This is the Maldives Floating City concept, a fascinating collection of houses, hotels and restaurants floating among some islands.
As a picturesque island nation, the Maldives is extremely vulnerable to climate change and rising sea levels.
Located off the coast of India and Sri Lanka, the nation has planned for years to build artificial islands and floating homes to withstand the climate crisis. Part of this is the Maldives Floating City.
The Maldives Floating City is planned to be built on the water (go figure), embracing the water and rising sea levels as a constant. It’s modelled after a brain coral, lending to the city’s theme of having to live with nature. The project also totally looks like Pacifidlog Town from Pokémon.
The project is a joint venture between the government of the Maldives and Dutch Docklands, with Waterstudio.NL also involved (they were also involved with the design of Arkup, which you may remember from a certain floating mansion).
The plan indicates that the floating city will be built close to the international airport and Malé (the capital of the Maldives), with a focus on “integrated tourism”. The mixed-use city will include several thousands of housing units, as well as hotels, shops and restaurants without cars.
No cars? No congestion, apart from the canals? Only bicycles, electric buggies and scooters for land vehicles? Now that’s a paradise.
On Thursday we signed an agreement with @MoTmv to run the Floating City Development based on the Integrated Tourism Model. Delighted that Floating City construction can now begin apace & first block of floating homes to be finished and open for visitors in August. 🙏@Mausoom_Maus pic.twitter.com/xob2tqG3nw
— Maldives Floating City (@mfloatingcity) June 25, 2022
Additionally, the city is being planned with 10 “requirements” in mind, including power supply, accessibility, modularity, waste management and community.
Keep in mind, though, that a lot of what we’re seeing here are just renders. Much like the Bitcoin city that doesn’t make me want to scream “SCAM!”, this project is in the planning and early building stage.
Still, very keen to see how the city develops over time.
The first homes are currently under construction and are scheduled to open for public viewing in August.
Construction is scheduled for January 2023, taking four to five years to complete. As of June, it has approval to go ahead from the Maldives’ Ministry of Tourism.