Engineering the future means tackling the problems today…
This report is part of the 4th semester Architectural Technology and Construction Management education. The summer of 2011 was the starting point for my interest regarding floating constructions. It started with a book, named FLOAT (by Koen Olthuis and David Keuning). I was very interested about this technology, and the book proved to be a good starting point to find out more about it. During 3rd semester I had the opportunity to make a report about this theme and so I combined my learning goals with personal interests and decided to find out more.
Now, studying in the 4th semester I have decided to continue writing about floating constructions, and the main subject for this report is a floating city. Many say it is impossible, or even pointless. Advances in material science, nautical design and maritime constructions could not only make the floating city possible but it may also be an essential asset in the near future. Can we build it? YES, WE CAN! It is not a question of whether we can do it…but how we do it.
I would like to thank the people who supported me in doing this report. Many thanks to my guiding teacher Mihoko Goto Brethvad who accepted the problem statement of a floating city and many thanks as well to architect journalist David Keuning for the interview, and last but not least, many thanks to Koen Olthuis for sharing his ideas regarding building on water worldwide.
Presentation of the why, how, what (vision, projects and activities) of our companies Blue21, Deltasync and Indymo. Presentation explains the urgency of a Blue Revolution by creating floating cities that are in symbiosis with their environment. Ecological impacts are monitored with underwater drones.
Presentation of the why, how, what (vision, projects and activities) of our companies Blue21, Deltasync and Indymo. Presentation explains the urgency of a Blue Revolution by creating floating cities that are in symbiosis with their environment. Ecological impacts are monitored with underwater drones.
CRUISE TERMINAL - Thesis research writingJasmine Sidhu
“Cruise terminal is a project with a long gestation period and revenue from terminal operation, when compared to the investment, may not be attractive. Considering this fact, we propose a mix of commercial activities together with the main business.”
Burj Khalifa, known as Burj Dubai prior to its inauguration, is a skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is the tallest artificial structure in the world, standing at 829.8 m.
A short and elaborate Case Study on High Rise Buildings for the course of Advanced Building Construction from students of 8th Semester Architecture at VNIT, Nagpur (January- April 2017)
I came to know regarding this competition from rediff.com
Salient features of a well-designed inclusive Neighbourhood (Colony) for the urban poor is characterized by a well conceptualized effort at social cohesion:
I. Housing Unit and Layouts of Cluster Housing
II. Neighbourhood Colony Layouts
III. Basic Physical Infrastructure (Water Supply, Sanitation, Drainage, Roads, Street Lighting, Solid
Waste Management, etc.)
IV. Cohesive Social Infrastructure (Community Centre, Informal Sector Market, Livelihood Centre,
etc.)
A Self Sustainable Community (Human Settlement) comprising all the activity to a range of Human Scale within the neighborhood interdependent to government or policies.
sustainable achitecture - introduction - design - need for it - elements - green roof , solar shingles , rain harvesting , cob houses - techniques - examples
Materi Paparan Konferensi "Bangunan diatas Air" ( Building on Water Converence) Erasmus Huis, Jakarta, 9 April 2013.
http://www.ideaonline.co.id/iDEA2013/Kabar/Review-Product/Erasmus-Huis-IAI-Seminar-dan-Pameran-Building-on-Water
http://pusperkimugm.org/home/2013/04/building-on-water-conference-and-exhibition/
(please forgive for my poor in English..)
CRUISE TERMINAL - Thesis research writingJasmine Sidhu
“Cruise terminal is a project with a long gestation period and revenue from terminal operation, when compared to the investment, may not be attractive. Considering this fact, we propose a mix of commercial activities together with the main business.”
Burj Khalifa, known as Burj Dubai prior to its inauguration, is a skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is the tallest artificial structure in the world, standing at 829.8 m.
A short and elaborate Case Study on High Rise Buildings for the course of Advanced Building Construction from students of 8th Semester Architecture at VNIT, Nagpur (January- April 2017)
I came to know regarding this competition from rediff.com
Salient features of a well-designed inclusive Neighbourhood (Colony) for the urban poor is characterized by a well conceptualized effort at social cohesion:
I. Housing Unit and Layouts of Cluster Housing
II. Neighbourhood Colony Layouts
III. Basic Physical Infrastructure (Water Supply, Sanitation, Drainage, Roads, Street Lighting, Solid
Waste Management, etc.)
IV. Cohesive Social Infrastructure (Community Centre, Informal Sector Market, Livelihood Centre,
etc.)
A Self Sustainable Community (Human Settlement) comprising all the activity to a range of Human Scale within the neighborhood interdependent to government or policies.
sustainable achitecture - introduction - design - need for it - elements - green roof , solar shingles , rain harvesting , cob houses - techniques - examples
Materi Paparan Konferensi "Bangunan diatas Air" ( Building on Water Converence) Erasmus Huis, Jakarta, 9 April 2013.
http://www.ideaonline.co.id/iDEA2013/Kabar/Review-Product/Erasmus-Huis-IAI-Seminar-dan-Pameran-Building-on-Water
http://pusperkimugm.org/home/2013/04/building-on-water-conference-and-exhibition/
(please forgive for my poor in English..)
This report is a part of the Bachelor of Architectural Technology and Construction
Management education for the 3rd semester. The purpose of it is to give me the opportunity to
investigate different areas of the constructing architect’s work in the construction industry.
During my summer holiday I read a book named FLOAT!1 , it is about building on water,
and I was really fascinated about the information in it. I wanted to find more about this subject,
and this report is not only the perfect approach for that, but it will help gain more knowledge
about making reports and collecting data as well.
I find this “new technology” very interesting and I think we really need to make some
changes in the construction industry due to the effects that it has upon the environment.
