Sea Trees
Published on by Water Network Research, Official research team of The Water Network in Technology
Dutch Architect Plans to Begin Using City Waterways to Build Floating Habitats Called Sea Trees for Nature
As cities sprawl and get more crowded, most don't have much space left for urban wildlife—at least not on land. A Dutch architect plans to begin using city waterways to build floating habitats for nature.
Based on the design of floatingoil platforms, the Sea Trees are made fromsteeland shaped like giant trees. Each level of the platform supports a slightly different habitat. Underwater, the structure supports fish, oysters, and could even serve as the base for a coral reef in the right climate.
Any animals that could fly or swim to the platform would be able to live away from roads, traps, and other pitfalls of city life. "Our inspiration came from a project in Holland where ecologists forced us to provide habitats for animals that couldn't be disturbed by people," Olthius explains. "Water is, of course, a perfect way to keep people away."
The architect calls the concept a "city app"—a design that could easily be implemented in cities anywhere. "These Sea Trees make sense in a highly dense urban area where water is available," he says. "This covers almost 90% of the world's largest cities. Our favorite locations would be Mumbai or New York. Both have such a high price on land that it makes the construction of new park zones on land not feasible."
The design is still in development, but isn't just a concept—Olthius plans to begin building Sea Trees as soon as possible. To make the process faster, he plans to work withoilcompanies to use their existing designs for platforms that can float in the ocean, rivers, or lakes.
"Thetechnology of oil companiesis a proven one," he says. "Of course we can design a foundation ourselves, and we will improve the existing design. But this takes time. Taking theexisting technologyprovides a chance to act fast at this moment."
Source: Fast CoExist
Read More Related Content On This Topic - Click Here
Media
Taxonomy
- Environment
- Habitat
- Governance & Planning