Beautiful islands float freely on the seas-oceans. How will the economy work? Mother of God on the Rock, Montenegro
A raft of bottles and even a large catamaran with a sail based on them is certainly great, but what can you say about making a floating island by one person with your own hands? Yes, of course, if your money doesn’t peck, then today you can afford to just buy some real natural island somewhere in the tropics (and this is not a joke!), but we are mere mortals, our hard-earned more modest. But our hands are with us, right? And they, as you know from the song, are not for boredom!
Such a floating thing was bungled by a resident of the Portuguese Rishi Owl (Rishi Sowa) back in 1998, using the same plastic bottles familiar to us for the floating base. And they went into business neither more nor less, more than a quarter of a million!
And this man-made miracle located off the Mexican island of Isla Mujeres, in the Caribbean.
This is certainly serious work and it took Rishi Sowa years to complete. Plastic bottles were simply stuffed into nets and attached to a wooden frame. The floating part is overgrown with shells and algae and, as I understand it, requires a lot of maintenance. The island is covered with soil, vegetables, flowers and even trees grow on it. In addition, the owner built a two-story house on the island, sandy beaches, two ponds, gazebos, and much more. Rishi receives electricity for the needs of his floating island from a solar battery. Truly - an ecological paradise, an oasis on the water!
Apparently it started as a prank: 
And then it went, let's go ...
Rishi is not just fooling around, as it may seem at first, he seeks to attract the public to the problems of ecology, the pollution of our world, and, as it were, to show what even just one person can do from a pile of garbage (bottles, as you understand, from waste) . Enthusiast appeals to all caring people to support his next project, the more solid floating island Joysxee, made entirely of recycled or biodegradable materials.
Find out about the ten most unusual and stunning sights on the water from around the world:
1. Floating wooden skateboard ramp (Sierra Nevada, USA)
Riding this free-floating skateboard ramp is not only more exciting than navigating the tracks at your local skate park, it's also more dangerous, which is why this ramp floats in Lake Tahoe instead of the open sea.
This wooden barge ramp is the brainchild of professional skateboarder Bob Burnquist, who long ago decided regular ramps and halfpipes were too boring, so he collaborated with builders Jerry Blohm and Jeff King to create a covered a ramp that any skateboarder would be proud to call home.
2. Floating forest (Australia)
This incredible 102 year old floating forest is the result of 40 years of mangrove growth in Homebush Bay, Sydney. The coal-fired steamer Aryfield is a derelict ship used in World War II that was left in the bay to die after the shipbreaking yard was closed.
Erifield (originally named Corrimal) was a coal-fired steam ship built in England in 1911 and used by the Commonwealth Government during World War II to transport supplies to American forces based in the Pacific. It was sold in 1950 and operated as a coal carrier on the 96 km stretch between Newcastle and Sydney. She retired from service in 1972 when the ship's registration was canceled and she was sent to her final resting place, Homebush Bay.
An entire grove of fully grown mangrove trees now call this rusty, partially submerged piece of metal their home, creating a new and unique attraction that draws photographers from all over the world.
3. Swimming pool (Germany)
Swimming pool on the river, you can definitely not see it every day.
The Berlin swimming pool called "Arena Badeschiff" (which is translated from German language means "bathing ship") is great place for hot weather summer days in the bustling capital of Germany. The 32 meters long floating pool floats on the Spree River, inviting people to relax, sunbathe, do yoga and just swim. The Arena Badeschiff swimming pool was designed by AMP Arquitectos, namely Wilk Salinas, Thomas Freiwald and artist Susanne Lorenz.
4. Floating golf course (Idaho, USA)
If you like to play golf then you will love this. A floating golf course that changes its location. Getting to this famous green island is always very difficult, but not only because this par-3 course is located on big lake but because it moves! Get to the island and you are the hero. Otherwise, you will be joining one of the thousands of golf balls that are fished out of the water by divers every year. Either way, it's a one of a kind golf game.
You can find this floating golf course at the Coeur d'Alene resort in Idaho, USA.
5. Floating cinema (Thailand)
Well, isn't that great? Enjoy a movie while surrounded by beautiful turquoise waters in this floating cinema!
The Archipelago Cinema is a ferry with an auditorium floating on the sea. The floating cinema was first introduced to the public at the inauguration of the Film on the Rocks Yao Noi Festival in Thailand.