Presentation about floating urban development in symbiosis with ecological development. A BlueRevolution can be a perspective to deal with urgent global issues such as land scarcity, climate change and flooding. The presentation elaborates how resilience, sustainability, food security can be achieved by integrating existing technologies.
Overview of the vision, projects and people of DeltaSync. At DeltaSync we work on developing floating cities. For private and public organizations we deliver knowledge, creativity and results in practice. Examples are technology integration, design, implementation, planning, business cases and strategy of floating urban developments.
Valer daniel rudics green roofs dissertation_projectDani Rud
The problem statement for the dissertation is ‘how can green roofs influence the
urban environment’. The theory is based on analyses related to the green roof technology
and how could green roofs make the urban life a more sustainable, a more habitable and a
more pleasant environment to live in. The analyses focus on several points that bring out the
impacts urban life is combating with at the moment and the aim is to find out how the
problems can be remediated.
There are many analyses that argument about green roofs having a positive impact upon the
urban environment. And even though the technology is rather new, green roofs projects are
increasingly implemented nowadays. In order to find more about those impacts and their
solutions you are invited to read about them in the following pages.
India is a peninsular country three sides covered with water. It faces a heavy monsoon season that causes large scale destruction throughout the country. Perennial rivers such as Ganga, Brahmaputra, etc. always causes flooding in north India and cyclones and heavy monsoon are the reason for flood in southern parts of India. India is the one of the vulnerable country for climatic change. It should work to provide flood proof, safe and affordable structures for all citizens. For centuries, the coastline has been the focus for variety of activities including industries, agriculture, recreation and fisheries. All the major cities in India have developed along the coastline. Over the past centuries, the sea level increased nearly eight inches in the coastal area and the scientists suggest a constant increase in sea level due to climatic change. There are two major factors for sea level rise, melting of ice sheets and thermal expansion of ocean. These factors are the result of global warming which cannot be changed easily. The sea level rise will have multiple impacts like migrating from coastal areas, frequent flooding, erode beaches; the net result will be migration from this densely populated areas. This report will explore and documents the various ways of protecting and creating a sustainable living environment for seaside and riverside residents. This will document the projection sea level rise and in change in climate will increase the frequencies of flood. This dissertation will answer the questions like “How can a structure sits in ground can survive during floods?” The techniques to provide low flood residents Amphibious housing functioning both in land and water. Amphibious Architecture is cost effective and safe alternative for permanent static elevation and it is achieved by buoyant foundations.
The Newsletter has been produced as part of a Climate KIC project 2014, in conjunction with SysPro;Systems for Progress Limited and EIT+ through the Pioneer in Practise Programme (www.climate-kic.org)
Copenhagen Cleantech Cluster - Water Report 2012halloliver
The Water report 2012 is the first of its kind. With the ambition of mapping the entire water sector in Denmark, we hope that it will serve it purpose and add even more dynamism to a sector already growing and create new jobs to the benefit of not just the individual companies, but also Danish society.
Amphibious Flood Protecting House for River Side Areaijtsrd
The – It is well known that “FLOODS ARE ACTS OF GOD, BUT FLOOD LOSSES ARE LARGELY ACTS OF MAN.” We are all living in the 21st century and are on the edge of rapidly increasing population. The population on Earth has increased from 1 billion to 7 billion in the previous 3 centuries and is still on the verge of increasing with no signs of reducing by any means. The increasing number of population leads to their shelter and there shelter causes and affects the environment in indefinite number of ways. A house can cost someone in some bucks, but it costs the environment of Mother Nature more than any other resources. Having knowledge of all these the human being has got no plans to stop, But in the end it all comes back in some or the other ways. Nature always treats you in response, the same way you do. Harms to nature costs Flood, Earthquakes, Hurricanes, tsunamis and other geological natural disasters. The First thing that gets destroyed in these disasters are Habitats. Yes, be it Human or other species the habitat of a human being lies around homes, and these are the first target by the disasters. The Indian Continental alone has spent a total of 3.9 B dollars in the 65 yrs. of its independence, only when the skies cursed. It is a basic need to encounter the problem of losses due to floods, and as said in the phrase the flood losses are largely and solely the act of man itself. Prof. Sachin L. Desale | Prof. Sachin B. Kajabe | Sachin L. Kankute | Sandip M. Narote | Tushar S. Thakare "Amphibious Flood Protecting House for River Side Area" Published in International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456-6470, Volume-6 | Issue-4 , June 2022, URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd50145.pdf Paper URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com/engineering/civil-engineering/50145/amphibious-flood-protecting-house-for-river-side-area/prof-sachin-l-desale
Masterclass Our Oceans Challenge / Thursday 23 February 2017Maurice Jansen
The theme of the Masterclass of Thursday 23 February centered around Our Oceans Challenge, a crowdsourcing initiative of a number of leading Dutch maritime and offshore companies and knowledge partners. The aim is to generate as much as feasible ideas towards five major challenges. In two sequential masterclasses, approximately 100 students and young professionals of Rotterdam Mainport University, Netherlands Maritime University and YoungShip Rotterdam engaged in brainstorm sessions leading to concrete ideas. All of these activities were then posted on the online crowdsourcing platform.
World oceans cover roughly 70% of planet and provide thè source of live on Earth. Following the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) the seabed area and its mineral resources are declared as the heritage of mankind. Despite or maybe because of the common right of access to the sea and its resources, our oceans are under pressure. Ecosystems are slow to recover because of exploitation from activities onshore, offshore or from relentless fishery. And yet, it provides for millions and millions of people’s quality of life, employment and existence. Our Oceans Challenge (OOC) believes that despite the challenges, there are opportunities to balance ocean protection with the responsible use and exploitation of ocean space and resources. OOC calls upon the industry to show its responsibility and time to generate breakthrough ideas. The aim is to accelerate innovative and sustainable ideas into viable business.
