All at sea

Cameron McGillivray, in his year-out from Northumbria University, is a Technical Assistant at NBS. Here he speculates on one of his favourite subjects, the present and future development potential of the sea.

Holidaymakers are always looking for the next island paradise or white sandy beach to jet off to, so what happens when a tourist destination is running out of beach space? If you are developers in Dubai, then one thought could be to extend the land into the sea. Not just to increase the footprint of the city but also to create valuable waterfront development land. This is exactly what they did with the formation of Palm Jumeira, constructed in the shape of a palm to create as much beach area as possible.

Water covers two-thirds of the planet's surface; methods that can be found to efficiently utilize this enormous and relatively untouched commodity suggest a very profitable development opportunity that could drive a trend in future construction.

Dubai appreciated this and carried forward the success of Palm Jumeira with the further construction of Palm Jebel Ali, Palm Diera and The World, all to be created by rock and dredged sand from the seabed. The World, however, is very much different due to it being a series of islands, located 4 km off the coast and only accessible by boat. But is this a step too far, as interest and therefore investment has fallen due to the economic downturn? It seems that even the richest investors have thought twice about committing to developing the islands. At present, only one has been occupied, Greenland, and that is by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai, who uses it as a fishing platform!

What does surprise me about these developments, is the reliance on power from the mainland with no attempt at creating renewable energy. In the case of the Palms, this is more understandable as they are directly connected to the mainland and very easy to connect up to the grid. The World, on the other hand, is isolated, so it could set an example and utilize any form of wind, solar, and tidal energy generation possible, instead of relying upon power routed under the sea or provided by plants situated on the islands. Maybe a view of wind turbines and photovoltaic cells would distract the eye of would-be visitors and investors!

What is the next step? Instead of creating more land at the expense of the sea, another and a far more eco-friendly idea would be to build underneath it, using the surroundings as a tourist attraction. Hydropolis is currently under construction, again off the coast of Dubai. The 20 m deep, 220 suite hotel will be the world's first underwater luxury resort and could be a foretaste of a new era of using the vastness of the sea as a construction platform. A ballroom located at the heart of the development will act as a hub, with pathways connecting to it at different levels. The reinforced concrete structure features Plexiglass walls and domes that will give unrivalled views of underwater life.

A second underwater construction project off the coast of Fiji, aptly named Poseidon, offers 24 luxury suites on the seabed, 12 m under the surface. Although on a smaller scale to Hydropolis, you can't fault the project for its ambition. The pod-like suites will be enveloped in 100 mm thick transparent acrylic plastic, giving clear views of the ocean.

A similar but much grander project is the concept of an underwater 'seascraper' named 'Gyre'. Its double-hulled vortex, clad in reinforced glass, stretches down from the sea surface to a depth of 400 m and is powered entirely by renewable wind, solar and tidal energy. It is effectively an underwater city with living and working spaces, along with shops, restaurants and gardens, with the deepest levels being used for scientific research.

So if you can have a stationary underwater city, why not have a movable floating city, which is the concept of the 'Lilypad'. A rise in sea level would not affect this 50,000 inhabitant construction. This is definitely in the realms of science fiction, but it has ideas for the future of material selection and renewable energy. An array of solar, thermal, wind, hydraulic, tidal and osmotic generators means it produces more energy that it consumes. The double skin of the lily shaped structure is even coated in titanium dioxide (TiO₂); this reacts with ultraviolet rays to absorb atmospheric pollution by photocatalytic effect. What more could you ask for?

Some of these projects are under construction and some are just concepts, but you can see where they could take us. The inspiration and desire is already there, along with a lot of the required technology. So maybe an interest in the sea will push the construction industry towards a previously unattainable new sector. However, I do feel that if we are to make greater use of the sea, a particular effort should be taken to ensure the projects are as self-sufficient as possible, to avoid putting further strain on the already stretched and increasingly expensive global power supply.

May 2010

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