, a company which specializes in developing floating islands on large mega-yacht bases. Yacht Island Design's “Tropical Island” and "Streets of Monaco" followed with the promise that Yacht Island Design could tailor you an environment like no other, provided you had tens of millions of dollars to spend decking out your $50 million megayacht.

Yacht Island Design's "Tropical Island Paradise", is a 90 metre island with a top speed of 15 knots
Yacht Island Design's "Tropical Island Paradise", is a 90 metre island with a top speed of 15 knots

Yacht Island Designs looked set to be the main producer of man-made floating islands for the foreseeable future. It has several other fully developed designs which have not yet been released publicly, including a modern interpretation of a massive Chinese Junk, and an Arabian-themed superyacht.

The Project Utopia Floating Island
The Project Utopia Floating Island

More recently another ambitious yet seemingly-viable floating island concept has emerged in the form of Project Utopia, a structure with more in common with an oil rig than it does with a yacht. In the word's of the design consultancy which created it, Project Utopia "breaks the traditional naval architectural mold which the market has come to expect and offers a truly unique outlook free from any conventional design constraints."

The Project Utopia Floating Island
The Project Utopia Floating Island

Designed in conjunction with BMT Nigel Gee, Yacht Island Design's Project Utopia measures some 330 ft (100 m) in length and breadth, spans 11 decks and has the equivalent floorspace of a present-day cruise liner - enough space to create an entire micro-nation.

The Lilypad floating city concept is designed to house climate change refugees
The Lilypad floating city concept is designed to house climate change refugees

The idea of a floating city is also not new. In 2010, we saw the designs of Architect Vincent Callebaut's “Lilypad” concept – a completely self-sufficient floating city to accommodate 50,000.

With a shape inspired by the highly ribbed leaf of Victoria water lilies, the double skin of the floating “ecopolis” is to be made of polyester fibers covered by a layer of titanium dioxide (TiO2), which would react with ultraviolet rays and absorb atmospheric pollution via a photocatalytic effect in the same way as the air-purifying concrete and paving stones.

The Orsos Island Concept is at the other end of the floating island scale - at 20 meters wide and 37 meters long, it's a very small island, but more than enough for a sophisticated, high tech layout serving almost every need, and with 1,000 m² of living space.

Inside Orsos Island
Inside Orsos Island

The Orsós Island concept's founder is Gábor Orsós, an entrepreneur with extensive experience in hospitality and real estate, with the combined knowledge of the two industries leading him to the development of the ORSOS Islands project.

When the project first commenced, Orsós' goal was to create an exclusive, high-quality hotel chain based on floating platforms, but as the project progressed, it was decided to attempt to bring the cost of the islands down as to make them as affordable to as many individuals as possible.

Orsos Island from above
Orsos Island from above

It makes sense to develop real estate where it is most sought after - on the water - the vast proportion (more than 90%) of humanity lives in close proximity to the water, and as the number of people vying for a finite commodity increases, (waterfront property is unquestionably the most sought after of any residential property location), the cost is fast approaching, or perhaps has already passed the point where it is economically viable for a lot of people.

Floating homes aren't new either, and there are some interesting takes on exactly what new water-borne real estate might look like, from the floating Nackros Villa to the collection of floating residences at the German lakeside resort Lausitz Geierswald to the Trilobis submerged floating apartment concept we covered a decade ago.

The Nackros Villa
The Nackros Villa

The Orsos promises island living on a smaller scale than a luxury yacht, but one that is no less comfortable and much more cost-effective in terms of purchase and maintenance.

As it stands, the Orsos Island has the equivalent of six double rooms, and Gábor promises plenty of room for up to 12 residents, and if required, accommodation for up to four staff members as well as an office and a recreation room can be built into the design. Indeed, if accommodation capacity is your sole goal, the Orsos can theoretically sleep 80.

Inside Orsos Island
Inside Orsos Island

The idea of being able to change the scenery outside the front door, is now a real possibility.

View gallery - 118 images
23 comments
23 comments
L1ma
Building will create employment, and keep the money in circulation which is the most important thing at the moment.
Kevin Reilly
Awesome! One day, I'll have my floating island as well!
Let's not forget Ritchie Sowa's floating island made from recycled pop bottles. Much less than a cool $5 million, huh?
http://motherboard.vice.com/2010/6/17/this-guy-is-building-his-own-island-out-of-plastic-bottles-video
Paul van Dinther
Cleaning up on land is easier then cleaning up on water. Yes these designs look amazing. Now plonk down ten thousand of them to form a village. They would be tightly clustered around land with resources as nobody wants to ride in their dinghy for 2 hours to get to shore.
How to deal with the many waste tanks, sewage and rubbish collection.
This is awesome as a holiday concept when there are just a few. An environmental disaster if multiplied by a few thousand.
Much better to have an entire floating city where access to land is a lot less urgent and waste management can be well organised.
Leonard Foster Jr
a retired oil platform is a hell of alot cheaper to convert???
Andrew Kubicki
suprised they took so long coming
I thought the japanese would be making / buying these things by the thousands by now, I guess sea worthiness is an issue, some waves / storms may not be easy to avoid.
some may need to be able to be fold up like a flower and keep all ok while its fully dunked by a super wave and bob up later and "hatch" / bloom open again (hopefully with those inside ok.
Guy Macher
It's as if no one has heard of houseboats or floating houses.
FreddyD12
One Development that you did not mention along this line is New Utopia. This concept has been proposed for about 15 years as a monarchy as a government structure and not floating but raised platforms over an area that has already been declared a "country" by all international standards. The concept does not have the principal structure movable but there could be other such "floating islands" added within the governmental area.
Take a look at New Utopia as an alternative means of such living.
kuryus
Guy is right on point, house boats have been around for a long time. They look fun but this not a new idea.
Charles Bosse
Freddy: Actually, New Utopia was mentioned, though only briefly.
The big problem I see with this in the long term is food delivery. Essentially this will have to operate like a small cruise ship: go into port, restock, go out to sea, go back into port. Also, the idea of wading or swimming around in deep water makes me a little nervous - I certainly would never think of taking my dog on a boat like this, even though the beach is one of her favorite places.
It could be interesting to set something up on an old oil platform to catch oceanic detritus and use it to slowly build a colony. Maybe some entrepreneurial Somalians will do just this.
Richard Chesher
What, has nobody heard of territorial waters and a 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone? And are none of these planners aware of the International Maritime Organization and the thousands of regulations concerning any kind of vessel on the sea? What makes anyone imagine they can "moor" a city - or even float it - within 200 nautical miles of any land on the planet without full government authority? Create an independent, new kind of government? First of all, like what? Secondly, which existing government is going to approve it's location within their 200 nautical mile exclusive economic waters? And if the political and economic barriers are not enough to contend with the reality of a floating city in a hurricane would amuse CNN viewers for weeks. I have lived on a yacht for 35 years and finding a place where I can moor my vessel and then find land access for my 4.5m tender is physically a challenge - dealing with the legions of customs, quarantine, immigration, water police, local harbor rules and regulations and fees is a continual hassle.
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