As an introduction Dr Luc Cuyvers - with his passion for the sea and track record as a documentary maker, author and ocean and marine researcher – provided the audience with an anthology of the issues that he has witnessed in the past 35 to 40 years in his career. Subsequently to Cuyvers’ introduction presentation, Mattijs Bolk, one of the driving forces behind OOC explained how this crowdsourcing initiative started. The ambition is in line with the Sustainable Development Goals, especially Living Oceans. Heerema Contractors took this open innovation initiative last year and this year invited other offshore contractors, knowledge partners and launch partners to join. The biggest challenge for the industry is to develop sustainable business models.
With these challenges students and young maritime professionals went along and engaged in creative brainstorming process, facilitated by people from Our Oceans Challenge. The workshop outputs consisted of various rough ideas that were immediately posted on the OOC open innovation platform. Good ideas are taken further in this platform, enriched with the expertise, insights and thoughts of other industry specialists. From the current 111 ideas, the best ideas will be taken into the development phase, and accelerate into ready-to-use business solutions. All students who are active on the platform will be able to follow how these ideas find its ways to a sustainable offshore industry.
The Art Pastor's Guide to Sabbath | Steve ThomasonSteve Thomason
What is the purpose of the Sabbath Law in the Torah. It is interesting to compare how the context of the law shifts from Exodus to Deuteronomy. Who gets to rest, and why?
Operation “Blue Star” is the only event in the history of Independent India where the state went into war with its own people. Even after about 40 years it is not clear if it was culmination of states anger over people of the region, a political game of power or start of dictatorial chapter in the democratic setup.
The people of Punjab felt alienated from main stream due to denial of their just demands during a long democratic struggle since independence. As it happen all over the word, it led to militant struggle with great loss of lives of military, police and civilian personnel. Killing of Indira Gandhi and massacre of innocent Sikhs in Delhi and other India cities was also associated with this movement.
How to Create Map Views in the Odoo 17 ERPCeline George
The map views are useful for providing a geographical representation of data. They allow users to visualize and analyze the data in a more intuitive manner.
This is a presentation by Dada Robert in a Your Skill Boost masterclass organised by the Excellence Foundation for South Sudan (EFSS) on Saturday, the 25th and Sunday, the 26th of May 2024.
He discussed the concept of quality improvement, emphasizing its applicability to various aspects of life, including personal, project, and program improvements. He defined quality as doing the right thing at the right time in the right way to achieve the best possible results and discussed the concept of the "gap" between what we know and what we do, and how this gap represents the areas we need to improve. He explained the scientific approach to quality improvement, which involves systematic performance analysis, testing and learning, and implementing change ideas. He also highlighted the importance of client focus and a team approach to quality improvement.
2024.06.01 Introducing a competency framework for languag learning materials ...Sandy Millin
http://sandymillin.wordpress.com/iateflwebinar2024
Published classroom materials form the basis of syllabuses, drive teacher professional development, and have a potentially huge influence on learners, teachers and education systems. All teachers also create their own materials, whether a few sentences on a blackboard, a highly-structured fully-realised online course, or anything in between. Despite this, the knowledge and skills needed to create effective language learning materials are rarely part of teacher training, and are mostly learnt by trial and error.
Knowledge and skills frameworks, generally called competency frameworks, for ELT teachers, trainers and managers have existed for a few years now. However, until I created one for my MA dissertation, there wasn’t one drawing together what we need to know and do to be able to effectively produce language learning materials.
This webinar will introduce you to my framework, highlighting the key competencies I identified from my research. It will also show how anybody involved in language teaching (any language, not just English!), teacher training, managing schools or developing language learning materials can benefit from using the framework.
Ethnobotany and Ethnopharmacology:
Ethnobotany in herbal drug evaluation,
Impact of Ethnobotany in traditional medicine,
New development in herbals,
Bio-prospecting tools for drug discovery,
Role of Ethnopharmacology in drug evaluation,
Reverse Pharmacology.
Palestine last event orientationfvgnh .pptxRaedMohamed3
An EFL lesson about the current events in Palestine. It is intended to be for intermediate students who wish to increase their listening skills through a short lesson in power point.
How to Split Bills in the Odoo 17 POS ModuleCeline George
Bills have a main role in point of sale procedure. It will help to track sales, handling payments and giving receipts to customers. Bill splitting also has an important role in POS. For example, If some friends come together for dinner and if they want to divide the bill then it is possible by POS bill splitting. This slide will show how to split bills in odoo 17 POS.
Students, digital devices and success - Andreas Schleicher - 27 May 2024..pptxEduSkills OECD
Andreas Schleicher presents at the OECD webinar ‘Digital devices in schools: detrimental distraction or secret to success?’ on 27 May 2024. The presentation was based on findings from PISA 2022 results and the webinar helped launch the PISA in Focus ‘Managing screen time: How to protect and equip students against distraction’ https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/education/managing-screen-time_7c225af4-en and the OECD Education Policy Perspective ‘Students, digital devices and success’ can be found here - https://oe.cd/il/5yV
2. Valer Daniel Rudics VIA University College
ESS - 4th
semester Halmstadgade 2, Aarhus Nord, 8210
Constructing architect education School email: 178744@viauc.dk
March 2012 1
TITLE SHEET
TITLE OF THE REPORT: SUSTAINAQUALITY-Floating city
SUPERVISOR: Mihoko Goto Brethvad
AUTHOR: ___Valer Daniel Rudics___
DATE/SIGNATURE: ___13th
of April 2012___
STUDENT IDENTITY NUMBER: 178744
NUMBER OF COPIES: 1
NUMBER OF PAGES (2400 characters per page): 10
GENERAL INFORMATION:
All rights reserved – no part of this publication may be reproduced without the prior permission of the author.
