Tag Archives: floating architecture

Floating sauna beside museum is accessible and sustainable

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When visiting a museum that’s located next to a body of water, probably the next thing you think of after you’ve completed your tour is: “Hmmm, it would be nice to have a relaxing time at a sauna”. Well, that’s if you’re tired after going around the museum. If you visit the Munch Museum in Oslo, Norway, you will get the chance to do just that.

Designer: Estudio Herreros

Trosten is a floating sauna that you can find in the fjord next to the museum as both are designed by Estudio Herreros. The idea is to bring saunas closer to the people and make it sustainable and accessible as well. They were inspired by architectural follies but aside from it being aesthetic, the structure is still also highly functional but with a “distinct volume and silhouette with a strong, colorful component”.

The sauna’s main structure is actually constructed offsite and then placed on the prefabricated floating concrete platform. It’s made with aluminum cladding with a green tone to give off a calm and relaxing vibe, combining it with the usual wooden decking you see on saunas with large terrazzo tiled surfaces plus steel balustrades and netting. Outside there’s stepped seating so users can also sunbathe before or after using the sauna. Inside there are lockers and seating spaces and inside the sauna itself you get stepped wooden seating.

At the back, there’s also a sheltered seating space and you can access the fjord from here if you want to cool off. Since this is a sustainable structure, you get an energy system and a steam recirculation system and use of natural and recycled materials. It would be nice to heat up and cool off at something like this after a long day of exploring the museum and nearby places.

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AI-Generated Floating Glass Museum Is Intended To Be a Symbol Of Environmental Awareness & Sustainability

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Dubbed the Floating Glass Museum, this mesmerizing and jaw-dropping structure by Luca Curci architects in collaboration with Giulia Tassi Design is something to give a nod to. Designers and architects from around the world, as well as AI were also used to design the fantastic building. It is proposed as a unique and innovative symbol of environment awareness and sustainability, “where the history of glass meets the contemporary experimentation”. While designing the structure, the international design team drew inspiration from the fine art of glass-blowing that has been practiced by Venetians for around 1500 years. They harnessed the amazing power of AI to build the floating exhibition, which looks fragile and yet extremely powerful at the same go.

Designer: Luca Curci Architects x Giulia Tassi Design

The setting of the museum is truly beautiful. As you look at it, you will be transported to another world, where the water on which it sits is reimagined as a canvas for artistic expression, while also sending an important message out to the world – the issue of climate change. “Climate change is now affecting every country on every continent,” reads the press release. “It is disrupting national economies, communities, and countries dearly today and even more tomorrow. Weather patterns are changing, sea levels are rising, weather events are becoming more extreme and greenhouse gas emissions are now at their highest levels in history.”

The AI-generated images and visuals showcase beautiful pastel-colored pieces of various sizes, ranging from hues of yellows, and oranges to pinks, offering viewers with an imagery that is bright, powerful, and almost frenetic. These loud pieces manage to create a space that is tranquil and almost meditative, while other pieces feature bright red and orange glass trees, and rather real-looking pink ones which establish a strong connection to the environment and nature. Other pieces seem to resemble massive chemistry sets!

The Floating Glass Museum is designed to represent a global environmental initiative, and it is created to be a space “where art, nature, and tradition converge: the balanced fusion of contemporary art and sustainable design that will invite contemplation, reflection and discovery” in the context of “cutting-edge design and a dedication to sustainability.”

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Floating architecture designs to light up Copenhagen, Maldives

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Water-based architecture is not about boats, yachts, or ships, or at least not just about them. We’re seeing some designers experiment with bringing all kinds of floating structures that residents and tourists can enjoy while basking in breathtaking views. A Copenhagen-based studio is teaming up with the local municipality to bring these unique concepts to life and show different possibilities for this kind of architecture.

Designer: MAST

The first of three projects is a floating sauna and harbor bath where up to fifteen people will be able to have a relaxing time while looking at an aquatic view. They can even plunge directly into the harbor bath after sweating it up in the sauna. It uses eco-friendly materials like cross-laminated timber and wood fiber insulation. This floating sauna is also “portable” in a sense that it can be moved to different locations through a towboat. There is also a small changing room as well as storage facilities and a wooden deck with access to the harbor bath.

The Harbour Cliff is the first free-floating open bouldering gym in the world where visitors can swim to it and then try the different climbing routes within the structure. There are three slightly inverted ledges to do the different challenges, including a 14.8 foot climb where you need to do a particularly hard jump to be able to reach the final spot. It looks like something straight out of an alien invasion movie and I keep expecting a monster to emerge from the structure.

