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We already mentioned the article in The New York Times with Blue21 designs for the French Polynesia floating island project.

But there is more! This week, also NBC Mach published an inspiring article on Blue Frontiers and the French Polynesia floating village project on the south side of the main island of Tahiti.

Our creative director Bart Roeffen is quoted, explaining “he wanted to create something for the Tahitian lagoon that didn’t look out of place.”

“From a distance, the floating village will look almost like a natural island, with a green “living roof” of gardens that will also help filter waste water. The buildings will be constructed with recycled materials where possible, making extensive use of local renewable materials, such as coconut wood.

Roeffen says the technologies needed for floating communities will become increasingly important, especially in islands and in coastal regions threatened by rising sea levels. But there is also a primal appeal to living on the water, reflected in the high value of coastal land.”

“The fringes between the land and the water are where everything comes together,” Roeffen says, “so what we would like to do is to create more fringes.”

World Economic Forum had also published an article back in March 2017 including a former Blue21design for this project. Please read the full article here.

This week, The New York Times published an article on Seasteading and the role of Blue Frontiers on the French Polynesia floating island project.

Blue21 is working in close cooperation with The Seasteading Institute and Blue Frontiers and is primarily responsible for the designs of the complete island.

Please read the full article here.

Press release from MARIN.

Horizon 2020 funded project [email protected] commenced its work on November 1, 2017 setting out to make a step in efficient use of the maritime environment. The consortium consisting of 17 European partners aim to provide sustainable and affordable workspace at sea by developing a standardised and cost efficient modular island with low ecological impact. Project coordinator Maarten Flikkema (MARIN) says: “The three-year project can be regarded as a success if the modular design of the multi-use platform has successfully been validated in a relevant environment at model scale”.

[email protected] will study the most suitable shape of the floaters to minimise the motions. As starting point triangles will be used which also allow for a modular design maximising the flexibility to add and remove deck space and applications if necessary. Offshore specialists will contribute to design a shared mooring solution in combination with a remote monitoring and sensing system to reduce installation and maintenance costs.

In [email protected] four applications will be studied being farming, transport and logistics hub, energy hub and living. To show the potential of multi-use modular floating islands [email protected] will conclude with the evaluation of three business cases with combinations of applications for various locations throughout Europe. [email protected] will initiate digital communication to those interested through a project website and Twitter (@SpaceAtSea). Workshops and other result sharing activities will be announced through these streams.

[email protected] is partly funded by EU’s Horizon 2020 research programme under project number 774253. Partners working together in this MARIN coordinated project are DeltaSync, DST, Nemos Delft University, Mocean Offshore, TU Hamburg Harburg, Bluewater, University of Rostock, Gicon-Grossmann, Wageningen University, University Duisburg-Essen, TU Graz, Waterstudio, Icepronav, Val Fou and DEME.

Beeldzeggend Filmproducties has shared an impressive mini-documentary on YouTube presenting several experts (among which our co-founder Rutger de Graaf) on sustainability, transition management, governance, water technology and floating developments. At Blue21, we are already convinced that floating cities are the solution to worldwide land scarcity and the recipe for dealing with sea level rise and climate change. We know we should sway with water instead of only raising land. Now a climate adaptive reaction of the government is required…

As the video clearly explains, not everybody shares the innovative ideas and opinions of these experts. Most people react sceptically against living on water, since water should be considered a threat. Now, the time has come to prove that nothing is further from the truth. The Floating Pavilion, developed by DeltaSync in co-operation with the Municipality of Rotterdam is proof!

How great an opportunity it would be for The Netherlands to accommodate the first knowledge and expertise centre in the field of floating construction!

It is just a matter of time…

Earlier this week, world-renowned science magazine Nature published a feature article about the collaboration between The Seateading Institute, Blue Frontiers and Blue21 on their first floating island project in French Polynesia.

Our co-founder Bart Roeffen has been interviewed on the design part of the project and the article has been illustrated with his latest designs!

The full article can be read here.