A new floating city that’s part of the Maldives is being hailed as a beautiful spot to vacation, honeymoon or even a unique place to live.
The city with the Indian Ocean on its shoreline would be only a 10-minute boat ride from Malé, the capital of Maldives, according to CNN.
The reasoning for a floating city is more than just some fanciful notion aimed at vacationers and the rich.
Maldives has a pretty serious problem looming in that about 80 percent of its land is only slightly over three feet above sea level.
It’s believed that by the end of the 21st century, the entire country is at risk of being completely underwater.
In addition to the risk of flooding, Maldives is also at risk for monsoons, which can have wind gusts of up to approximately 93 miles per hour, according to Dreaming of Maldives.
As a solution to the flooding issue, an idea was floated to build a city that has the ability to rise with the tides, CNN reported.
The idea has been called “new hope” for the people of Maldives, which has over 500,000 residents.
“It can prove that there is affordable housing, large communities, and normal towns on the water that are also safe. They (Maldivians) will go from climate refugees to climate innovators,” Koen Olthuis, founder of the architecture firm Waterstudio, said.
Olthuis’ firm is responsible for designing the floating city.
The city’s configuration will be similar to the look of brain coral. The capacity for the city is 20,000 residents.
The city will include 5,000 floating structures such as houses, shops, restaurants and schools. These will be modular buildings that are built in a local shipyard. Once completed, it will be towed to the floating city.
Upon being positioned, it will be secured to a concrete hull. The hull will be attached to the ocean floor using telescopic steel stilts that allow for the city to ebb and flow with the ocean waves. Coral reefs will surround the city and help stabilize it and to absorb some of the motion from waves.
Canals and sandy streets will connect the various dwellings.
Residents and visitors will get from place to place by boat. They may also choose the option to walk, cycle or drive electric vehicles on the streets.
The city will be solar-powered, and use deep water sea cooling as an alternative to air conditioning. A local treatment plant for sewage will be located inside the city, and waste will be repurposed as manure for plants.
Residents are anticipated to be able to move in as soon as early 2024.
The goal for the completion of the entire city is 2027.
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