Lastly, if you don’t want to sweat it out in the sauna or do bouldering, you can head over to the Maldives to visit a floating villa. These villas are anchored in protected lagoon areas and have two bedrooms, bathrooms, a loving room, and even a courtyard garden and a roof terrace. As part of their eco-friendly design, they use solar cells, battery packs, on-board sewage treatment and watermakers.

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This modular housing concept floats on water and is made from recycled plastic

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Some people are already fantasizing about setting up colonies on the Moon and Mars, but we have barely begun to understand and conquer our own seas and oceans. Granted, we might already be killing off these bodies of water because of your carelessness and neglect, but a large portion of the planet’s maritime territory remains unharnessed. Hopefully, however, we can be smarter about how we use this invaluable resource, especially when it comes to building homes below or on top of our waters. There have already been numerous ideas about how houses and even whole communities can be built to float on water, but this more sustainable concept not only respects the marine environment but even creates potential habitats for the creatures of the sea.

Designer: MAST

Although it will definitely require more thinking and resources, it would probably be easier if these new aquatic buildings were made using traditional materials and methods. Of course, that would also mean destroying the very environment that we’re building our new lives on. That’s nothing new as far as what we’ve been doing so far on the ground, but we already should know better by now. A new environment also means being able to start anew using the lessons we’ve learned over the past millennia, and this “Land on Water” vision is exactly that.

The literal foundations of this modular building system actually find their roots in ancient times. It inverts the typical gabion cage design, which is usually filled with rubble to create low-cost foundations and is instead filled with locally sourced, up-cycled floatation support to hold whatever structure is built on top. The flat-packed cages themselves are made from reinforced recycled plastic, making it easier to transport these sturdy modules and assemble them on location.

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In addition to avoiding the toxic anti-fouling paints used on steel and concrete foundations, these modules can potentially become new habitats for fish and crustaceans, as well as anchor points for mollusks and seaweed. In other words, Land on Water won’t just be building homes for humans but also homes for marine life that could help support the human community above in turn.

The modular cages can be used to build anything from floating houses to campsites to even pools and saunas, as odd as that might sound for structures built to float on water. Land on Water can even become the blueprint for a new kind of dynamic, off-grid floating community of the future instead of the grand structures painted by some visionaries that still embrace the traditional and harmful practices that are killing off the planet. It might not be a scalable design for supporting large and heavy buildings, but that’s exactly the point of creating smaller, more agile structures that are also more respectful of the environment they’re built on.

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This tiny floating home is a restored boat originally built for the Expo’86 in Canada

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Nestled in the Sailor’s Cove marina in British Columbia is a beautiful tiny floating cottage, that was once upon a time, a boat! Originally, one of the twenty-five boats built in Victoria for the Expo’86, Pax had fallen into disrepair and was lovingly brought to life by Jason and Cayley. They purchased the ship for under $6000 and transformed it over the course of a year and a half. Jason is a professional boat builder, whereas Cayley is a professional carpenter – they truly were the ones for the job!

Designer: Jason Levine and Cayley Rae

The 28′ floating home features a stunning open concept kitchen with all the amenities you could need – a gas stove/oven, fridge/freezer, counter space, and a handmade curved cedar dinette. Whereas the bathroom was amped with a bathtub that was initially a livestock watering tank (an ingenious idea of Cayley). She also did all the tile work surrounding the tub.  Additionally, the floors of the home are from an old bus, it took a lot of time to restore as well!

The second level features a peaceful sleeping area. The custom catwalk has been equipped with a bed, accompanied by an adjoining space to simply sit, and lounge about in. Double pane windows run throughout the space. There’s also a quaint ladder, that you can climb up, to enter your very own rooftop deck to admire the surrounding views.

Storage can be an issue in tiny homes, and hence Jason and Cayley have made special concessions for it in the home. Deep drawers have been built into the home to maximize storage space, while the stairs that lead to the second level feature a special space to store food.

Currently, Pax is on sale! Jason and Cayley spent a beautiful portion of their life there, and now they want to enter a fresh phase of their life. And Pax is on the market with a price tag of $289,000. If the marina life is the one for you, then maybe this could be the floating home of your dreams!

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Climate change resistant structures that are designed to keep humanity safe in the future

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Climate change and global warming, repercussions to our actions are closing up to us fast – just open the news and you will see headlines about raging wildfires, hiked up temperatures as well as floods across the world. While the world, and governments overall try to backtrack our steps, designers are looking at alternate solutions – from housing solutions to green energy creations, we have solutions that attempt to keep humanity safe while saving the planet.