This cinema was designed by a German-born architect named Ole Scheeren, who lives in Beijing.
6Floating Stadium (Singapore)
The Singapore Floating Stadium, also known as the Singapore Floating Stage (Marina Bay Floating Platform), is the largest floating stage in the world. It is located on the waters of the Marina Reservoir, in Marina Bay, Singapore.
Singapore's all-steel floating stadium is 120 meters long and 83 meters wide, an increase of 5 percent football field National Stadium. The platform can support up to 1070 tons, which is equivalent to a total mass of 9 thousand people, 200 tons of props and three 30-ton military Vehicle. The gallery of the stadium has a capacity of 30,000 people.
7. Floating opera stage (Austria)
Every two years for the Bregenzer Performing Arts Festival in Austria, a huge floating stage is built that looks like anything but an opera stage. A floating stage (Seebühne) with 7,000 seats floats on the water near the shore lake constance(Lake Constance). Past projects have included human heads, steam engines, and ice-covered mountains.
8Floating Market (Indonesia)
The city of Banjarmasin, located in the province of South Kalimantan in Indonesia, is known as the city of a thousand rivers. There you can find their unique and traditional market, better known as the Muara Kuin Floating Market, located on the waters of the Barito River at the mouth of the Muara Queen River.
Small boats called "jukung" (Jukung) bring goods such as vegetables, fruits, all kinds of fish and household items.
9. The largest artificial floating island in the world (South Korea)
The largest artificial floating island in the world was recently opened in the capital of South Korea, Seoul.
The island being built on the Han River is the first of its kind to be equipped with an aquatic convention center and is mainly used for concerts, conferences, exhibitions and water sports.
The floating island consists of three artificial interconnected islands. Islet 1, the largest of the three, is three stories high and covers an area of 10,845 square meters. It includes a conference hall with 700 seats. Islet 2, a three-storey building with an area of 5,373 square meters, focuses on the development of structures for cultural events. The two-story island 3 covers an area of 4,164 square meters, and is dedicated to various water recreational sports activities, such as sailing. The total number of venues for exhibitions and conventions is 1,400. The islands can accommodate 6,200 people and are set to make the Hangang River, which had 59 million visitors last year, even more popular place for tourists.
10. Floating eco hotel (Peru)
Those wishing to explore the Amazon River can now do so (and make sure they have an eco-friendly vacation) by making reservations at the Aqua Expeditions "Floating eco-hotel".
Thanks to Jordi Puig, the Peruvian architect who came up with the design for this innovative resort, the hotel is able to provide tourists with a pleasant stay, while at the same time keeping a close eye on the environment by constantly monitoring and reducing its ecological footprint.
The hotel can accommodate up to 32 guests (2 in each of its 16 rooms). Luxurious lounge, gym and outdoor Jacuzzi also have their place in its design.
The 45m long boat also takes guests to the remote and beautiful area of the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve, a unique protected area. The mobile hotel brings tourism to these indigenous areas along the Amazon without negatively impacting the environment, while also helping to support local communities and promote conservation efforts in National Reserve Pacaya Samiria.
The idea of creating a floating island was very often visited by science fiction writers. But in recent years, this concept is getting closer and closer to materialization. Four years ago, engineers from Wally Yachts created the Wally Island megayacht, which looked very much like a miniature island. The man-made island was supposed to be 99 meters long, so the vast majority of today's premium yachts would look like pleasure boats next to the brainchild of Wally Yachts. But the engineers went further and rethought the very concept of the yacht, presenting it as a personal floating island, a mobile home and a place for entertainment. This idea is seen by the Master Model resource team as very tempting. Right now we are working on technical solutions that will make it easier to create floating islands. We are talking about ceilings and panels made of composite materials. We also hope to attract talented engineers to projects like the ones will be discussed in this article.
The project was estimated at 200 million US dollars. Consequently, the average man in the street would hardly become the owner of Wally Island. One way or another, this concept has become a catalyst for the emergence of a huge number of similar projects. The traditional foundations of shipbuilding were violated. Now the rules are dictated by Wally Yachts, Dutch Docklands and Italian industrial designer Michele Pozzolante.
According to Dutch Docklands CEO Jasper Mulder, the floating islands will be environmentally friendly thanks to the use of new composite materials and renewable energy sources. Such projects open up new opportunities for people to live in regions where there is an acute shortage of land. The appearance of the Wally Island projects is a logical response of engineers to the constraints imposed by megacities and climate change.