NOTE: This report was compiled as part of the Constructing Architect education – every responsibility
concerning guidance, Instructions or conclusions are hereby renounced.
3. Valer Daniel Rudics VIA University College
ESS - 4th
semester Halmstadgade 2, Aarhus Nord, 8210
Constructing architect education School email: 178744@viauc.dk
March 2012 2
PREFACE
Engineering the future means tackling the problems today…
This report is part of the 4th
semester Architectural Techonoly and Conctruction Management education. The
summer of 2011 was the starting point for my interest regarding floating constructions. It started with a book, named
FLOAT (by Koen Olthuis and David Keuning). I was very interested about this technology, and the book proved to be a
good starting point to find out more about it. During 3rd
semester I had the opportunity to make a report about this theme
and so I combined my learning goals with personal interests and decided to find out more.
Now, studying in the 4th
semester I have decided to continue writing about floating constructions, and the main
subject for this report is a floating city. Many say it is impossible, or even pointless. Advances in material science, nautical
design and maritime constructions could not only make the floating city possible but it may also be an essential asset in the
near future. Can we build it? YES, WE CAN! It is not a question of whether we can do it…but how we do it.
I would like to thank the people who supported me in doing this report. Many thanks to my guiding teacher
Mihoko Goto Brethvad who accepted the problem statement of a floating city and many thanks as well to architect
journalist David Keuning for the interview, and last but not least, many thanks to Koen Olthuis for sharing his ideas
regarding building on water worldwide.
4. Valer Daniel Rudics VIA University College
ESS - 4th
semester Halmstadgade 2, Aarhus Nord, 8210
Constructing architect education School email: 178744@viauc.dk
March 2012 3
ABSTRACT
As recent history has reminded us, our natural weather systems make clear the dramatic reality of living with
water, whether there is too much or too little of that precious resource. The threat of rapidly melting glaciers and the
extreme droughts in many parts of the world emphasize the intrinsic relationship between water and the built environment,
as do natural disasters as diverse as the flooding in Mozambique due to heavy rainfalls in January 2008; the series of
tsunamis triggered in 2004 by an earthquake off the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia that killed more 225,000 people in eleven
countries; and the severe destruction and human tragedy that was the result of Hurricane Katrina when the levees burst in
Louisiana causing extensive flooding along the Gulf Coast of the Unites States in August 2005. Near 80 per cent of the city
of New Orleans was flooded by the storm surge. The price tag for the total damage was over 80 billion$ and even after 4
years they were still picking up the pieces…
5. Valer Daniel Rudics VIA University College
ESS - 4th
semester Halmstadgade 2, Aarhus Nord, 8210
Constructing architect education School email: 178744@viauc.dk
March 2012 4
Table of Contents
Introduction ...............................................................................................................................................................................5
Current day technology..............................................................................................................................................................8
Scenario for the next 100 years..................................................................................................................................................8
Conditions for a city at sea ......................................................................................................................................................11
Conclusion...............................................................................................................................................................................14
List of sources:.........................................................................................................................................................................15
6. Valer Daniel Rudics VIA University College
ESS - 4th
semester Halmstadgade 2, Aarhus Nord, 8210
Constructing architect education School email: 178744@viauc.dk
March 2012 5
Introduction
Sustainaquality is the combination word of sustainability-aqua (water) – quality. In order to understand this word,
we must first be sure that we understand what the derived words mean.
Water or aqua (Latin word) is essential to life in every form. One of the world`s most valuable resources, it has
been referred to as ‘blue oil. A material that we are forever trying to preserve, conserve, clean and re-use, water is also an
element we continue to fight against, barricading ourselves, for example, against rising sea levels and the threat of flood.
Quality, in business, engineering and manufacturing has a pragmatic interpretation as the non-
inferiority or superiority of something; it is also defined as fitness for purpose. Quality is a perceptual, conditional and
somewhat subjective attribute and may be understood differently by different people.
Architects like to talk about sustainability. After several publications in the recent years, an important one ‘An
inconvenient truth’ – 2006 by Al Gore, it has been brought up that you are not worth your salt as an architect (or builder,
developer or producer of building materials) if you are not involved in sustainable activities. We are certainly living on the
edge, not only a physical brink of the built and natural environment near water, but also on the edge of times when our way
of life will destroy the balance of the planet. Staring now, we have to concentrate our global efforts on sustainable
waterfront planning and ongoing management and maintenance for safe, active and clean public, open space near the water`
s edge. Public officials and architects also have to play a significant role in the reinvigorating urban design beyond
the recent trend of architectural waterfront icons.
What is sustainability, you may ask yourself? Well, not many can provide a good explanation of what
sustainability actually means, because it is a complicated subject. But there are several questions that can get to a close
answer. Is a building sustainable if it uses little energy? If it has been built using locally materials? If it has been built using
materials that are as recyclable as possible? In spite of all the attempts the answer is still confusion, but we do know that the
pursuit of sustainability usually focuses on recycling building materials, improving the return on heating and cooling
systems and the use of alternative, green sources of energy. All of these are important and worthwhile aims but one major
way of achieving sustainability is often overlooked: buildings that do not have to be demolished before the end of their life,
technically speaking, yield the most obvious environmental savings, which additionally make many other sorts of
economies pale into insignificance. The pursuit of sustainability should therefore be focused primarily on extending the
useful life of the building. A longer period of usage means less new building production. Water can also play an important
role in the debate about sustainability.
Sustainaquality is the search for new and effective ways to increase the sustainability of buildings and other urban
components by using water. Water can play a role in 5 different ways, You can make buildings flexible by making them
buoyant and extending their economic span as a result; You can improve the quality of water with floating elements; You
can use the wind power speed over water for ventilation; You can use the thermal capacity of water to cool and heat
buildings; You can generate energy with water; (wind energy and solar energy on water, wave power, etc.)
