<
https://www.newsweek.com/maldives-floating-city-satellite-photos-construction-1897098>
'A floating city, considered the world's first, is starting to take shape in
the turquoise waters of the Indian Ocean.
Satellite imagery provided exclusively to
Newsweek by Maxar Technologies
shows the state of construction of the Maldives Floating City, a development of
modular floating platforms that is scheduled to be completed in 2027.
The "island city," the brainchild of the Maldivian government in partnership
with the Dutch architectural firm Waterstudio, is sprouting in a lagoon about
10 minutes by boat from the capital of Male. It is intended as a practical
solution to a very real problem facing the South Asian island nation, the
world's lowest-lying country with an average elevation of just five feet above
sea level.
The development's first inhabitants are expected within 14 months, Koen
Olthuis, the lead architect on the project, told
Newsweek. There's been a
"bit of delay because of some political way finding between Indian and
Chinese-oriented economic interests," but the construction phase is now
full-steam ahead.
The city will eventually have some 20,000 residents living in 5,000 homes
placed along a hexagonal grid in the shape of a "brain coral" that connects to
an outer ring of barrier islands that will act as breakers, according to
Waterstudio. Boats will replace cars as the main way to transit both the island
and between the mainland.
Perhaps most intriguing to prospective residents is the price. Residences — all
of which will be sea-facing by design — will start at $250,000 USD for a family
home, according to a 2021 press release. The developers say they expect
foreigners to buy in, but are also marketing properties to "local fishing
families who, for centuries, have called the area home."
One of the original aspects of the pitch was to help alleviate overcrowding on
the mainland, which has a rapidly growing tourism industry. But the master plan
is also a response to the rising sea levels that threaten the 1,100 coral
islands that make up the Maldives. According to estimates from NASA, up to 80
percent of the country could be uninhabitable by the middle of the century due
to sea-level rise.'
Via Fiona.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