Parallel to the work of these companies, one major research project is underway to develop "amphibious houses" that will be able to swim independently in the event of a flood. The organizers of the FLOATEC project name the Netherlands as their target market. The country's location in a low-lying region makes sea level rise very dangerous for homeowners. FLOATEC technology will enable small island countries in Indian and Pacific Oceans, whose territory will be flooded in the next 100 years, to maintain their claims to statehood.
Note that Paypal co-founder, billionaire Peter Thiel, has recently been making huge investments in the development of the Seasteading Institute, whose employees are developing autonomous floating states.
The inspiration for this initiative was the idea of creating cities free from the vicissitudes of politics and social construction.
According to the Seasteading Institute, “Floating cities will allow the next generation of pioneers to test new ideas of governance unhindered. The most successful projects can inspire change in governments around the world.
Floating house with an autonomous power system
One of the many benefits of floating islands is that their creators start from scratch. Hence, they have the option of building the entire infrastructure from scratch. This allows the use of advanced technologies and the most modern composite materials. Guided by these principles, the Japanese corporation Shimizu put forward the idea of an energy-sufficient and environmentally friendly floating city in the Pacific Ocean.
The aforementioned Solar Floating Resort (SFR) project by Michel Puzzolante, among other things, also offers energy autonomy, which is achieved primarily with solar panels covering the entire island. Puzzolante decided to cover both the outer walls of his island and the inner surfaces with solar panels. This allows you to turn not only natural, but also artificial light into electricity.
The Austrian company, where Puzzolante works, intends to create smaller-sized individual floating islands with an attractive price tag.
Place, place and again place
Home prices in coastal areas around the world continue to skyrocket. This trend is due to the limited number of land plots on the embankments and the growing number of wealthy people who want to buy them and settle in a picturesque place.
The phrase "place, place, place" is familiar to real estate experts. But floating islands will help change the whole concept of the market. Their owners will be able to moor in New York, London or the Bahamas without much difficulty.
Concept Orsos Island
As we have already noted, just recently three superyacht manufacturers presented their vision of the concept of a floating island, but the price of their giant ships rolled over $100 million. In addition, the annual maintenance of the performance of such engines, presumably, will cost an additional 10% of the purchase price.
With the Orsos Island concept, floating islands could be within reach of any buyer with an extra $5 million in their wallet. At this price, the so-called synthetic real estate, to which the floating islands belong, may become financially viable.
Gabor Orsos, founder of a company headquartered in Austria and production capacity- in Germany and Hungary, seeks to combine the positive aspects of mainland real estate and luxury yachts, subject to cost reduction compared to the same super-yachts.
The prototype will be presented to the public at the end of 2013. Purchase costs own island will vary greatly depending on your tastes, but the base model will set you back €3.6 million ($4.45 million). This is an order of magnitude less than the price tags of similar products.
Note that the floating island concept is nothing new. She first appeared in Homer's Odyssey. Jonathan Swift used this idea in Gulliver's Travels, Clive Lewis in Perelandra. The first human-built floating island appeared in the 1895 novel of the same name by the father of science fiction, Jules Verne.
Coming up with something like this is one thing, but building a floating island is another. It was only four years ago that we saw a viable design from Wally Yachts: Wally Island. After that, the Yacht Island Design company began to actively develop, which specializes in the development floating islands based on large mega-yachts. Her projects "Tropical Island" (Tropical Island) and "Streets of Monaco" (Streets of Monaco) made a huge impression on the experts.
It was assumed that the "Tropical Island" would be 90 meters long and accelerate to 15 knots.
We anticipate that Yacht Island Designs will become a major manufacturer of artificial floating islands for the foreseeable future. The company's specialists have developed a number of other projects that have not yet been shown to the public: ships in Chinese and Arabesque style.
More recently, another ambitious, but still viable concept has appeared - Project Utopia. This structure has more in common with an oil rig than with a yacht. According to the creators, this project "breaks the traditional foundations of shipbuilding and offers a truly unique perspective, as well as freedom from any restrictions imposed by modern design."
Project Utopia was developed as a joint effort between BMT Nigel Gee and Yacht Island Design. The ship is 100 meters long and wide. It will boast 11 decks and an area that is equivalent to a modern cruise ship - enough space to create an entire micro-state.