7. Valer Daniel Rudics VIA University College
ESS - 4th
semester Halmstadgade 2, Aarhus Nord, 8210
Constructing architect education School email: 178744@viauc.dk
March 2012 6
What are the reasons that made building on water an important factor to think about nowadays?
As recent history has reminded us, our natural weather systems make clear the dramatic reality of living with water, whether
there is too much or too little of that precious resource. The threat of rapidly melting glaciers and the extreme droughts in
many parts of the world emphasize the intrinsic relationship between water and the built environment, as do natural
disasters as diverse as the flooding in Mozambique due to heavy rainfalls in January 2008; the series of tsunamis triggered
in 2004 by an earthquake off the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia that killed more 225,000 people in eleven countries; and the
severe destruction and human tragedy that was the result of Hurricane Katrina when the levees burst in Louisiana causing
extensive flooding along the Gulf Coast of the Unites States in August 2005. Near 80 per cent of the city of New Orleans
was flooded by the storm surge. The price tag for the total damage was over 80 billion$ and even after 4 years they were
still picking up the pieces.
‘In one of the greatest human migrations of modern times, people are rediscovering coastline around the world,
particularly those in Asia and Africa. In the 1950`s New York City was the planet’s only megacity. Today, there are 14
coastline megacities with more than 10 million inhabitants, while two-fifths of the world`s major cities are located near
water’ (John Tibbetts, “Coastal Cities: Kiving on the Edge”). Significantly, future population growth patterns are intensely
focused on urban waterfronts of less economically countries.
Furthermore, these cities have a substantial amount of water in the city itself, in the form of lakes, rivers, canals, harbours,
bays or the open sea. This means that if the water level will rise exponentially, most of the cities would be affected by this
cause. Few of the already affected cities affected by water are the Netherlands (with a long history regarding building on
water), the Maldives in Australia, few more already mentioned in the paragraph above.
Cities are fighting against water to avoid flooding, and most of them have come out with different ways of creating barriers.
Unfortunately this solution cannot continue for much longer because the threat for flooding is increasing more and more.
Recent studies show that the ultimate form of flexibility is floating buildings; they are easy to move if they are no
longer required and they can begin a new life at a different location, in this way having a much longer life. In most countries
buildings are regularly demolished long before the end of their technically achievable lifespan. But this does not arise with
floating buildings. If a building is no longer required at particular location, you sell it and the new owner can moor it
somewhere else, just like a houseboat. There is no waste, no squandering of materials and energy. That makes urban design
not just more environmentally friendly, but also more flexible.
The innovations that lie at the basis of buoyant foundations are quite old.
An inspiration to this technology comes from Peru, on Lake Titicaca, where
people live on floating reed islands, capable of supporting villages of 2000
people. The basis of the islands is formed by blocks of compact reed roots,
taken from the lake. These blocks are connected and anchored to the bottom
Lake Titicaca, Peru
8. Valer Daniel Rudics VIA University College
ESS - 4th
semester Halmstadgade 2, Aarhus Nord, 8210
Constructing architect education School email: 178744@viauc.dk
March 2012 7
with ropes and poles, so that the island floats up and down according to the water level. If these people, with their limited
resources, can build a floating island with very light materials on top, then others must also be capable of achieving that
with their technological know-how. The first forms of living on water were rafts with huts on them, followed by wooden
houseboats and barges.
Later versions had a steel understructure but retained the disadvantage of maintenance. Wooden and steel houseboats and
barges have to pay regular visits to the boatyard for maintenance, usually every five years. But the most important
innovation in the field of floating foundations is the invention of reinforced concrete. Using reinforced concrete, caissons
could be made that were placed under the houseboats as floating foundations. These concrete foundations require far less
maintenance, provided the covering of concrete on the steel reinforcement is sufficient. The quality of these foundations is
so high that most houseboats are equipped with them these days. The new vision on floating urban developments has led to
the requirement for larger buoyant foundations.
Naturally critics complain that floating buildings generally do not have foundations made from green materials. However
floating buildings make sustainability possible without having to utilize materials seen as environmentally friendly in
everyday terms. As long as the materials have a long life, that is what matters.
Is building on water a good approach for the climate change?
“Yes, I do think building on water is good approach for the climate change. Many city areas need room for water storage,
to allow for overflow in times of excess water supply. This can be the case during heavy rain fall, high tide in rivers or other
water-related problems. Many cities don’t have room for large-scale water storage, because it requires a lot of space,
unless they use the available land double: both as water basin and as building lot. That’s where building on water comes
into the picture. – says architect journalist David Keuning
What is the difference between houses on water and houses on land?
The only essential difference between a house on water and a house on land is related to the FOUNDATIONS, not the
structure.
If you have something that is 10m long and 10m wide and 0.1m deep, then the buoyancy is arranged over a huge area so
you can have all kinds of people moving around on the top of it and it`s still not going to make a much difference. That`s
how it works in the case of floating foundations. On a long, wide structure, you can move your center of gravity a lot
without compromising the stability of the structure.
Most house boats have a shallow hull with a high centre of gravity, but the architecture company Waterstudio utilizes
houses with deep hulls that dramatically lowers the centre of gravity. Additionally a ring of dense concrete is casted on the
edge of the hull help distribute the load across the entire floating house.
9. Valer Daniel Rudics VIA University College
ESS - 4th
semester Halmstadgade 2, Aarhus Nord, 8210
Constructing architect education School email: 178744@viauc.dk
March 2012 8
This means that the structure is much less sensible to waves than a traditional house boat would be, yet still moving up and
down with minor fluctuations in water levels.
