Architecture, urban planning and research in, on and next to water
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The petropolis of tomorrow, Neeraj Bhatia & Mary Casper, 2013

In recent years, Brazil has discovered vast quantities of petroleum deep within its territorial waters, inciting the construction of a series of cities along its coast and in the ocean. We could term these developments as Petropolises, or cities formed from resource extraction. The Petropolis of Tomorrow is a design and research project, originally undertaken at Rice University that examines the relationship between resource extraction and urban development in order to extract new templates for sustainable urbanism. Organized into three sections: Archipelago Urbanism, Harvesting Urbanism, and Logistical Urbanism, which consist of theoretical, technical, and photo articles as well as design proposals, The Petropolis of Tomorrow elucidates not only a vision for water-based urbanism of the floating frontier city, it also speculates on new methodologies for integrating infrastructure, landscape, urbanism and architecture within the larger spheres of economics, politics, and culture that implicate these disciplines.

Articles by: Neeraj Bhatia, Luis Callejas, Mary Casper, Felipe Correa, Brian Davis, Farès el-Dahdah, Rania Ghosn, Carola Hein, Bárbara Loureiro, Clare Lyster, Geoff Manaugh, Alida C. Metcalf, Juliana Moura, Koen Olthuis, Albert Pope, Maya Przybylski, Rafico Ruiz, Mason White, Sarah Whiting

Photo Essays by: Garth Lenz, Peter Mettler + Eamon Mac Mahon, Alex Webb

Research/ Design Team: Alex Gregor, Joshua Herzstein, Libo Li, Joanna Luo, Bomin Park, Weijia Song, Peter Stone, Laura Williams, Alex Yuen

Co-published with Architecture at Rice, Vol. 47

Click here to read the article

Waterstudio.nl’s Sea Tree

G8, Dec 2011

The Sea Tree, striking a keen resemblance to the hanging forest in an Avitar film, are floating habitats that create a safe haven for flora and fauna both underwater and above it.  As urbanization and climate change advance, the respective habitats for animals and plants are at a great risk, especially in urban centers.  To counteract some of those factors, Waterstudio.nl came up with these protected reserves to help bring positive environmental benefits to the city.

The Sea Tree is a floating structure moored out in the water by a cable that holds a series of layers for a variety of species.  The structure would be built using offshore technology similar to oil storage towers, which can be found on open seas and can be designed for specialized locations like rivers, lakes or the ocean.  Totally self-sufficient, the structure serves as a base that will eventually grow and support a wide range of flora and fauna including birds, bees, bats and other small animals that will help bring a positive environmental benefit to the city.  The structure is also designed with narrow and steep sides at the water line so that people cannot trespass and bother the animals.

Waterstudio.nl developed this concept to help protect natural habitats in urban areas and they thought it would be especially perfect for New York City.  Their hope is that large companies, like oil companies, would purchase these structures and donate them to cities as a way of showing their concern for animal habitats.  Moored to the bottom of the water floor, the structure can move slightly with the wind and waves.  Eventually the animals would overtake these forms and make them their own without taking up valuable space on land.

Click here for the website

Territorial expansion, Architekton

Architekton, Marko Stojcic Jun 2012

When we talk about understanding territory and its needs, and the new opportunities in architecture, an unavoidable issue is the extension of the building territory to the surfaces where no architecture had been created before and which had not been considered a potential building area. When creating architecture, it is a good thing to have something to grasp at, something that will make the project qualitatively better and more interesting, and, that, certainly, is an atypical building surface – water for example.
Netherlands example, its ventures of the expansion of the building area, is a well known project. So far the only recognized method of creating new building grounds has been the method of drainage. Contemporary architecture is looking for more attractive and less expensive solutions – building on water could be one of them.

Land growth at the expense of water surface is a response to the process of global warming. Considering reduction percentage of the land territory in the next 200 years, it is completely reasonable to take away at least as much from the water territory for building, especially because the need for the building area increases with time. The disproportion of the process reflects in the fact that the forming of the new territory will happen in already developed urban areas as a result of the need for expansion, while today’s undeveloped areas will stay as they are.
In this issue we present the most interesting projects of the Dutch bureau Waterstudio who specializes in this type of architecture, and who has, so far, come closest to realizing projects the life of which is based on water surface.

Urbanisation and climate change put a lot of pressure on available space for nature in city centres. New initiatives for adding extra park zones to a city are rare. Yet these kind of additional habitats for birds, bees, bats and other small animals could bring a lot of positive green effects to the environment of a city.

