A senior producer/reporter/anchor at CNN emailed me today: July 4, 3008:
He told me:
"Thank you for this news about polar cities, aka Lovelock retreats - it's good stuff and an intriguing idea. But I wonder how
sustainable it will be. There's also the theory that global warming will
ultimately make the poles colder. But it is a great looking site and is
far from the nuttiest idea I have seen..."
3 comments:
Dear Danny,
I would prefer to focus on mitigation so we don't have to go that far .....toward adaptation.
Professor ____________
Princeton University, USA
now LILYPAD
Jesseneale1 Says: +0June 16th, 2008 at 7:00 am Wow, if only there was some howard hughes-esque billionaire who was passionate and reckless enough with their money to invest in something like this, a true legacy.
Chas Says: +0June 16th, 2008 at 8:55 am well supposedly the “Freedom Ship” is still moving forward. I think that it could learn a lot from what these people are striving for. if it could borrow 1/10 of the goals of this, it would be a much better project.
manujarch Says: +0June 16th, 2008 at 10:44 am Fantastic. I would love to assist the Architects who conceive such amazing ideas.
Maianga Says: +0June 16th, 2008 at 12:58 pm I dont know if financial projections are available for this project, but my first reaction is to believe that a smaller version, say 10,000 inhabitants, could be viable in certain locations, due to overpopulation (consequently high price per sq mtr in traditional realestate). On top of the list comes hong-kong and monaco. I also see some similarity with the dubai palm/world islands…
noslenpar Says: +0June 16th, 2008 at 1:42 pm Jesseneale1;
Wow, if only there was some howard hughes-esque billionaire who was passionate and reckless enough with their money to invest in something like this, a true legacy
I think Maianga is right, there are billionaires in Dubai that would probably build a smaller scale version of this. Unfortunately no one in the west would.
Archinect Says: +0June 16th, 2008 at 2:07 pm We posted this project last week, however, took it down shortly after due to reports of plagiarism. It appears that this project closely resembles another, earlier developed, project by Danish firm PLOT. More information here:
http://www.archinect.com/forum/threads.php?id=76356_0_42_0_C
hushtown Says: +0June 16th, 2008 at 3:20 pm This project is eerily similar to BIG/PLOT’s floating city, not just in concept but in final form and rendering.
The original can be seen here:
http://www.big.dk/projects/mer/mer.html
shawn Says: +0June 16th, 2008 at 4:05 pm I appreciate \”dreamers\” in our society to push the envelope but the feasibility of this is just silly. The upkeep and possibility for disaster are huge, just ask Jack & Rose.
We as a society could be doing more resonspbile things with our money to make the work a better place for healthy, happiness and habitat.
PaTrond Says: +0June 16th, 2008 at 4:19 pm I only got one word for this; Wow!
The architect was really thinking about everything when he designed this :)
The round windows were a bit wierd though :p
endemicworld.com Says: +0June 16th, 2008 at 4:29 pm I think this kind of living would be great. But would it be more adorable than living on the land so not only will refugees be like \” oh bro, i live on this floating paradise now, its way better than africa\” but those living on the coast of France for example will be like \”damm those refugees have it sweet, im going to join them\”.. then the cote de aure will empty and everyone including tourists and refugees will be on floating islands rather than the mainland.
clairseach Says: +0June 16th, 2008 at 6:46 pm The reality is that future climate change refugees will be facing starvation, disease, and resource conflict. They won’t be living in lovely floating cities. Real solutions are needed, not fantasy.
Moll Says: +0June 16th, 2008 at 11:16 pm If I was to be displaced by the rising tides I think the last place I would want to live would be on the water that destroyed my home. On the flipside though, I think this would be an awesome alternative to those who want waterfront homes but can’t afford one.
bluemonkey Says: +0June 18th, 2008 at 2:48 pm It looks nice till the wind picks-up and three sisters waves occur.
dj Says: +0June 18th, 2008 at 6:22 pm ummm, where do all those other boats dock?
climate change refugees, give me a break. a funky place for the rich, more likely. we have a hard enough time with “normal” refugees.
frances Says: +0June 19th, 2008 at 10:02 am This appears to be a big waste of resources, especially to make it hurricane or typhoon-proof, and about as financially practical as living on the moon, relative to solid ground on the earth.
Why not just not create those 50,000 people who need a place to live? When the environmental movement started, ZPG (zero population growth) was the reigning mantra. With a projected total world population of 10 billion people, almost double what exists now, the fundamental issue facing the health of our planet is human overpopulation. It’s not a sexy subject, and almost a taboo subject, but it’s the bottom line. Humans are no different than all the other “invasive” species we fret about. If anyone has ever raised an animal, fish, reptile, etc., for any length of time, it quickly becomes apparent what happens when there are too many animals inhabiting the space. Filth. I wonder and doubt that people can overcome or mitigate through technology the exponential harms to the environment that we have been creating since the industrial revolution. The ultimate of hubris.
As a post above said, we will have to deal with all the turf and water wars that will first arise, before indulging in such Spielberg fantasies as floating cities.
mrtoadmaster Says: +0June 23rd, 2008 at 10:57 am The hurricane/tsunami issue, to me, is a show-stopper. It could work, I suppose, in a well-protected harbor.
Bruce AIA Says: +0June 27th, 2008 at 1:00 pm All things are new again. Upon seeing the Lilypad I was taken back in time to our own original design for a floating city. In 1971 as part of a 4th year architecture design team at Cal Poly, SLO, CA we were asked to design a vacation resort of the future. A quote by the philosopher Seneca, \”Beyond all things is the sea\” inspired us to create a floating \”Sea City\”. A six sided mother ship was the central core of each City and was surrounded and attached to six sided housing modules. The City could grow or shrink as the housing units would move from area to area to always be in the best climate for a vacation. The core was connected to land with an underwater umbilical cord for required services. The small recreational boats were contained within a dock at sea level, and the entire City could be raised to buffer against rough seas. We had even envisioned that libraries would not be needed on board, since all books would be available on hand held computer screens. 37 years later some things have happened, but the technology to make this Sea City work is still a long way off. It reminds me of architect Paolo Soleri\’s design to stick a city in almost anything, a dam, or a bridge. It is much easier to sketch and verbalize than to actually build. But a vision for the future is what gives life promise. B
trudy Says: +0July 3rd, 2008 at 7:13 pm What about hurricanes?
Is there an area on it to grow enough food to support the population?
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