Energy Floating Structures: A Sustainable and Innovative Initiative

Sustainable architecture is currently expanding towards diverse areas, one of the most fascinating ones is the creation of energy floating structures. This kind of structures allows the solar, hydraulic and eolic energy to be gathered. This is possible thanks to solar panels, eolic generators and turbines in architectonic structures. Here are three examples worth analyzing.

Floating milk farm (Rotterdam)

Peter van Wingerden, founder of Beladon, a Dutch construction company, built the first floating milk farm in the world. Its purpose is to search for new alternatives for alimentary safety. This cow farm is all about reuse. The space is completely sustainable: it has solar panels that provide all the necessary energy, a system of rainwater collection and purification, and even milk and compost robots.  

The 4,843 feet farm floats on concrete hulks that are fixated on two steel beams that go 65 feet under the sea. The structure is able to move according to the tides and never leans more than eleven inches, even when the wind is strong. The cows are fed with potato crusts and weeds. Their solid waste is absorbed by a robot and deposited in a platform underneath. Their liquid waste is collected and filtered. In addition to this, the project also provides a considerable reduction in transportation, thus reducing the pollution this implies. 

Wayland (Italy)

Wayland is a project of a floating city imagined by Italian architect Pierpaolo Lazzarini, using the Mayan pyramids as inspiration. It will merge modular pyramids and luxury yachts, becoming a unique attraction. It’s planned to be concluded in 2022. The floating pyramids will be placed over a 3,000 square meter basement with a port for entering ships. The buildings will be around 30 meters high. Each pyramid includes an engine and propulsor with the purpose to be located in the necessary positions. The modules will be made of fiberglass, carbon and steel. Each level will be built onsite once the base is fixed on the sea. This is a sustainable project that includes solar panels, turbines for energy generation, a desalination system for water supply and floating gardens for harvesting.

Manta Ray (Seoul)

In 2017, the architect firm Vincent Callebaut presented an ambitious project named Manta Ray. It’s presented as a net-zero building thanks to renewable sources, while also providing purification of the Han river on which it will float. 

The energy is supplied by solar panels over the roof, opaque photo-thermal plaques, eolic turbines, hydrokinetic turbines, and biomass (organic and biodegradable residues from the Yeouido park that will provide energy for equipment.

This floating complex will be 25,600 square meters that include the terminal, the docks, the observatory and a cultural complex. The purifying process of the river water will be achieved thanks to marisma plants, and it will also include a willow forest on the top with bicycle lanes. 

As we can see, sustainable projects open a whole area of opportunity for creative and innovative architecture. We’ll surely see more projects like these in the future as the field is becoming increasingly aware of our planet’s needs. Have you heard of more initiatives like these ones? Share them with us! YOU MUST READ Adaptive Reuse Architecture: A Trend that can Change the World