To Respond to Rising Sea Levels, the Maldives is Building a Floating City

[ad_1]

Representation, floating city of Maldives

The fiction of the late 19th and early 20th centuries was filled with visions of a brave new world where science, technology and machinery would come together to build metropolis under the sea, floating in the air or in space.

Now a Dutch architectural and planning company is working with the Maldives to create a 200 hectare floating city. It is inspired by the structure of coral reefs and runs on green energy to help strengthen the nation against climate change.

Averaging less than 1 meter above sea level, the Maldives, a collection of 25 atolls in the Indian Ocean, are the lowest nations on Earth and are at real risk of becoming uninhabitable as the planet warms. .

Fortunately, with 300 years of Dutch experience in controlling your wet environments, Dutch docklands is working with the Maldivian government to create a solution.

Planned to float in a 200 hectare hot water lagoon just 10 minutes by boat from the capital of Malé, the Maldives Floating City (MFC) will be built along a flexible grid and surrounded by larger islands to perform. like breakwaters and water. .

“Above, traditional Maldivian architecture sets the tone for MFC’s design plan, supported below by the greenest construction possible,” states Dutch Docklands. “MFC offers an accessible, scalable and salable solution for truly sustainable waterfront development.”

“As a nation on the front lines of global warming, the Maldives is perfectly positioned to reimagine how humanity will survive, and indeed prosper, in the face of rising seas and coastal erosion.”

MORE: Saudi Arabia is building a carbon-free city without cars and pollution: ‘a new era of civilization’

Rather than industry or agriculture, the Maldives is driven by tourism, and the modular and hexagonal building segments are inspired by the rich corals that attract visitors and fuel the country’s economy.

The plan also includes the construction of artificial coral structures in and around neighborhoods to attract marine life and further protect the city from storm surge.

“Our adaptation to climate change must not destroy nature, but work with it, as proposed by the Floating City of Maldives,” said Mohamed Nasheed, former president of the Maldives and speaker of parliament. “In the Maldives, we cannot stop the waves, but we can rise with them.”

The housing modules will be connected by a series of flexible channels and bridges, while the piers will allow parking for people and access to services and shops. Construction is scheduled to begin next year and will finish in five.

A school and hospital will be added, a renewable energy grid will power the city, and house prices are said to be set to suit all income levels.

(LOOK the project launch video for the floating city of Maldives below …)