Flood Defences

Oceanix City is intended to be developed in sub-tropical and tropical areas that are most at risk of flooding first, but could soon offer a more attractive living environment. This is simply another form of human habitat that can be a seed, that essentially can grow with its success as it turns out to be socially and environmentally desirable to chose this lifestyle.

Floating architecture has the ability to provide two big advantages. First, it creates “land” that moves with the waves and is resilient in the face of flooding. Second, it allows cities to expand their pressurised coastal urban spaces.

Architecture firm BIG has designed a concept for a floating city of 10,000 people that could help populations threatened by extreme weather events and rising sea levels. Called Oceanix City, the concept consists of buoyant islands clustered together in groups of six to form villages. These clusters would then be repeated in multiples of six to form a 12-hectare village for 1,650 residents, and then again to form an archipelago home to 10,000 citizens.

Oceanix City is intended to provide a habitable, off-shore environment in the event of rising sea levels, which are expected to affect 90 per cent of the world’s coastal cities by 2050. Each of the modules would be built on land and then towed to sea, where they would be anchored in place. The miniature islands are also designed to survive a category-five hurricane. Arrangements would be flexible so that the cities could be moved if water levels became too low.

BIG intends the buildings atop to be constructed from locally sourced replenishable materials such as wood and fast-growing bamboo, which also offer warmth and softness to touch. A number of renewable energy resources, such as wind and water turbines and solar panels are also incorporated. Food production and farming would be integrated and follow a zero-waste policy. Every island has 3,000 square metres of outdoor agriculture that will also be designed so that it can be enjoyed as free space. Each mini-village will include a community framework for living, including water baths, markets, spiritual and cultural hubs, but BIG intends the Oceanix City to be adaptable to any culture, any architecture.