The idea of a city drifting in the ocean is also not new. In 2010, architect Vincent Chalbot showed his project "Lilypad", which was the concept of a completely self-sufficient floating city with a population of 50,000 people. Chalbot also decided to use composite materials in his project. The ocean-drifting "ecopolis" is supposed to be made of polyester fibers coated with a layer of titanium dioxide (TiO2), which, when exposed to ultraviolet light, decomposes atmospheric pollutants through a photocatalytic reaction.
But back to the Orsos Island concept, which is in a different weight category. The island will be 20 meters wide and 37 meters long - not much, but more than enough to house high-tech equipment. The engineers also provided for 1,000 "squares" of living space.
As already mentioned, the concept behind Orsós Island is Gabor Orsos, an entrepreneur with extensive experience in hotel business and sale and purchase of real estate. When the project was just starting, Orsos' goal was to create an exclusive, high-quality hotel chain based on floating platforms, but in the process of realizing the idea, the decision was made to expand it. The engineers tried to minimize the cost of the project and make Orsós Island accessible to as many buyers as possible.
Orsos promises an island on a smaller scale than luxury yachts, but its level of comfort will be top notch. In addition, the project will be much more cost-effective in terms of purchase and further maintenance. As you can see, the area of Orsos Island is equivalent to six double deluxe rooms. The creator of the concept promises to provide space for 12 people, and if necessary, it will be possible to additionally accommodate up to four crew members.
The ability to change the landscape outside the door becomes a reality.
Question " WHERE SHOULD YOUR HOUSE BE?' is no longer relevant.
EVERYWHERE, ANYWHERE!
Our company has started producing Houses that can move on water. And this is not a yacht or a floating boat. It is rather a FLOATING ISLAND or a LUXURY HOUSE.
WHY SHOULD THE HOUSE BE ON THE WATER?
Because almost all over the world, housing on the water is not taxed. You can absolutely legally place your House in the center of Moscow or New York, Sydney or Barcelona. Only in some cities, such as Venice or Amsterdam, where there are a lot of people living on the water, you can only get permission for temporary parking. In the rest of the world, the duration of your residence in a particular country is regulated only by the duration of your visa there. But more than 90% of the most calm and warm countries do not limit your stay in the country at all. And in a country like the United States, more than 10 million Russian-speaking people with a long-expired entry visa have been living fully for decades.
WHY NOT JUST BUY A BIG YACHT?
Because a yacht the size of our house is much more expensive. And to live long time or permanently more comfortable at home rather than on a yacht. Besides, motor yachts not able to cross the ocean, but to control sailing yacht of this size, it takes a whole team. Our Homes will easily sail to Miami and beyond.
WHAT IF THE HOUSE RUNS ON A STONE AND DROWN?
The body of our house is built using the latest technology. It consists of honeycombs filled with polyurethane foam. Even if you pierce the hull through or cut out a large piece of the hull with a saw, or simply pour water from a hose inside, the house will continue to float without changes. It's like trying to drown a thick sheet of Styrofoam. You can pick holes in it or break it into several pieces, it will still float.
WHAT IS THE DIMENSION OF THE HOUSE?
The Standard House is 20m long and 10m wide on three levels.
The house consists of:
Large living room with kitchen area, dining table, sofas, large plasma screen.
Two guest (or children's) rooms with bathrooms.
Large master bedroom with king size bed and ensuite bathroom.
Open top veranda with awning, jacuzzi and garden.
An open sun deck on the middle deck.
An open circular veranda around the house.
Inner deck for storage of inflatable boats, jet skis, trikes, surfers, bicycles and electric scooters.
WHAT IS THE PRICE?
Since the goods are piece goods and there cannot be two identical houses, the final cost of the house consists of many nuances discussed with the customer at the design stage.
The cost of a unique case does not exceed half a mil. US dollars. To this we must add interior decoration, as well as household and navigation equipment.
WHERE TO GET ELECTRICITY, WATER AND OTHER?
Our house is absolutely AUTONOMOUS! It does not need to be connected to any shore communications. (although it is technically possible)
- ELECTRICITY is provided by solar panels with a total power of 15 kW, which is stored in special helium batteries.
Sea water desalters allow you not to save water.
Wastewater treatment systems bring its quality to the possibility of recycling.
Climatic installations allow you to adjust the temperature and humidity individually in each room.