Rising population and rising sea levels means we are running out of viable land space to hold people. One of the solutions proposed is the Ocean Community vessel, a structure designed to extend a city’s coastline. The house is designed like a floating object designed to travel to the coast with ease to access the city’s facilities and allow the users to experience city life before returning back to their home.

Imagine a more natural solution to the drab grey boxes or portable ACs we need in public places to keep the people cool. Designed by AREP, this bamboo structure comes with a hyperboloid shape helps improve the stability and the overall effect is of standing next to an open pool on a hot day and feel the cool breeze blowing against your skin.

They say the best way to prevent a future disaster is to study our past mistakes and evolve from it. The Earth Black Box is one such initiative – an indestructible recorder designed to record our climate change and civilization. The structure is located in Tasmania and has already started recording the changes.

If you think trees alone are not enough, Serbian scientists have designed LIQUID3 – an outdoor, urban photo-bioreactor that uses microalgae to perform photosynthesis and remove the same amount of CO2 as two ten-year-old trees. Awarded with Green Product Award’s Green Concept Award for 2022, it needs only a light source continue processing CO2. Besides its appeal to sustainable design, LIQUID3 also suggests an efficient use of public land, while creating space for interactive ads and a high-value fertiliser.

With rising sea levels, each country has to amp up its game – and Maldives, known for its exotic beaches is also one of the lowest lying countries in the world with an average elevation of just 2.2 feet above the sea level. This project, named the Maldives Floating City will be constructed close to the Maldives capital and includes thousands of waterfront residences dating along a flexible grid that is spread across a 200-hectare lagoon.

Click here for more designs that aim to solve global warming and give us a sustainable lifestyle.

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Floating units equipped with GPS are designed to revolutionize waterfront hospitality scene

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Pearlsuite is a new watercraft hospitality concept that houses vacationers in units that float on water.

As we head into summer, the temperature’s rising and the sun’s coming out. We’re ditching the winter cabins and hitting the seaside for some beachy waves and R&R. We’re all itching to get to some sun and be outside this summer and new hospitality concepts are making it more tempting than ever before.

Designer: Pierpaolo Lazzarini

Italian designer Pierpaolo Lazzarini is hoping to change the seaside hospitality game with a watercraft concept called Pearlsuites that houses vacationers in floating units equipped with electric engines and GPS capabilities.

The floating units that comprise Lazzarini’s Pearlsuites concept measure 7 meters in diameter, offering up to 22 square meters’ worth of interior space. Outside, a wraparound deck provides walking space and extra room for sunning.

While the suites vary in size, as currently conceptualized, each floating unit accommodates a kitchenette, two desk areas that can function as working spaces or vanities, a bathroom, as well as the main sleeping area that doubles as a lounge bed for laying in the sun.

Lazzarini envisions his concept as a supplementary array of accommodations for existing oceanside hotels. The units can be assembled very quickly and customized to each buyer’s liking. Relying on modern nautical building techniques, Pearlsuites consist of an enforced main shell that floats on water and a circular hull that retracts and folds down for open-style lounging or full enclosure.

Each suite can also be equipped with an electric engine to redefine sustainable hospitality. Through this engine, autopilot features, and GPS technology, each Pearlsuite will be able to self-position their location or cruise at 4 to 5 knots, moving from one waypoint to another.

The units’ circular hulls are fully retractable for open-sun lounging. 

An underwater motor accelerates each unit at 4-5 knots to move from point A to point B. 

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Salmon Eye floating aquaculture exhibit really looks like a dead fish’s eye

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There is perhaps no better way to get people talking about protecting marine life than with a giant fish eye floating on water, staring accusingly at the heavens.

Many of us are already dreaming about exploring the vastness of space and colonizing planets, but some scientists will point out that we have barely conquered the depths of our planet’s waters. Perhaps that for the best if “conquering” also means polluting and ruining the seas and oceans. Protecting aquaculture even while being dependent on them for food has always been a struggle, and a new exhibit wants to raise interest and awareness through a floating structure that is both beautiful and a little bit creepy, at least if you’re flying overhead.

Designer: Marketex Marine

The “Salmon Eye” is true to its name in more ways than one. It is a combination of a pontoon and a unique elliptical upper structure that is designed to look like a fish’s eye, particularly a salmon’s. This shape, however, will only really be visible if you’re seeing it from a bird’s eye view. Ironically, the floating exhibit can only be reached by water.

On the outside, however, the structure will be covered with 9,500 high-grade stainless steel plates designed to look like scales. They’re also colored like salmon skin to further strengthen the association with its namesake. This material ensures that the exhibit is eye-catching, pun totally intended, no matter which angle you view it from except perhaps from the bottom of the fjord.

