This site may earn affiliate commissions from the links on this page. Terms of use.

Back in the early nineties, at that place were several things a budding radical transhumanist might do to distinguish themselves. To go on beside of the latest libertarian ideals, and the freethinking technologies that would be required to realize them, subscriptions to cutting edge publications like the Extropy: Journal of Tranhumanist Thought, and the Alcor Foundation's Cryonics magazine would be essential. Merely what really separated the early doers from the wannabe futurists and dreamers was throwing some tangible support into 'Operation Atlantis' — the Floating City of Oceania — by purchasing and actually wearing their promotional T-shirt.

Oceania promised much more than only a neat identify to alive; it offered an entirely new way to live, and a new fashion to call up. Unfortunately, like many other would-be Waterworlds proposed both prior and since, it but wasn't to exist. In hindsight, nosotros now know that the main reason for the failure of the Oceania concept was its shape. Specifically, its pattern was not modeled later that sleek and mysterious denizen of the deep — the manta.

Fortunately, French architect Jacques Rougerie has been able to spec out a massive floating city capable of housing some 7000 "ocean scientists," and yet still agree the strict tolerances of the manta course factor. That, he says, provides the "best possible correlation between infinite and stability needs." Practically speaking, that translates into the ability to resist turbulence and severe weather condition. Rougerie'due south City of Mériens would be 900 meters long and 500 wide, while extending to 120 below the surface, and rising to lx above.

The mantamorphic shape contains within itself another surprise, a large interior lagoon which provides shelter for however some other key Rougerian innovation — the SeaOrbiter. This nimble cosmos is more than just a properly dimensioned CAD file with a complete Pecker of Materials (and we are giving the City of Mériens the benefit of the dubiousness on that here). In fact the SeaOrbiter is already a piece of work in progress. Structure on the $l 1000000 craft is apparently moving right forth, with the get-go operational prototype expected to exist operational next twelvemonth.

As seen to a higher place, these comparatively pocket-sized sea-horse style boats volition each have vi floors below and six floors to a higher place the h2o's surface. It is existence billed as a inquiry platform with exceptional stability and accessibility both higher up and below. Success with the SeaOrbiters, it would seem, is a critical stepping rock to securing the funds and general glam that success in the larger floating urban center project needs.

There is non much talk yet as far as actual ability for the city — only that information technology will exist sustainable. Presumably that would entail some form of renewable marine ability using moving ridge-pumped hydraulic pressure level heads driving rotating turboelectric machinery. Some successes in this area have already been achieved elsewhere using a serpentine system of linked buoys that flex and jerk with the motions of the ocean. We might compare the full general concept to a giant groundwork energy harvester, which instead of rectifying radio waves or separating charge using ambience heat, channels the whims of the waves into electric power.

Ane can merely hope that their energy program entails more mere harvesting whatsoever they might detect around around them, specially during what might exist expected to be an ongoing or fifty-fifty open up-ended construction stage.

floatingCityTrimmed

At that place is certainly no shortage of agreeing efforts on different continents. Peter Theil, for example, put over $1 meg into The Seasteading Establish a while back. Among their many proposals is i that could potentially house 300 people by 2022 using various assemblages of a basic physical platform design.

The Urban center of Mériens, on the other paw, might be looking at a timeline a little closer to 2050. While the actual location may not be known, the proposed system of governance would be based on United Nations standards. Undoubtedly the world will exist a much different place by then, but it seems like the floating metropolis is an idea whose fourth dimension has come.