The kitchen is equipped with a large fridge-freezer and a stand-alone ice maker; induction hob with oven; a microwave oven and a lot of household equipment (mixers, combines, juicers, etc.).
HOW CAN A HOUSE WATER THE OCEAN?
It is assumed that the vast majority of the time (over 95%), the House does not move anywhere. (however, like most yachts). It is located in some picturesque bay. However, there are plenty of opportunities for movement.
In order to slowly glide along the coast, the house has 4 absolutely silent electric motors. They allow you to move at a speed of 5 knots (9 km/h) all day long.
For faster movements or in conditions bad weather there are two economical diesel engines that allow the house to move through the sea at a speed of 14 knots (the usual speed of a cruise ship).
But to cross the ocean, you need a sail. Our house does not have sails, but wings, like an airplane. Therefore, there are no stays, shrouds, halyards, sheets and other indispensable sail accessories.
The wings act as a sail when needed and as a tarp when anchored. In total, the House has three wings. In working position, the wing rises in 4 seconds with the help of a hydraulic drive. To do this, you need to press a button. The computer sets the wing to the optimal angle of attack of the wind, and automatically maintains this angle, regardless of the direction of movement of the House.
It remains only to set the direction of movement and the autopilot will do all the work for you at the helm. The global positioning system will allow you to track the direction of movement of all ships in your area, and they can see you, avoiding a collision.
WHAT IF THE STORM?
Currently, only ships that are forced to strictly adhere to the route of movement get into storms. You can always dodge the storm. After all, a storm or hurricane has a local character. You will have constant information about their location and trajectory. And only you can decide whether to go into the storm or not.
But even if you decide to go through the storm, then this is not a tragedy, but rather an adventure. You do not need to stand at the helm. You will admire through the window how your House slowly makes its way through the elements.
I HAVE A BAD STANDING!
However, like most people
Our House has the shape of a TRIMARAN hull, i.e. ship least prone to roll. There will be no pitching at all in the parking lots. For movement, you can choose calm weather.
FOR TWO MILLION. DOLLARS I CAN BUY A HOUSE ON THE COAST IN ANY COUNTRY OF THE WORLD!
Of course, but it will be just one house. And you will live in another country. And with the world to communicate on tour. trips.
The concept of our House allows you, without compromising the comfort of your home, to "try on" the whole Earth. Live for a few years in the States, and then move a little to the Bahamas or take off for a year in New Zealand. You do not want to hang out in the ocean for three weeks? Tell us about it and we will transfer your House to a new parking place, and you will arrive by plane.
HOW MUCH DOES PARKING COST?
Paid parking exists only in yacht clubs. Yachtsmen are forced to enter them to refuel with water and electricity, to access the shore shower and washing machines.
All this you have in the House of the best quality. Therefore, you do not need to buy these services from the yacht club.
The coast wall is usually free, so it is always densely crowded with yachts. But you have a trump card that will help you find a free place in almost any city. The minimum draft for yachts is 1.5 meters, for our House it is only 50 centimeters. That is, if the water is knee-deep - that's enough for you. And places in shallow water are always free.
For the same reason, it is easier for you to find a place in the roadstead, because you can always stand closer to the shore than yachts. It is not very comfortable to anchor (or in the road) on a yacht, because there is only one anchor and, depending on the direction of the wind, the yacht spins around the anchor all the time. Our house rises on 4! Anchors from every corner, so it stands reinforced concrete, like an oil platform in the ocean.
WHAT ABOUT COMMUNICATION?
Only satellite communication can work in the ocean. Today, a satellite phone costs no more than an iPhone. You can also use expensive internet via satellite. But for mail it is quite acceptable.
If you are not standing on a desert island, then you always have 3G and Wi-Fi with the help of an antenna and an amplifier. After all, almost all cafes on the waterfront have a free field that will reach your home thanks to the equipment.
But if you were brought to a desert island, then in order to order a lobster for dinner, you just need to dive for it. All the necessary equipment for this is in the house.
And there is also a hydro-motor hang-glider, on which you can fly around the island, or go around it on a high-speed inflatable motorboat. All of this comes with the house.
To move on land, electric scooters are provided in the house. They can be driven almost everywhere on the roads without registration.
WHAT IS THE OWNERSHIP RIGHT OF MY HOUSE CONFIRMED?
