The Maldives is set to get a brain-shaped floating city near the capital of Male by 2028.
The floating city is set to house 20,000 people in a lagoon 15 minutes by boat from the country’s capital.
Called Maldives Floating City, the project is designed by Waterstudio in collaboration between the Maldives government and developers Dutch Dockland. Set within a 200-hectare lagoon in the Indian Ocean, the development will consist of 5,000 low-rise floating homes. Tethered to the lagoon, as sea levels rise, so will the city.
The Maldives is famously known for its beautiful atolls and overwater bungalows. 80 per cent of the country sits less than one metre above sea level. This is a cause for concern over rising sea levels.
The islands of the Maldives are predicted to be uninhabitable by 2100 due to rising sea levels. The Maldives government hopes to offer 20,000 locals and foreigners to move to the floating city as early as 2024.
“It’s the first example of a nation trying to find new solutions to cope with sea level rises,” says Koen Olthius, founder of Waterstudio. “The government’s goal is to turn them from future climate refugees into climate innovators.”
While the city won’t be complete until 2028, construction is set to begin in January 2023.
The city is to be developed by Dutch Docklands with high-level floating technology from the Netherlands.
“While attempts at floating cities have been tried before, none have featured Maldives Floating City’s most compelling selling points: full-scale technical, logistical and legal expertise,” said Dutch Docklands.
Maldives Floating City
The city will be complete by 2028 and composed of a series of hexagonal islands modelled on the shapes of a local coral called brain coral.
The city will resemble a brain when combined and viewed from an aerial perspective. Artificial coral banks will also be attached to the underside of the floating city to promote natural coral growth.
The city will be full of houses, hotels, shops, restaurants, a hospital, a school and a government building.
Each seafront residence will be 100 square meters and have a terrace on its roof and a jetty attached to the front. Dutch Docklands has said the homes would be priced from $250,000.
“As a nation at the front lines of global warming, the Maldives is perfectly positioned to reimagine how humankind will survive – and, indeed, thrive – in the face of rising sea levels and coastal erosion,” said Dutch Docklands.
“Inspired by traditional Maldivian sea-faring culture and developed in close cooperation with Maldivian authorities, Maldives Floating City homes will eventually be joined by hotels, restaurants, stylish boutiques and a world-class marina.”
The first of its kind, Maldives Floating City is an innovative way to allow the Maldivian people to continue living in their beautiful country as sea levels rise.
When the project is complete, will you visit the Maldives to see the floating city?