Current day technology
Floating houses are often met in the Netherlands, and this is because they are cheaper to build than land-based
houses.
For one thing, building on water is much easier than building on land. Most of the cities waterfronts have soft soil and
building takes a lot of effort, by making all the piles into the ground, and even after a decade the building starts to go a little
bit out of balance.
On water you only have to build a floating foundation, and if your build it a bit larger than a house boat, then you have a
stable platform on which you can build just about any house. They can be built quickly indoors, and then floated into place.
At the moment the development of floating foundations is in full swing. The current generation of buoyant foundations is
actually rather primitive. Concrete, steel and polystyrene regard to buoyancy and maintenance, but they are far from ideal.
Costs, processing, appearance, weight and strength can all be improved further. The present technology allows a water
house to be completed in 4 months.
Scenario for the next 100 years
A hundred years in a long time. Try to imagine what the city life looked like a century ago, for example. There
were no cars, no aviation, no e-mail and no massive suburbs. European cities consisted of an old centre, often dating largely
from the Middle Ages, with a few extremely modest expansions outside the former city walls. The people who could afford
it moved around by carriage. The post was also sent in the same way, so it took days or weeks to reach its destination. In
between the cities, there was a virgin countryside, with an almost exclusive agricultural function. Anyone who could have
predicted what the cities would look like in 100 years time would have been considered crazy. And yet, everything that is
now reality was unimaginable a century ago.
10. Valer Daniel Rudics VIA University College
ESS - 4th
semester Halmstadgade 2, Aarhus Nord, 8210
Constructing architect education School email: 178744@viauc.dk
March 2012 9
Today it is just as impossible to imagine what urban life will look like 100 years from now, particularly because
developments in society are taking place faster and faster. In the year 2000, for example, there were hardly any examples of
floating projects bigger than a house. These days, large buoyant complexes and floating high-rise building can be found
around in the renderings of many architectural companies.
Amongst these, the first water complex built in the Netherlands, ‘The Citadel’ started in 2010. The project will be built on a
polder, a recessed area below sea level where flood waters settle from heavy rains. Built on top of a floating foundation of
heavy concrete caisson, the Citadel will house 60 luxury apartments, a car park, a floating road to access the complex as
well as boat docks. With so many units built into such a small area, the housing complex will achieve a density of 30 units
per acre of water, leaving more open water surrounding the structure. Each unit will have its own garden terrace as well as a
view of the lake.
A high focus will be placed on energy efficiency inside the
Citadel. Greenhouses are placed around the complex, and the water will
act as a cooling source as it is pumped through submerged pipes. As the
unit is surrounded by water, corrosion and maintenance are important
issues to consider. As a result, aluminum will be used for the building
facade, due to its long lifespan and ease of maintenance. The individual
apartments are built from prefabricated modules.1
Another example of a floating complex is the ‘Floating city’ next to Male, the capital of the Maldives. A 20.000 houses
project, may be the answer for the tiny nation`s agony of finding a new homeland for its population as some of its coral reef
islands face an imminent threat from the rising sea level. Over 80 per cent of their 1,190 islands are no more than a meter
above sea level, with Male being one of the most densely populated islands in the world. The government had previously
thought of buying land from other countries and moving its people there. Maldives is also in need over 20,000 houses
between now and 2022 and they have no more land to build those.
Although Dutch Docklands, the Netherland-based sustainable floating
specialists, has already signed up with the government of Maldives to
build a “commercial” floating development, comprising a golf course,
convention centre, private islands, valued at $1 billion, it has proposed to
build “affordable” housing for the locals. The company has will soon
unveil the first floating island with six to eight affordable houses that
people can see, feel and walk.
1
The Citadel: Europe’s First Floating Apartment Complex - http://inhabitat.com/the-citadel-europes-first-floating-
apartment-complex/
The Citadel, Netherlands
Water villas, Maldives
The Citadel, Netherlands
11. Valer Daniel Rudics VIA University College
ESS - 4th
semester Halmstadgade 2, Aarhus Nord, 8210
Constructing architect education School email: 178744@viauc.dk
March 2012 10
“It is not only about reinforcement of tourism, but also reinforcement of society. It is about giving and taking. We want to
share our know-how, gained from commercial projects, with the less fortunate and provide them with affordable floating
housing” – Paul van de Camp, Chief Executive officer, Dutch Docklands, told EMIRATES 24/7.2
It is not at crazy at it sounds, technology has recently caught up to the idea. Advances in material science, nautical design
and maritime constructions make a floating city possible. The starting point for such a city would be cargo ships. They are
the biggest vessels that row around the world. These ships are capable of shouldering more weight than any other water
vessel, having almost 400m in length and carrying up to 156,000 mt.
A revolutionary new construction process makes it faster than ever to build these massive ships. Instead of being built by
piece, they are built of huge modules (grand blocks) and then fitted together. The advantage is that multiple teams can work
independently on a module, each. It is the fastest way.
Building a ship large enough to support and entire city would
require too much steel, having a hull of 100m under water and
if would be bigger than the 3 largest shipyards in the
world…combined.
But the biggest problem facing the massive the city ship is that violent ocean turbulence will attack it from all sides, putting
unsurvivable stress on the structure. Wave action in the ocean is not a simple matter of water coming up and down, it`s
actually rotating, coming often from different directions from the same time.
Worst case is that if the vessel is supported on its extreme ends
it`s one thing, but if it`s being supported on extreme ends and
twisted at the same time could cause a total structural failure for a
city built like a cargo ship. So a massive city ship is out of
discussion.