The house is registered in the Russian Federation for you as a NON-COMMERCIAL VESSEL. It meets all the requirements for such vessels and has a Certificate of Conformity issued by government agency. The tax, according to the legislation of the Russian Federation, is levied on horsepower, and there are fewer of them in the House than in a car. Therefore, the annual tax for a luxury home is less than for a conventional car.
Registration and the corresponding certificate (ship's ticket) confirms your rights as the rightful owner of the House.
HOW LONG DOES THIS HOUSE BE BUILT?
The house is under construction for 6 months and about the same amount of household and navigation equipment is being installed. That is, approximate duration construction one year, adjusted for the time of year.
It will take about two more months to drive the House to the Mediterranean. During this time, the House is actively tested in all modes.
While people in countries with regimes of varying degrees of authoritarianism are fighting for their political rights with the help of rallies and mass protests, a group of billionaires from Silicon Valley is figuring out how to escape from the state in ocean waters by building your own little tech island. The project is called Floating City. Apparat understood what kind of political utopia the 21st century offers rebels.
Over the past year, the leaders of Colombia, Mozambique, Ghana, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong, Maldives, Palau, Sierra Leone, Suriname, Vanuatu, and a few other tiny states have received roughly the same letter:
"Dear sir! Several U.S. billionaires who made their money developing innovative technologies advocate the creation of legal independent territories for an experiment in expanding social and economic opportunities society. Among us is Peter Thiel, co-founder of the Seastanding Institute. This is a think tank that is designing the first city-island, island-state. This experiment can turn the entire economic and political world order upside down. I would like to meet you. Maybe we will be able to place our island in your territorial waters, for your country this is also a huge opportunity and development prospect.”
Back in 2008, Peter Thiel, creator of the PayPal electronic payment system and Facebook's first investor, invested $1.25 million in the Seastanding Institute. The fund's mastermind is Patri Friedman, a former Google engineer and grandson of famed economist Milton Friedman. The task is to design a floating city, a technological "island of freedom". The first "sistend" (seastend) was planned to be launched back in 2012. Despite the fact that the deadlines are being delayed, the initiative lives and develops. Last year, the Seastanding Institute officially launched a project called The Floating City. A few months ago, the Dutch biotech company DeltaSync came up with a detailed design for the island. Potential pioneers of the new state are already preparing money for resettlement, and the main developers of the project are in real negotiations with governments around the world.
What will the political system be like?
The ideologues of Floating City do not offer future citizens a specific political scheme. Their task is to give people a platform for implementing the most unexpected political theories, to create a market for political systems. The modern world does not provide many opportunities for experimentation. Changing power in a country is a time-consuming, resource-consuming and very dangerous task, as we see in the examples of Syria, Egypt or Ukraine. You have the opportunity to change citizenship and move, but even here the choice is not so great.
Their task is to give people a platform for the implementation of the most unexpected political theories, to create a market for political systems.
Floating City in the future will consist of many islands, entire archipelagos with different governments. If you do not like one state, you can disconnect your house from the island and swim to another. There is only one unifying principle for all island governments - libertarianism, which is based on a ban on aggressive violence. A huge number of legal systems can coexist with this principle, from democracy to communism, but there are unchanging values: freedom of speech, religion, sexual and political orientation; the absence of total control by the state - no cameras on the streets, NSA and FSB reading your personal correspondence.
The rest largely depends on the settlers. For example, if anarcho-capitalists come to power, then there will be no state at all. This political movement believes that government structures only complicate the life of a person, and antitrust laws and tax systems are aggressive violence and should be eliminated. At Floating City, they will have the opportunity to test their theory. As a result, we can expect a city with a legal circulation of drugs and weapons or bitcoins as the main monetary unit.
Visualization of the floating city The Floating City
The authors of the project themselves still have no idea what the result will be: “I want to see democracy 2.0, and maybe socialism 2.0. We'll just try, and then decide which system is better, ”says Randolph Hanken, director and ideologist of the Seasteading Institute.
But the researchers criticize the democratic, republican form of government in the usual sense. Brad Taylor, author of a study on the political system of the floating city, says that "democratic government is unlikely to be highly effective." According to him, democracy needs to be improved. For example, he proposes to introduce an educational qualification. “Imagine if you were required to spend two hours studying some legal aspect before attending a meeting in order to be savvy on the issue under discussion,” says Taylor. However, he himself notes that such orders will leave people too little time for their own affairs.
