STATUS
IN DESIGN
OCEANIX Busan is the world’s first prototype for a resilient and sustainable floating community. The project was unveiled at the Second UN Roundtable on Sustainable Floating Cities at The United Nations in April 2022, following up on the inaugural Roundtable in April 2019 that revealed Oceanix City, a blueprint for future floating communities.
Designed by BIG alongside local architects SAMOO, OCEANIX Busan aims to provide breakthrough technology for coastal cities facing severe land shortages that are compounded by climatic threats.
OCEANIX Busan’s site-specific design was presented by partners UN-Habitat, the Busan Metropolitan City of the Republic of Korea, OCEANIX, BIG, and SAMOO.
Located off the coast of Busan, the interconnected platforms total 15.5 acres for a community of 12,000 people. Each neighborhood is designed to serve a specific purpose – living, research, and lodging. There are between 30,000 to 40,000 m2 of mixed-use programs per platform. The floating platforms connect to land with link-span bridges, framing the sheltered blue lagoon of floating recreation, art, and performance outposts.
CONNECT COMMUNITIES WATER TO LAND
— Two link-span bridges frame and activate the water to create OCEANIX's Blue Lagoon, which hosts a collection of floating recreation, art and performance outposts.
EXTEND CITY'S URBAN FABRIC
— An extension of the city, shaped by local artists who will help activate the public space with a local flare. This inclusive neighborhood will welcome all and promote a sustainable way of living that will inform how people live back on land.
OCEANIX BUSAN
— The world's first prototype of a resilient and sustainable floating community, OCEANIX Busan will serve as the foundation for future resilient communities in the most vulnerable coastal locations on the front lines of climate change.
The platforms feature six integrated systems: zero waste and circular systems, closed loop water systems, food, net zero energy, innovative mobility, and coastal habitat regeneration. These interconnected systems will generate 100% of the required operational energy on site through floating and rooftop photovoltaic panels. Similarly, each neighborhood will treat and replenish its own water, reduce and recycle resources, and provide innovative urban agriculture.
The low-rise buildings on each platform, defined by their soft lines, feature terraces for indoor-outdoor living activating the network of vibrant public spaces.
“OCEANIX’s modular maritime neighborhood will be a prototype for sustainable and resilient cities. As our first manifestation of this new form of waterborne urbanism, OCEANIX Busan will expand the city’s unique character and culture from dryland into the water around it. We believe OCEANIX’s floating platforms can be developed at scale to serve as the foundations for future resilient communities in the most vulnerable coastal locations on the frontlines of climate change."
“The site in Busan is the perfect place for us to build the prototype. It's close to the city, yet has relatively deep water. Each platform will have a mobility pavilion where you can switch between land-based and water-based vehicles. You can also walk from your house or use a boat, a kayak, or a ferry to move between the platforms as the city grows.”
OCEANIX Busan will organically transform and adapt over time based on the needs of Busan. Starting from a community of 12,000 residents and visitors, it has the potential to expand to accommodate more than 100,000 people.
Bjarke Ingels Daniel Sundlin Beat Schenk Martin Voelkle Alana Goldweit Veronica Acosta Tracy Sodder Isela Liu Douglass Alligood Einat Lubliner Flora Bao Jaeho Park Luca McLaughlin Michelle Duong Jindian Fu Santiago Letona Jasmine Idiakhoa
COLLABORATORS
Busan Metropolitan City
UN Habitat
SAMOO
Arup
Prime Movers Lab
Center for Zero Waste Design
Sherwood Design Engineers
Transsolar
Mobility in Chain
Global Coral Reef Alliance
Wartsila
Korean Maritime and Ocean University