The structure will look especially futuristic when it reflects the light coming from the sun and nearby sources, especially as it floats on the Hardangerfjord. This is Norway’s second-longest fjord and the world’s fifth-longest, making it a natural tourist attraction every year. It is also noted to have Norway’s highest concentration of salmon farms, making the fish an extremely important part of the local ecosystem.

That is why the exhibit is not only named after the fish but also tries to raise global awareness on the impacts of current aquaculture practices on salmon. Projections on the walls inside the exhibit let visitors learn more about food production in the sea and local challenges and solutions. In addition to interactive wall projections, there are also interactive displays that are, perhaps to no one’s surprise, shaped like a roe.

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The world’s first floating city designed by BIG & backed by UN can withstand Category 5 hurricans!

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OCEANIX, an ambitious floating architecture concept envisioned to be built off the South Korean coast by BIG – Bjarke Ingel‘s design group. It was first revealed in 2019 and now has received the green light from UN-Habitat and the Metropolitan City of Busan to begin construction. The futuristic sustainable city can also withstand category 5 hurricanes!

Given the rising sea levels, fast growing coastal cities have resorted to expanding into the ocean by creating new land using sand which causes harm to the existing marine ecosystem only to be partially submerged a few years later. BIG came up with a better solution with OCEANIX as it introduces a modular design system with net-zero energy that allows people to live sustainably and safely. The cities are made up of 2-hectare, 300-resident neighborhoods which then connect to form 1,650-person villages including systems like underwater farming and greenhouses to make it as self-sufficient as possible!

“Sustainable floating cities are a part of the arsenal of climate adaptation strategies available to us. Instead of fighting with water, let us learn to live in harmony with it. We look forward to developing climate adaptation and nature-based solutions through the floating city concept, and Busan is the ideal choice to deploy the prototype,” said Maimunah Mohd Sharif, UN-Habitat Executive Director.

Inhabitants can easily walk around or take a boat to navigate between the floating communities which will include residences as well as a public square, art installations, marketplaces, sports clubs, schools, and more. It is also designed to be able to withstand natural disasters such as tsunamis and hurricanes. All structures will be under seven stories in height to create a low center of gravity, and platforms are built of locally sourced materials like fast-growing bamboo that has six times the tensile strength of steel, a negative carbon footprint, and can be grown in the neighborhoods themselves!

“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,” said BIG founder Bjarke Ingels who has time an again pushed the boundaries of architecture and design by bringing impossible concepts to life. OCEANIX is trailblazing a new industry with blue technologies that meet humanity’s shelter, energy, water and food needs without killing marine ecosystems. It is made to grow, adapt and tranform organically over time with humans and the climate while balancing the needs of both!

Designer: BIG

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This floating habitat concept captures carbon from the air and converts it into electricity!

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Carbon Capture Refuge X is a conceptual habitat that is a dystopian dream but in the best way possible! Yee envisions these to be floating structures that capture carbon from the air and convert it into electricity. It will be a community created for scientists and by scientists that sits within the Earth’s troposphere. Scientists in this habitat are working on environmental research but it will also be a space for refugees.

Each habit will feature solar panels and direct-air-capture fans that extract carbon from the atmosphere to be converted into electrical energy. The energy will run through neon strips within the structure’s floors, walls, and roofs. Yee describes these strips as “veins” designed to circulate utilities throughout the structure. They will also act like “muscles” that elongate to accommodate the system’s growth and open and close depending on the weather to allow air and natural light inside!

Carbon Capture Refuge X is an imaginative vision for a floating, technologically advanced future city. Even though the design seems like something you can only see in movies, it actually showcases achievable technologies such as carbon capture, which will have an important role to play in reversing climate change.

“War-ravaged by political upheaval and nearly rendered uninhabitable by natural disasters, earth’s refugees became ubiquitous. From the suffering and desperation, a manifestation to live with the earth and not just on the earth emerged. Scientists then developed a habitable living infrastructure known as Carbon Capture Refuge X. This living infrastructure simultaneously provided a sustainable way of living while filtering carbon out of the atmosphere,” explains Yee.

The design utilizes Earth’s magnetic field to suspend the habitable orb above the ground and sea, thus creating a floating structure in the troposphere.  Its physical form will be continuously evolving. Drones will be used for the distribution of goods to and between habitats. Far ahead in the future, Yee imagines that the orbs can be connected and plugged into one another.

Carbon Capture Refuge X will also feature rainwater collection which will be stored and filtered by vegetation and then used to supplement hydroponic farming. The vegetation creates a localized microclimate. There will also be a control centre that monitors the comfort, location, and communications of the habitat. The orbs now fill the sky with ecosystems without borders!

Designer: Bless Yee

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