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Busan Metropolitan City is the second-largest city in South Korea and home to the country's largest port. As a coastal city, rising sea levels and climate change threaten its very existence.
That's where Oceanix Busan, a floating city prototype, comes into play. The city is designed to float on a cluster of interconnected platforms that collectively span 15.5 acres and can produce their own energy, water, and food without relying on the city's resources, the company website states.
Floating-city development firm Oceanix, and architectural firms Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) and Samoo Architects & Engineers, are behind the UN-backed project. The project was unveiled at the UN Headquarters on April 26 and is expected to be completed in 2025.
"The depth of the platform provides a big space in the hull, almost like a basement that contains mostly air to counteract the forces of the weight of the buildings on top," Daniel Sundlin, a partner at BIG
The space also functions as a storage area for energy storage and waste-management systems, Sundlin said.
A mooring system connects the platforms to the seafloor to minimize lateral movements, Matteo Pietrobelli, the chief engineer at Oceanix, told. However, the system will be able to move up and down. "That's why we call it flood-proof: As the water rises, the platforms can float and their foundations will also adapt to the water level," Pietrobelli continued.
The platforms' design takes into consideration the comfort levels of people onboard, Pietrobelli said. "It's almost as if you are on land even when you have the highest waves, which means when you have no waves, you actually don't even feel it. There's nothing to feel," he added. "Nobody's going to feel sick on it."
Developers are planning to install biorock, which encourages the growth of coral reefs, on the bottom of the platform, Pietrobelli said.
A weak current is put through a metal rod in the water to attract minerals and build up a limestone layer over time — making it the perfect substrate for the growth of coral reefs, he said.
"We will be using these to create an intricate mesh on the anchors of the platform, creating a large surface area to attract marine life," Sundlin added.
The team had initially considered building the city in the shape of a circle, which would withstand the wind and waves from all directions equally. However, circular items are expensive to build and difficult to connect, Sundlin said.
Instead, the team turned to nature, and to the honeycomb specifically, for inspiration.
"The hexagonal shape is very close to a circle in terms of efficiency and it also means that you have straight surfaces. With two platforms, you can have two straight surfaces connected together," he said.
The protected harbor of the Busan site can also guard the platforms against strong waves to ensure comfort, Pietrobelli added. The prototype features three platforms, each of which has a specific use: residential, daily living, and research, per the Oceanix site. The residential platforms will offer a range of housing options including apartments and hotels. The neighborhood on the daily living platform will be similar to that of Busan's streets, with small alleys of food vendors and various local businesses. The research platform will be a hub for maritime and environmental research. "Each platform will have a mobility pavilion where you can switch between land-based and water-based vehicles. You can also walk from your house or use a boat, a kayak, or a ferry to move between the platforms as the city grows," Sundlin said.
The buildings on the platforms go up to five stories high, in order for even weight distribution, he added. "The idea is that every system in place, such as electricity, water, and waste management, is basically completely independent from the mainland," Pietrobelli added.
Most of the buildings' roofs will have solar panels to generate energy and there will be dedicated areas on the platform for aeroponics and hydroponics farms, Sundlin said. He added that there are also plans to install water recycling plants.
The floating city is being designed as an alternative to land reclamation, especially for coastal cities that need to expand due to a growing population, Sundlin said.
"We're not doing it just for the sake of developing real estate on water. What we're doing here is to guarantee survival to the human species when we're going to have issues, not just from rising sea levels, but also from a climate refugee perspective," Pietrobelli said.
