Reclamation alternative: Dutch researchers say floating islands could help solve land shortage

Dutch researchers have unveiled a model of what could become within two decades a floating island to be used as a creative solution for accommodating housing, ports, farms or parks.

Made up of 87 floating triangles of different sizes, the huge, flexible island made of concrete or steel would eventually stretch 1.5 to two kilometres, or a total of three square kilometres.

Squeezed for space in this tiny northern European country, “some cities are starting to look into floating solutions, like a floating park on the river for example, where they want to have an area for recreation close by the city centre,” said Olaf Waals from the Maritime Research Institute of the Netherlands (MARIN).

If plans for floating islands go ahead it would be a twist in the history of this low-lying country, much of which down the centuries has been reclaimed from the sea and which is protected from the waters by an intricate system of dykes and canals.

“In these times of rising sea levels, overpopulated cities and a rising number of activities on the seas, building up the dykes and pumping out the sands is perhaps not the most efficient solution,” said Waals, referring to common methods to reclaim land.

“Floating ports and cities are an innovative solution which reflect the Dutch maritime tradition.”