Architecture

Hugely ambitious self-sufficient floating city to host 40,000 people

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Dogen City would measure 4 km (almost 2.5 mile) in circumference and host up to 40,000 people
N-Ark
Dogen City would measure 4 km (almost 2.5 mile) in circumference and host up to 40,000 people
N-Ark
Dogen City's main living areas would be situated within its ring-like structure, which would be rated to withstand tsunami waves
N-Ark
Dogen City's ring-shaped structure would create a sheltered bay that would host floating architecture inside
N-Ark
Dogen City would include an undersea data center, which would be naturally cooled by the sea and host city management and medical research facilities
N-Ark
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Japan's N-Ark has revealed plans for an incredibly ambitious floating city that would host tourism, medical facilities, and even space rockets. Named Dogen City, it would be designed to take any climate change-related sea rises in its stride and provide power, food and water for up to 40,000 people.

Dogen City would measure 4 km (almost 2.5 miles) in circumference. It would have a capacity for approximately 10,000 full-time inhabitants, plus there could also be up to 30,000 tourists visiting at any time. Its circular form would be designed to withstand severe weather and even tsunamis, though no further details are available at this early stage.

We do know that the project would be arranged into three distinct areas: the so-called habitable ring containing the main housing zone, an undersea data center which would be naturally cooled by the sea and contain city management and medical research facilities, and floating architecture within the artificial bay created by the ring-shaped structure.

Dogen City's ring-shaped structure would create a sheltered bay that would host floating architecture inside
N-Ark

There would also be lots of greenery, food production facilities, a school, sports areas, hospitals, parks, stadiums, hotels, and offices. Additionally, as mentioned, N-Ark envisions Dogen City including some kind of launch and landing site for rocket transportation. Healthcare is also a major focus and residents would have access to telemedicine consultations and high-tech blood analysis for possible issues, as well as robotic surgery and drug research.

N-Ark has done its math and reckons that there would be around 2 million liters (roughly 530,000 gallons) of water consumption per year, which sounds rather modest, plus 3,288 tons of annual garbage disposal. Almost 7,000 tons of food would be produced and 22,265,000 kW of power would be generated. Meeting all these needs would definitely be a huge undertaking and details on how the floating city would do so are light at this stage, though the renders provided do show lots of solar panels and the food growing facilities mentioned.

We've no word yet on where the project would be located, nor its budget, though N-Ark envisions it being in use by 2030. As for how likely it is to go ahead, we wouldn't like to bet on it. However in a world where the Line is currently under construction, we wouldn't rule it out either.

Source: N-Ark

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13 comments
pbethel
Being able to handle that centimeter a century sea level rise is an amazing engineering accomplishment.
Bob Flint
Does it rotate to obtain the maximum solar capture, & it seems too little surface area to meet those numbers based on the rendering. I think I have seen this in the movie "Water World"
clay
Two words: Rogue Wave
Jeff7
Being able to get websites to publish something so flaky is an amazing PR accomplishment.
lon4
Makes me wonder if SciFi books like "Flood" are really plausible, and whether or not the push for survival modes is already taking shape.
jerryd
While this looks interesting, it will cost a lot to build. The ring should be 3 stories/decks with the bottom utilities, businesses, middle homes, businesses and top recreation, community space.
The inside would need to be more densely packed to pay for the Ring. Japan though has no need since 75% of the country has been mostly abandoned as birth rates plunged, except a few elderly. They just won't allow permanent immigration to not pollute their gene pool so their population will shrink fast.
We've lost about 1.5' in sea level rise and I've personally seen 1' of it in Florida as the islands one by one are overcome by the sea. I'd bet another 3' by 2100 at least takes a lot of Florida's most expensive properties with it.
Trylon
Reminds me of Sea City from five decades ago.
https://www.aiai.ed.ac.uk/~bat/sea-city.html
Wombat56
I wonder how it will handle the category 5 hurricanes and tidal surges which will also be a product of climate change?
Paul Carr
Is this the current iteration of the Babylon Project? Points if you know what that is in refernce to.
Nelson Hyde Chick
Japan's population is shrinking, it needs this about as much as one needs cancer.