Beautiful islands float freely on the seas-oceans. The floating future of the Maldives. Recycled Island - an island made of plastic bottles

While in countries with regimes varying degrees authoritarian people fight for their political rights through rallies and mass protests, a group of billionaires from Silicon Valley figure 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.

Behind Last year the leaders of Colombia, Mozambique, Ghana, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong, Maldives, Palau, Sierra Leone, Suriname, Vanuatu, and a few other tiny states 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. Modern world doesn't provide much room 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 a rather non-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 run in 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 rainfall and reused many times: first fresh water, collected mainly from rain, is used for food and for 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. Floating City benefits - low taxes, mild climate and the ability to create political system which will suit 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 the 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.

Age of the Greats geographical discoveries ended a long time ago! All new lands that could be discovered are already open. There will be no more newly discovered islands inhabited by the native population, which after a while will proclaim their independence! Instead, states and nations can be created artificially. The investor is sure Peter Thiel who supported the initiative Seasteading Institute to create floating island states.

These islands, according to the project, will be located on floating platforms, which ensures their mobility and independence from external conditions. On each of these platforms, 270 people will be able to live permanently - citizens of the state proclaimed on this artificial island.

First, decide on the place of construction. Any water area in which the height of the waves does not contradict the height of the island is suitable. It can be a lake, a river, a sea, or even an ocean. I like the ocean version better, so I'll stick with it. I want to note right away that the construction of an island in the ocean takes a little more strength and time than, say, on the lake. But the value of such an island is higher - if after some time you want to sell it profitably, you can count on the fact that the island will not only give you pleasure, but also bring good profit.

After you have decided on the place, arrange with friends and acquaintances that you will take the beer bottles from them and get down to business - arm yourself with any good glue and glue them together. Do not get carried away only by the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe land you create - the island must be not only large, but also reliable - glue the bottles not only in length, but also in depth.

After the foundation is completed, hire a small helicopter and fill your island with earth. After that, proceed to ennoble the territory - plant palm trees, coconuts so that your island does not differ from the rest. It will take just a little time and you will see how it will appear on the main geographical maps world, and in a few years even the natives will claim that he has stood here all his life. Don't argue with the natives - treat them with beer instead. If you do this consistently, you will not only make good contacts with local population, but also add a few acres of area to your island.

I want to warn you right away that this kind of island can be buoyant - especially if you filled the bottle necks with glue. This can be both good and bad, depending on whether you want a so-called stationary island or a floating one. If you want to not only live on it, but also travel, then equip the island with a small diesel engine and propeller. When you find the place that you want to make your home, remove the diesel from the island, wrap it with anchor chain and throw it on the bottom. Tie the other end of the chain to the island and it won't float away from you.

To communicate with the outside world, build a small ferry out of beer cans. This is the most reliable option - by gluing beer cans with epoxy glue, one Japanese crossed the Pacific Ocean on them - use foreign experience, do not invent anything yourself.

Well, when everything is ready, open your business. The best is a small shop or bar. Thirsty sailors will appreciate your ingenuity. If in this store or bar you sell only beer, and invest the proceeds in epoxy glue, then it will not take even a few years for the island to become not an island, but a continent - everyone loves to drink beer.

floating island 300m by 400m would be too big for any port. So his fate is forever to swim in the oceans

Even an aircraft carrier will look like a dwarf in comparison with the French miracle island

French shipbuilders Chantiers de l'Atlantique are not afraid grandiose projects. And why would, because it was they who built many of the best ships in the 20th century - in particular, the first "France", "France Island", "Normandy" and the current "France" (which sails under the name "Norway"). In the less distant past, they began building the 150,000-ton ship Queen Mary 2, which will be the world's largest passenger liner.

But their latest project, which they developed with Parisian architect Jean-Philippe Zoppini, has little to do with courts. Imagine a self-propelled island that will make the eternal trip around the world following the sun. It will accommodate the population small town, which will travel at a speed of 10 knots (about 18 km / h) between the world's attractions with comfort unthinkable even for the best modern pleasure craft.

Alstom, the parent company of shipbuilders Chantiers, is hoping to find investors who will shell out a tidy sum for the project. ocean monster. It is not so easy, because there are persistent rumors that the market prospects cruise ships not very good.

But the problems are not only in financing. In addition to the money for the construction (and the amount could easily exceed the estimated $ 3.5 billion), it will also be necessary to find 10,000 people who want to spend the rest of their lives on the water. One of the options is to sell the area of ​​such a ship-island in a "timeshare" (so infamous in Russia).

Curiously, the idea is not new. About a hundred years ago, Jules Verne, who lived in Nantes, not far from Saint-Nazaire, where the Chantiers shipyards are now located, came up with a similar project (the book "The Floating Island"). Verne described unreal big Island(an area of ​​​​27 sq. Km), calling it Standard Island, and populated it with millionaires (the capital was called Billion City), who made an endless cruise around Pacific Ocean. His island was completely self-sufficient and provided itself with everything necessary - including food and water.

The ambitions of Zoppini and Alstom are somewhat smaller. They came up with an oval vessel, 300 by 400 m, with its own propulsion system, an island "shoal" (with private beach), a marina and 15-story towers with 5,000 apartments. They named their brainchild in honor of their loved ones - "AZ Island" (from Alstom and Zoppini).

It is supposed to be built right in the sea, similar to how oil platforms are built. The monster will be set in motion by ordinary engines and propellers located outside. Due to its size, the island will never be able to enter any port, so passengers will arrive and depart on ferries.

So far, no one has expressed a desire to finance the dream come true, but Alstom does not lose optimism. A large-scale mock-up of "AZ Islands" is already under construction - it will be shown on maritime exhibition in Miami this year. It is there that the authors of the project hope to find a moneybag who will be fascinated by the idea of ​​the island. Who knows, maybe we'll be able to spend some weekend on such an island...

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 according to state of the art 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 must be added 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.

Distillers sea ​​water allow you to conserve 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 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 got carried away desert island, then 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 Russian Federation upon you as a NON-COMMERCIAL SHIP. 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.