Maldives Floating City
Malé, Maldives, Asia Pacific
Under Construction · Mixed Use · Floating Island City · Tropical
A 5,000-unit floating city arranged in a brain-coral pattern in a lagoon 10 minutes from Malé, designed as a permanent, sea-level-rise-proof settlement for up to 20,000 residents. Hexagonal modular platforms rise with the sea, powered by on-site solar, with deep-water sea cooling and on-site sewage-to-manure treatment. First residents moved in 2024; full build expected by 2027.
Innovation highlights
- World's first permanent inhabited floating city at urban scale
- Hexagonal modular platform system that rises passively with sea level
- Deep-water sea cooling reduces mechanical cooling energy demand
- On-site solar energy generation as primary power source
- On-site sewage treatment recycled as plant fertiliser — closed-loop waste cycle
- Brain-coral urban pattern optimises lagoon water circulation between platforms
- Client / Developer
- Government of the Maldives / Dutch Docklands International
- Architect
- Waterstudio (Koen Olthuis)
- Engineer
- Dutch Docklands (marine engineering)
- Type
- Floating Island City
#floating city #sea level rise #climate resilience #modular platforms #deep water cooling #solar #circular waste #Maldives #housing
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