Belgian designer Vincent Callebaut, the Lilypad's creator, describes the city as a "floating ecopolis for climate refugees," but it looks more like a resort than a shelter. Inspired by nature, it's designed to house 50,000 people displaced from the effects of global warming and other ecological disasters, and be entirely self-sufficient so it doesn't contribute to the problem. As a floating city, it can really pick and choose how it gets its energy since wind, solar and hydropower are all easily accessible, and all food and water could be grown or processed. The artificial yet natural landscape won't have climate refugees feeling like they live on a junker from Waterworld, either.
It's just about the most fashionable way to weather any ecological nightmare. While the Lilypad may never see the light of day, any zero-emission city design is certainly a step in the right direction.
Check out the gallery below for more views of the Lilypad floating metropolis.
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Vincent Callebaut, via Inhabitat
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By Bkfldviking at 12:07 PM ON 06/16/08
Nice looking concept....on paper. Raises more questions than it answers. 50,000 people tend to produce a LOT of sewage, garbage, etc.. All the pictures here show this thing sitting in pristine harbors and very calm seas. How will it handle 30, 40, 50 foot swells? Hurricane force winds? Displacement in these "quite" harbors? Oops, there goes the beach.
By yellowflash at 1:34 PM ON 06/16/08
Are there enough lifeboats for everyone on the city. cause if any such previous disaster happens as stated above i see this city going the way of the titanic.
Architects love to make pretty pictures and have us engineers solve all the problems with it.
By Traveler at 1:43 PM ON 06/16/08
Depending on cost to build, it might make a great retirement community.
By imotionsrt-4 at 1:49 PM ON 06/16/08
I guess if you are going to get some sponsorship for this thing Mercedes Benz is the place to start. But gee whiz with all the logos...freaking logo whores.
I'm going to wait for the AMG version to see if I actually like it.
By imotionsrt-4 at 2:01 PM ON 06/16/08
@ Traveler
I like your line of thinking. But instead of using it as a retirement community, I think a nice (not quite this nice) floating prison would be a swell idea.
By Yellowflash at 3:03 PM ON 06/16/08
@imotionsrt-4
hahaha..
dude those are wind mills..
haha...
By Nick Popov at 4:45 PM ON 06/16/08
Brits! Hurry up make your reservations. You'll be first to get flooded.
By celestis at 4:55 PM ON 06/16/08
@imotionsrt-4: those arent mercedes benz logos per se. Those are wind turbines. Yes, they do look like the logos when not moving and in that position.
Well, yes, there are problems structurally when come storms, but if they can make one of those on land, I would definitely want to live there. =]
By celestis at 5:15 PM ON 06/16/08
btw, aren't floating prisons against the Geneva Convention or something like that? I remember Sen. Feinstein mentioning that when talking about Guantanamo...
In a way, this really could work. Sewage from toilets can be composted for all the plants. Now, they just have to come up with a way to recycle all the plastics and non-biodegradable stuff.
By jdehnert at 5:46 PM ON 06/16/08
Hmm, something Dubai doesn't have yet.
By Edward at 7:46 AM ON 06/17/08
Maybe the japanese will build some they are tight on space. course maybe someone will show this to the emir of dubai and he will just have to have one and build it. looks cool.
By raymanuva at 6:07 PM ON 06/17/08
Nice concept, it will have to be stationed in calm waters tho... also the depth of central section is way too deep to be safe... the displacement force here will be tremendous, the materials, cost and maintenance etc... impossible. Marinas will have to be totally isolated just like drydocks for water to be calm and raised dozens of feet above the water... again, impossible and not practical...But hey, its a concept...
Cheaper to build this on an artificial island, protect it it by a circle of wave breakers or other small islands.
By rayboxstudio at 6:12 PM ON 06/17/08
oh, and lifespan... max 50 years, corrosions etc... it cant be drydocked.
By Sitkom at 4:51 PM ON 06/18/08
why are you all so pessimistic? It can be stationed first on the ground near the sea. Then if the sea levels rise, it will give its owners at least another 50 years of life, though with corrosion. better like that than without a home.
By Warpfactor at 7:09 PM ON 06/19/08
Not sure if it's practical, but it's definitely one of the most beautiful concepts I've seen.
By Amazed at 10:47 AM ON 06/23/08
OOOO PRETTY PICTURES :3
Ok ok, so it'd be a great place IN SPACE, but probably not on earth... As said before: all the crap that humans produced: where would it GO??? i mean, sure feces can be recycled-- they do it aboard the space station. But what if the darn thing were to collapse? The environmentalists would be FURIOUS that we just ruined a part of the ocean and affected others!
Poo, this one's out the window! XD
By Amazed 2 at 10:51 AM ON 06/23/08
Sorry, one more thing: If global warming gets SO bad that we have to live in these lily pads... I think we'll most likely be living in space!
By Levitra at 12:04 PM ON 06/26/08
That looks so cool, kind of looks like Bluthon, anyone an arrested development fan?
By morykilroy at 4:38 PM ON 06/26/08
Look at this google map hack where you can raise the sea level up to 14m and see what gets submerged, worldwide: http://flood.firetree.net/
By Dr. Rob at 9:25 AM ON 07/12/08
I believe we need to move in this direction. Some of the question raised by your other visitors are a concern of my as well. Especially the man-made and natural waste.
By Doomsought at 1:02 AM ON 07/22/08
hmm, you'd probably be petter off with a block on stilts like your floating oil wells. And burning the methane from sewage treatment will generate more power than solar and wind combined.
Poo gas 1, environmentalists 0. ;)