Floating

British artist Alex Chinneck has been distorting and twisting the physical world into surreal and mind-bending permutations for nearly a decade now. His latest work returns to the more humble world of indoor sculpture after five years of extraordinary large-scale work.

Italian designer Pierpaolo Lazzarini has conceived a futuristic community named Wayaland made up of floating pyramid structures. It's still very much in the concept stage, though Lazzarini is hoping to raise the funds to build it with a crowdfunding campaign.

Bulgarian-born artist Christo, who made his name creating oversized artworks with his late wife Jeanne-Claude, is planning his first major UK project this year. Named the Mastaba, the temporary sculpture will feature thousands of stacked barrels floating on Serpentine Lake, Hyde Park, London.

Max Zhivov recently unveiled his latest project, the Modul Go. It's envisioned as an inexpensive and flexible motorized houseboat that could serve as a residence, coffee shop, or more. As of writing it's still in the design stage, but Zhivov hopes to eventually bring it to market.

​A new Kickstarer project aims to remove trash from the Chicago River by creating a remote-controlled floating garbage collector. Named Trash Robot, the machine can be controlled a web browser, so potentially anyone can take a turn doing their bit to clean up the river from anywhere in the world.

Dubbed “Haarlem Shuffle,” this floating home is located on the Spaarne River in Haarelm, Netherlands. The 210-sq m (2,260-sq ft) home stretches over two levels and is designed to offer the occupants privacy while also capitalizing on natural light.

Artists Claudius Schulze and Maciej Markowicz have embarked on a voyage through Europe's waterways on two self-built motorized houseboats. The aptly-named 2Boats project involves the pair traveling to multiple destinations while meeting people and documenting their journey.

Inspired by traditional Japanese architecture​ and boasting luxurious wooden interiors, the "Guntu" floating hotel aims to create the perfect atmosphere for guests to soak up the serenity of their surrounds.

With concerns about rising sea levels and attractive land always in demand, there's something to be said for a house that floats on water. With this in mind, we highlight the best examples of floating homes we've seen so far – from classic prefabricated houseboat to luxury models for the ultra-rich.

​​There are lots of cool ways to check out the magnificent Northern Lights, but they might not come any cooler than Sweden's soon-to-be opened Arctic Bath, a sister retreat to the country's Treehouse hotel.

Hydrogen is a clean fuel source, and using sunlight and water is the cleanest way to produce it. Now, engineers from Columbia University are developing a “solar fuels rig” that floats on the ocean, captures energy through a solar cell and uses it to harvest hydrogen from the water beneath it.

For the last 13 years, Dutch Architect Koen Olthuis has been designing floating structures at his firm Waterstudio. His spectacular visions for reimagining urban environments has resulted in over 200 floating buildings around the world. Let's dive in and take a look at some of the studio's work.