Floating Homes Crafted From Recycled Plastic Make Humans & Fish Neighbors

A new floating housing concept might one day set sail near you.
 
The latest project from Danish maritime architectural firm MAST aims to bring sustainable infrastructure to bodies of water. The Land on Water iteration imagines floating modular buildings and houses coming together to create communities and settlements in lagoons and oceans around the world.

In assembling these new living areas, the firm looks to gabion cages in traditional construction to help them float. Gabion cages are ancient tools that use mesh wiring to combine rubble and earth into a foundation for a house.

MAST repurposes this technology to fill the mesh cages with locally-sourced upcycled floatation support, including old plastic bottles and recycled buoys, to keep the settlement steady on the water’s surface.

The main idea behind this is to not impede on the natural ecosystem of the area by introducing concrete and steel—which often have toxic anti-fouling paints—and instead create an environment where humans and marine life can co-exist.
 
The structures can be flat-packed and transported worldwide to be erected in various configurations to fit each city’s needs and landscape.

The design of the floating village was developed by Hubert Rhomberg and the venture studio Fragile to demonstrate a possible living option that doubles as a biophilic hub for ecosystems to thrive.
 
 
 
[via Dezeen and MAST, images via MAST]