Waterstudio has designed a new concept for high density green spots in a city, the sea tree. This sea tree is a floating structure that hold in many layers green habitats for only animals. This structure is not accessible by man. The sea tree is built by offshore technology quite similar to the oil storage towers which can be found on open seas. The idea is that large oil companies donate a sea tree to a city showing their concern for a better city environment by using their own intellectual property. Space for this sea trees can be found on rivers, seas, lakes and even harbours. The height and depth of this sea tree can be adjusted depending on the location. The sea tree moves a bit along with the wind and is moored to the sea bed with a cable system. Under water the sea tree provides a habitat for small water creatures or even when the climate allows it for artificial coral reefs. The beauty of the design is that it provides a solution and at the same time does not cost expensive space on land while the effect of the species living in the sea tree will effect a zone of several miles around the moored location.

For as we know this floating tower will be the first floating object 100% built and designed for flora and fauna.

This revolutionary concept for a cruise ship-terminal consists of a floating construction in a triangular shape measuring 700 by 700 meters – enough to simultaneously host three of the world’s largest cruise ships. The floating terminal is situated outside the mainland shore to allow enough draught for even the largest cruise-ships to moor. It’s simple iconic shape is like an elegant and natural sculpture outside the shore.

The basic triangular ring is lifted up at one point creating a smaller inner harbor with a spectacular entrance arch. The lifted point acts as a landmark – a beacon marking the terminal. The inner harbor allows smaller vessels to moor in enclosed water. From here water-taxis and ferries connect the cruise ship-terminal to the mainland.

The whole structure is rigged to a foundation in the seabed by means of anchoring cables with dampers, allowing flexibility in vertical sense while ensuring stability in the horizontal plane. At nighttime the cruise ship terminal is lit in a subtle blue light, so as to bring out the bluish tint of the aluminum surface. The outside of the sculptural shape is accessible to pedestrians offering a surprising landscape amidst the open waters – a sparkling island of sculptural quality. Around the inner harbor the central circulation area leads around modern retail space. Three large foyers provide entrance to the inner harbor from which ferries leave for the mainland. The corners of the triangular shape house three larger functions. The 180 room hotel features rooms at both the waterside as well as rooms at the inner courtyard and harbor. The conference center measures a total of over 24.000 square meters, offering around 30 meeting, conference and lecture halls of various sizes. The 12.000 square meter restaurant is situated in the raised point, looking out over the open water as well as the cruise terminal itself and the inner harbor, providing a spectacular dining experience.

Click here for the website

Click here to read the article

PBS Newshour: Finding ways to live with rising water

There is a saying that “God made the world, but the Dutch made Holland.” And for centuries, the Dutch have built different types of barriers to hold back rising water and allow for development.

But as sea levels continue to rise, instead of trying to fight the water, Dutch architects and urban planners are taking a new approach: finding ways to live with it.

The United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reported in 2007 that global sea levels rose an average of nearly 8 inches in the past 100 years and predicted that rate will accelerate in this century. Higher water makes for more severe storm surges, floods and land loss. With many of the world’s largest cities located on coastal estuaries, high and dry urban land will become an increasingly rare commodity.

Cue a renewed look at floating architecture.

“In the last decade, floating architecture changed from a fringe niche market into a realistic opportunity for expanding the urban fabric beyond the waterfront,” said Koen Olthuis, lead architect at Waterstudio.NL, an aqua-architectural firm in the Netherlands. For Olthuis, creating floating buildings goes beyond architecture and is about a new vision for city planning.

Rather than putting entire cities on water, most of the proposals today combine water-based buildings with land-based architecture protected against water using flotation fixtures, raised platforms or anchored structures. That kind of flexible, integrated approach is crucial for the future, said Olthuis.

“Instead of buildings that are not able to cope with the changing needs of a city, urban planners will start creating floating dynamic developments that can react to new and unforeseen changes.”

And there’s a range of designs out there, including a float-in movie theater in Thailand and a massive Sea Tree, which uses the model of oil storage towers found on open seas to provide habitat for animals.

One of the most ambitious projects under development is in the Maldives, where Waterstudio.NL was tasked by the Maldives government to design a network of floating islands, including the Greenstar hotel that will feature 800 rooms, a conference center and a golf course. The $500 million project is set for completion by 2015.

Other projects in the works include Baca Architects’ amphibious house destined for the Thames River in Great Britain. During dry times, the home would rest on a fixed foundation but could rise up to 8 feet if flooding occurred.