The answer to this problem is floating foundations. Hundreds of small interlocking platforms joined to form a super-
structure; big enough to stay stable but flexible enough to roll with the
water. Instead of being rigid like a giant floating platform it is more like a
flexible membrane. So as the oceans waves pull and twist and push, the
structural system is giving away to that, flexes with it, like a living
organism. It is not considered anymore a monumental platform that has to
deal with whatever the nature and the sea is throwing at it, but now it is
about many smaller things that can be connected flexibly. So they can
move up and down relative to each other, and if a big wave comes through
it allows the whole structure to move up and over the wave.
2
Emirates 24/7 news - http://waterstudio.nl/archive/648
12. Valer Daniel Rudics VIA University College
ESS - 4th
semester Halmstadgade 2, Aarhus Nord, 8210
Constructing architect education School email: 178744@viauc.dk
March 2012 11
Conditions for a city at sea
For the city to succeed it must break-up from the land and be able to produce power, food, water and robust
defenses to protect its people. The seed of a self-sufficient city exists today on cruise ships. They have the job of keeping
the passengers cool, fed and hydrated 24h/day in the middle of the ocean for a week at a time.
The key to surviving comfortably in the middle of the ocean is power. It controls every system on a cruise ship, from water
supply to waste disposal. 2/3 of power goes to the propulsion system and the rest is used to power all the other systems on
the ship.
Cruise ships usually produce power from diesel engines. But such a system for a floating city would need to be 100 times
larger, and burning so much fuel would lead to an environmental disaster. Of course alternative fuels such as wind turbines
and photovoltaic panels are encouraged, but these as well would take a lot of them in order to satisfy the city needs.
The answer comes from the ocean itself, being a great source of power. A method of generating power called ‘Ocean
Thermal Energy Conversion’ (OTEC). The basic idea is that the water temperature in the ocean varies quite a bit from the
warm surface to the very cold depths. And that temperature differential could be translated into electrical energy. OTEC
uses the difference between cooler deep and warmer shallow or surface ocean waters to run a heat engine and produce
useful work, usually in the form of electricity. A heat engine gives greater efficiency and power when run with a
large temperature difference. In the oceans the temperature difference between
surface and deep water is greatest in the tropics, although still a modest 20 to 25 °C.
It is therefore in the tropics that OTEC offers the greatest possibilities. OTEC has the
potential to offer global amounts of energy that are 10 to 100 times greater than
other ocean energy options such as wave power OTEC plants can operate
continuously providing a base load supply for an electrical power generation
system. The first operational system was built in Cuba in 1930 and generated
22 kW. Modern designs allow performance approaching the theoretical
maximum Carnot efficiency and the largest built in 1999 by the USA generated
250 kW.
The principle is the same as that in heat pumps found in refrigerators and air conditioners. A thermodynamic engine is
placed between high and low temperature reservoirs; heat generates steam that flows from one reservoir to another, turning
a low pressure turbine and generating power. By drawing the energy from the ocean the city would have infinite fuel
supply, and this is critical for another constant need…WATER
Humans need 2-3L/day of water. But the water in the ocean is undrinkable, and consuming it would flood the body with
salt, causing human cells to dehydrate. Cruise ships use desalinization tanks to filter the salt water, but this process also
takes out essential minerals that the body needs; so a mineralizing machine puts them back in, then the water is sterilized
and stored into the tanks.
A floating city could produce its water the same way, but the infrastructure should be scaled up compared to the cruise ship.
Meanwhile the cruise ship can turn salt water into drinking water; the salt water is useless for agriculture, which is another
essential need for the city to prosper.
OTEC principle
13. Valer Daniel Rudics VIA University College
ESS - 4th
semester Halmstadgade 2, Aarhus Nord, 8210
Constructing architect education School email: 178744@viauc.dk
March 2012 12
Cruise ships are completely dependent on land for food, hundreds of tons for just one week, but a floating city would need
to be self-sufficient for much longer periods of time.
Situated out in the ocean, the city could use other types of resources. Fruits and vegetables genetically altered to thrive in
salt water could be grown on roof top gardens and fishing and shrimping community could flourish in the open water. As an
example: tomatoes grown in salt water (about 10% salt sea water, 90% fresh water) produced more antioxidants than
tomatoes grown in fresh water. If we start farming in saltwater areas we can increase the world’s farming areas by as much
as 50%. 3
Green roofs have sustainable advantages, not only that they are able to retain up to 70% of the rain water but they
also reduce the urban heat island effect (The main cause of the urban heat island is modification of the land surface by urban
development which uses materials which effectively retain heat. Waste heat generated by energy usage is a secondary
contributor. As population centers grow they tend to modify a greater and greater area of land and have a corresponding
increase in average temperature). Runoff from rainfall can lead to heating via conduction from the surface which the water
is flowing over. In August 2001, rains over Cedar Rapids, Iowa led to a 10.5C (18.9F) rise in the nearby stream within one
hour, which led to a fish kill. Since the temperature of the rain was comparatively cool, it could be attributed to the hot
pavement of the city. Similar events have been documented across the American Midwest, as well as Oregon and
California.4
Another possible essential matter for the city would be security. Such a structure would be very vulnerable against the
greatest man made threat on the ocean now-a-days, pirates. The floating city would be a way too attractive target for the
pirates and in this case serious measures should be taken.
The Unmanned Surface Vessels (USV), could be the engineering answer the city
is looking for. These could be the floating city`s guard offering the ability to put
humans out of harm’s way and know where the threat is and then eliminate it.
Everything can be controlled by humans, form a security office situated on the
floating structure. The principle of the USV`s is that they use sonars that are able
to track every vessel in their vicinity and share the information to patrol the water
around the ships. They could repulse threats safely, miles away from the floating
city in the same way.