What will be the design?
Building a city in the ocean is not a trivial task, but all the necessary technologies already exist: artificial islands are being built by the United Arab Emirates and Japan, oil platforms and cruise ships can open ocean practically endless.
A possible floating city design was developed by the Dutch company DeltaSync. The result of her work was a multi-page report, from which it follows that the city is most logical to build on floating semi-submerged platforms measuring 50 by 50 meters. Each of them can accommodate up to three houses. Several platforms can unite and create a single state, or they can weigh anchor at any time and sail to another archipelago, however, for this you will first have to convince all the inhabitants of the module of the need for such a step.
Living platform dimensions relative to other objects
- Floatin City Residential Platform - 25 meters
- Roman Abramovich's yacht "Eclipse" - 162.5 meters
- Passenger liner "Titanic" - 269 meters
The DeltaSync study also showed that it was too difficult to go far into open neutral waters, as originally planned. Therefore, the developers returned to the idea of locating in a bay belonging to one of the existing states. This somewhat undermines the basic concept of an independent island, but the developers are very careful in choosing a resident country.
How is the city going to provide for itself?
The developers plan to create a closed ecological system on the island. Electricity will be generated using solar panels, as well as using ocean thermal energy (OTEC) and the nitrogen cycle (nutrient recycling).
Water will be collected from natural precipitation and reused: first, fresh water, collected mainly from rain, is used for food and domestic purposes. Then the water is filtered and redirected to provide washing machines and toilets. At the next stage, the water will be used as fertilizer.
The developers plan to create a closed ecological system on the island.
The technology was invented at NASA, it is called OMEGA. They figured out how to use wastewater to effectively grow special algae, which are becoming an important element in the city's ecosystem. The algae will be used to create biofuels, animal feed and fertilizers that will be used to grow vegetables and fruits. Waste from this production will feed the fish, which produce a new portion of fertilizer.
All the missing resources are supposed to be imported from a nearby state. Over time, the dependence of the city on the host country should decrease.
How will the economy work?
The economy of the islands will, of course, directly depend on their political system. The developers of the project expect that the island will be inhabited mainly by employees of high-tech companies that can work from almost anywhere in the world. The advantages of Floating City are low taxes, mild climate and the ability to create a political system that suits you. Also, theoretically, the islands will be able to earn on tourism or, for example, turn into a fish farm.
To maintain the infrastructure of the city, people of the most standard professions will also be required - cleaners, sellers, fitness consultants, hairdressers. The problem of class inequality, which will inevitably arise in such a situation, is devoted to a separate chapter in one of the Seastanding Institute studies.
The problem of class inequality, which will inevitably arise in such a situation, is devoted to a separate chapter in one of the Seastanding Institute studies.
Interestingly, the financing of the construction of the island will fall on the shoulders of future residents. The first applicants already exist, according to the Seastanding Institute, more than a thousand people from 68 countries of the world, including Russia, have already shown interest and would like to become residents of a microstate. Most are willing to pay around $500 per square foot of space and are willing to live in small studio apartments.
According to the latest estimates, the cost of building one island will be $225.5 million.
How is the city going to defend itself against external and internal threats?
The Floating City is not the first attempt to build a state in neutral waters: in 1971, the Republic of Minerva was created. This microstate was built on coral reefs near the island of Fiji with the money of American millionaire Michael Oliver.
Minerva did not last long: the natives from the Kingdom of Tonga suddenly remembered that they had once used these reefs for fishing, and therefore proclaimed the newly created islands as their territory and sent in troops. After 10 years, in 1982, the inhabitants of Minerva again tried to gain independence, but after three weeks the Royal Marines threw the President of the Republic out of "his" territories.
The new island-state will also be poorly protected from an external military threat, if some country wants to attack and capture, then the settlers will not have many opportunities to defend themselves. But it seems that the main threat is not even in this.
How many times have people tried to realize a utopia? From England they went to America and Australia, from the European part of Russia to Siberia, but an ideal society never appeared anywhere. How to gather people on the island who will use freedom not to harm? What will prevent the leaders of the island-states from behaving like the leaders of world states, and step by step limit the freedom of their citizens? Technology has come a long way in the last hundred years - we can build islands in the open ocean - but have people changed? This seems to be the main point of the island-state experiment.