As the industry expands, Olthuis said the biggest challenge isn’t technology but changing the public’s perception of living on water. To help encourage the transition, designers often make the structures look and feel just like those on land.

“We want to diffuse the border between land and water,” said Olthuis. “That is the first step in the general acceptance of floating cities.”

On the NewsHour this week, we’ll be looking at the impact of rising sea levels on Louisiana’s coast as part of our Coping with Climate Change series.

Click here for the website

Click here for the article in pdf

Floating Architecture: Finding ways to live with rising water, PBS Newshour

PBS Newshour, Saskia de Melker, May 2012

There is a saying that “God made the world, but the Dutch made Holland.” And for centuries, the Dutch have built different types of barriers to hold back rising water and allow for development.

But as sea levels continue to rise, instead of trying to fight the water, Dutch architects and urban planners are taking a new approach: finding ways to live with it.

The United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reported in 2007 that global sea levels rose an average of nearly 8 inches in the past 100 years and predicted that rate will accelerate in this century. Higher water makes for more severe storm surges, floods and land loss. With many of the world’s largest cities located on coastal estuaries, high and dry urban land will become an increasingly rare commodity.

Cue a renewed look at floating architecture.

“In the last decade, floating architecture changed from a fringe niche market into a realistic opportunity for expanding the urban fabric beyond the waterfront,” said Koen Olthuis, lead architect at Waterstudio.NL, an aqua-architectural firm in the Netherlands. For Olthuis, creating floating buildings goes beyond architecture and is about a new vision for city planning.

Rather than putting entire cities on water, most of the proposals today combine water-based buildings with land-based architecture protected against water using flotation fixtures, raised platforms or anchored structures. That kind of flexible, integrated approach is crucial for the future, said Olthuis.

“Instead of buildings that are not able to cope with the changing needs of a city, urban planners will start creating floating dynamic developments that can react to new and unforeseen changes.”

And there’s a range of designs out there, including a float-in movie theater in Thailand and a massive Sea Tree, which uses the model of oil storage towers found on open seas to provide habitat for animals.

One of the most ambitious projects under development is in the Maldives, where Waterstudio.NL was tasked by the Maldives government to design a network of floating islands, including the Greenstar hotel that will feature 800 rooms, a conference center and a golf course. The $500 million project is set for completion by 2015.

Other projects in the works include Baca Architects’ amphibious house destined for the Thames River in Great Britain. During dry times, the home would rest on a fixed foundation but could rise up to 8 feet if flooding occurred.

As the industry expands, Olthuis said the biggest challenge isn’t technology but changing the public’s perception of living on water. To help encourage the transition, designers often make the structures look and feel just like those on land.

“We want to diffuse the border between land and water,” said Olthuis. “That is the first step in the general acceptance of floating cities.”

On the NewsHour this week, we’ll be looking at the impact of rising sea levels on Louisiana’s coast as part of our Coping with Climate Change series.

Click here for the website

DENİZ AĞACI Sea Tree, YAPI

YAPI, Apr 2012

Kentleşme ve iklim değişimi, kent merkezlerindeki doğal alanlar üzerinde giderek artan bir baskı oluşturuyor. Kentlerde yeni doğal alanlar yaratmak ise örneğine az rastlanan bir girişim. Bununla birlikte, kuşlar, arılar, yarasalar ve öteki küçük hayvanlar için ayrılmış bu tür yaşam alanlarının kentsel çevreye de olumlu katkıları oluyor.

Waterstudio’nun kentlerde bu tür yeşil odaklar oluşturmak için tasarladığı yeni kavramsal proje “deniz ağacı” (sea tree) adını taşıyor. Bu ağaç, yalnızca hayvanlara yaşam alanı olarak ayarlanmış birçok katmanı içeren yüzen bir strüktür. Bu strüktüre insanların erişmesine izin verilmiyor. Deniz ağacı, açık denizde petrol arayan yüzer platformlarınkine benzer bir teknoloji ile yapılıyor. Bu aynı zamanda deniz ağaçlarının, petrol şirketleri tarafından, kentsel çevreye duyarlılıklarını göstermek amacıyla kendi bilgi ve teknik birikimlerini kullanarak inşa edilebilecekleri ve kentlere bağışlanabilecekleri fikrini de akla getiriyor. Bu ağaçlar, akarsulara, denize, göllere ve limanlara yerleştirilebiliyor.

Click here for the website

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