Developed by Israel’s Rafael Armament Development Authority in response to
emerging terrorist threats against maritime assets, the Protector is stealthy, highly
autonomous and can operate with general guidance from a commander in port,
riverine, harbour and coastal waterways in a variety of roles, thanks to the plug-
and-play design of its various mission modules, such as force protection, anti-terror, surveillance and reconnaissance, mine
3
Salt water vegetable gardens - http://herselfshoustongarden.com/2009/01/salt-water-vegetable-gardens.html
4
Urban Heat Island Effect - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_heat_island
14. Valer Daniel Rudics VIA University College
ESS - 4th
semester Halmstadgade 2, Aarhus Nord, 8210
Constructing architect education School email: 178744@viauc.dk
March 2012 13
warfare and electronic warfare. The options include a highly accurate, stabilized mini-Typhoon weapon system with an
excellent hit-and-kill probability, plus cameras, search radar and a Toplite electro-optical (EO) pod for detection,
identification and targeting operations.5
Having all these needs covered, the floating city should nevertheless be able to fulfill one more.
Storms these days are getting worse and worse because global warming raises water temperatures in the Atlantic, and warm
water is fuel for hurricanes. Although the floating city is able to rise with the water and roll with the waves, and even having
a low profile skyline that avoids wind damage, the conditions of a hurricane such as Katrina(2005) would create, the
floating structure would be totally devastated. Even though people can prepare for the arrival for such disasters, they cannot
prepare for their fury; and on the ocean storms can change gears without warning in a matter of hours.
Floating city planners aren`t willing to take their chances with a hurricane. There is no reason to meet one of these natural
systems head on, because you will always lose no matter how well designed or how strong is the structure. Evacuating a
floating city via rescue ships would be unrealistic in the middle of stormy seas and even if it could be done, there might be
no land close enough to evacuate to.
The solution for this major problem could be instead of evacuating people, the entire city could be design to get out of
harm’s way. And this could be done with the help of the ‘Azipod’ state of the art technology. Is the combination of
propeller and rotor.
Azipod is the registered brand name of the ABB Group for their azimuth thruster. Originally developed in Finland jointly
by Kvaerner Masa-Yards dockyards and ABB, these are marine propulsion units consisting of electrically driven propellers
mounted on a steerable pod. The pod's propeller usually faces forward because in this puller (or tractor) configuration the
propeller is more efficient due to operation in undisturbed flow. Because it can rotate around its mount axis, the pod can
apply its thrust in any direction. Azimuth thrusters allow ships to be more maneuverable and enable them to travel backward
nearly as efficiently as they can travel forward.6
An array on Azipods could be installed underneath the floating city,
giving it maximum propulsion power and total freedom in any
direction. In that way in case of dangerous storms or any potential
threats, the structure could be evacuated into residential modules that
scatter before the storm…and could regroup miles away in calm waters.
5
USV - http://www.gizmag.com/go/6023/
6
Azipod - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azipod
15. Valer Daniel Rudics VIA University College
ESS - 4th
semester Halmstadgade 2, Aarhus Nord, 8210
Constructing architect education School email: 178744@viauc.dk
March 2012 14
Conclusion
It has been proved that in the battle between nature and humanity, nature always wins. But what we do not see is
that nature is actually defending itself and we do more and more harm. Recently there have been noticed rapid weather
changes, increasing population, less fresh air and more pollution, and most of all, rising water levels. If people don`t start to
take serious actions the world as we know it, our home, might turn into our worst enemy .
As mentioned before, floating constructions have a long history in the human kind and even though the open water is a
dangerous environment, we do not have to be afraid of living on it. After all, about 60% of the human body7
is water and
people have always had an attraction towards this element.
The floating city is a project that many say is impossible, or even pointless. Advances in material science, nautical design
and maritime constructions could not only make the floating city possible but it may also be an essential asset in the near
future.
It is hard to say if building on water will become a significant trend, but it has been proven that it is possible and it is
starting to become popular.
It`s going to be a long and complex process to go from what is on the ocean right now, boats and ships to a whole
civilization…a city. Will this dream come true? It is up to the climate change generation…
7
water content of the human body - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_water
16. Valer Daniel Rudics VIA University College
ESS - 4th
semester Halmstadgade 2, Aarhus Nord, 8210
Constructing architect education School email: 178744@viauc.dk
March 2012 15
List of sources:
BOOKS:
FLOAT! Author(s): Koen Olthuis and David Keuning
Published by: Frame Publishers
Release date: October 2010
Place of publishing: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Building with Water!
Author: Zoe Ryan
Published by: Birkhauser BmbH
Release date: 2010
Place of publishing: Berlin, Germany
INTERVIEWS:
Via email: Architect journalist David Keuning - mail@davidkeuning.com
INTERNET LINKS:
mega engineering: floating city - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKWZBqSMU8U
page visited during 2011-2012
The Citadel: Europe’s First Floating Apartment Complex - http://inhabitat.com/the-citadel-europes-first-floating-
apartment-complex/
page visited on the 16th
of March 2012.
Emirates 24/7 news - http://waterstudio.nl/archive/648 , Paul van de Camp, Chief Executive officer, Dutch
Ducklands
page visited on the 16th
of March 2012
OTEC - http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/37/Otec_produkty-2_%28English%29.png
page visited on the 19th
of March 2012
Salt water vegetable gardens - http://herselfshoustongarden.com/2009/01/salt-water-vegetable-gardens.html
page visited on the 19th
of March 2012
17. Valer Daniel Rudics VIA University College
ESS - 4th
semester Halmstadgade 2, Aarhus Nord, 8210
Constructing architect education School email: 178744@viauc.dk
March 2012 16
USV - http://www.gizmag.com/go/6023/
page visited on the 19th
of March 2012
Urban Heat Island Effect - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_heat_island
page visited on the 19th
of March 2012
Azipod - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azipod
page visited on the 19th
of March 2012
water content of the human body - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_water
page visited on the 19th
of March 2012