Your very own floating island

Floating Island

In a place like the Netherlands, where you are particularly vulnerable to any rise in sea levels as a result of global warming and where rising and falling tides have created the need for architectural solutions such as dams, dykes and canals in and around many of its cities, new ideas on how to prepare for the worst are always welcome.

Dutch architect Anne Holtrop has collaborated with green technology firm Studio Noach and botanist Patrick Blanc to propose a rather luxurious solution - floating islands.

Together they have designed these floating gardens which also contain baths, saunas, and treatment rooms, while the exterior is wrapped in an insulating shell of greenery designed by vertical gardens innovator Blanc.

Capitalizing on its environs

The Spa Wellness Amsterdam project would capitalizes upon its watery environs with a hydroponic growing system that sustains a vibrant crop of oxygen producing plants. The designers suggest that this vegetation will also provide a breeding ground for birds, butterflies, and insects.

The main structure of the island will be made from the composite GreenRexwall - developed in collaboration with the German constructor Aquahouse GmbH - a strong and buoyant material made from recycled polystyrenem meaning cement, steel or bricks do not need to be used.

The surrounding water acts as a heat exchanger and cooling source, making the spa up to 70 percent more efficient than using conventional energy systems.

Who's to say that one day these spa islands can't be turned into individual living quarters for populations affected by serious floods.

The proposal is currently on show at Architecture of Consequences - Dutch designs on the Future at the Netherlands Architecture Institute in Rotterdam.

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Daniel Jones

Daniel is a Politics and Philosophy graduate from Cardiff University where he also worked as a section editor on the award winning student newspaper. After university he joined an IT support company where he was a B2B online writer. He loves anything to do with sport and joined GDS in July 2009.

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