STATUS
IN DESIGN
2019
CLIENT
Oceanix
TYPOLOGY
Urbanism
SIZE M2/FT2
500,000 / 5,381,955
STATUS
IN DESIGN
SHARE
By 2050, 90% of the world’s largest cities will be exposed to rising seas. The vast majority of coastal cities will be impacted by coastal erosion and flooding, displacing millions of people, while destroying homes and infrastructure. As part of UN-Habitat’s New Urban Agenda, blue tech company OCEANIX and BIG proposed a blueprint vision for the world’s first resilient and sustainable floating community for 10,000 residents: OCEANIX city.
Designed as a man-made ecosystem, OCEANIX City is anchored in the UN Sustainable Development Goals, channeling flows of energy, water, food and waste to create a blueprint for a modular maritime metropolis. In December 2021, OCEANIX City named Busan as the site in which the blueprint will be prototyped.
OCEANIX City is designed to grow, transform and adapt organically over time, evolving from neighborhoods to cities with the possibility of scaling indefinitely. Modular neighborhoods of 2 hectares create thriving self-sustaining communities of up to 300 residents with mixed-use space for living, working and gathering during day and nighttime. All built structures in the neighborhood are kept below 7 stories to create a low center of gravity and resist wind. Every building fans out to self-shade internal spaces and public realm, providing comfort and lower cooling costs while maximizing roof area for solar capture.
“9 out of 10 of the world’s largest cities will be exposed to rising seas by 2050. The sea is our fate - it may also be our future. The first sustainable and self-sustained floating community OCEANIX City is designed as a human made ecosystem channeling circular flows of energy, water, food and waste. Oceanix City is a blueprint for a modular maritime metropolis anchored in the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. The additive architecture can grow, transform and adapt organically over time, evolving from a neighborhood of 300 residents to a city of 10,000 - with the possibility of scaling indefinitely to provide thriving nautical communities for people who care about each other and our planet.”
Aggregating to reach a critical density, six villages connect to form a city of 10,000 residents with a strong sense of community and identity. A larger protected harbor is formed in the heart of the city. Floating destinations and art, including six specialized landmark neighborhoods with a public square, market place and centers for spirituality, learning, health, sport and culture create destinations drawing residents from across the city and anchoring each neighborhood in a unique identity. All communities regardless of size will prioritize locally sourced materials for building construction, including fast-growing bamboo that has six times the tensile strength of steel, a negative carbon footprint, and can be grown on the neighborhoods themselves.
Social, recreational and commercial functions are placed around the sheltered inner ring to encourage citizens to gather and move around the village. Residents can easily walk or boat through the city using electric vehicles.
Below sea level, beneath the platforms, biorock floating reefs, seaweed, oysters, mussel, scallop and clam farming clean the water and accelerate ecosystem regeneration.
Bjarke Ingels Daniel Sundlin Alana Goldweit Cristina Medina-Gonzalez Florencia Kratsman Jacob Karasik Terrence Chew Thomas McMurtrie Tracy Sodder Yushan Huang Ziyu Guo Autumn Visconti Carlos Castillo Bernardo Schuhmacher Jeremy Alain Siegel Andy Coward Ashton Stare Kristoffer Negendahl Mai Lee Manon Otto Tore Banke Walid Bhatt William Campion
Hive 50 Innovator, Honoree in Design, 2019
MIT Center for Ocean Engineering
Mobility in Chain
Sherwood Design Engineers
Center for Zero Waste Design
Transsolar
KlimaEngineering
Global Coral Reef Alliance
Studio Other Spaces
Dickson Despommier