OCEANIX Busan – the world’s first prototype of a resilient and sustainable floating community – was unveiled at the Second UN Roundtable on Sustainable Floating Cities at The United Nations HQ on April 26th, 2022.
A follow up to the inaugural Roundtable in April 2019, which revealed Oceanix City – an agreement to build a prototype with a host city – OCEANIX Busan’s site-specific design was presented by partners UN-Habitat, the Busan Metropolitan City of the Republic of Korea, OCEANIX, BIG, and SAMOO.
Designed by BIG alongside local architects SAMOO, OCEANIX Busan aims to provide breakthrough technology for coastal cities facing severe land shortages that are compounded by climatic threats. OCEANIX Busan’s interconnected platforms total 15.5 acres to accommodate a community of 12,000 people.
Each neighborhood is designed to serve a specific purpose – living, research, and lodging. There are between 30,000 to 40,000 square meters of mixed-use programs per platform. The floating platforms connect to land with link-span bridges, framing the sheltered blue lagoon of floating recreation, art, and performance outposts.
The low-rise buildings on each platform, defined by their soft lines, feature terraces for indoor-outdoor living activating the network of vibrant public spaces. OCEANIX Busan will organically transform and adapt over time based on the needs of Busan.
Starting from a community of 12,000 residents and visitors, it has the potential to expand to accommodate more than 100 000 people. The floating platforms are accompanied by dozens of productive outposts and greenhouses.
OCEANIX Busan has six integrated systems: zero waste and circular systems, closed loop water systems, food, net zero energy, innovative mobility, and coastal habitat regeneration. These interconnected systems will generate 100% of the required operational energy on site through floating and rooftop photovoltaic panels.
Similarly, each neighborhood will treat and replenish its own water, reduce and recycle resources, and provide innovative urban agriculture. Source by BIG Bjarke Ingels Group.
- Location: Busan, South Korea
- Architect: BIG Bjarke Ingels Group
- Partners-in-Charge: Bjarke Ingels, Daniel Sundlin
- Project Leaders: Alana Goldweit (Project Designer) Flora Bao (Project Manager)
- Design Team: Einat Lubliner, Santiago Letona, Veronica Acosta, Jeremy Alain Siegel, Isela Liu, Jaeho Park, Pooja Annamaneni, Jasmine Idiakhoa, Jindian Fu, Terrence Chew, Tracy Sodder, Luca McLaughlin
- Collaborators: Busan Metropolitan City, UN Habitat, SAMOO, ARUP, Prime Movers Lab, Center for Zero Waste Design, Sherwood Design Engineers, Transsolar, Mobility in Chain, Global Coral Reef Alliance, Wartsila, Korean Maritime and Ocean University
- Client: OCEANIX
- Size: 15.5 acres
- Year: 2022
- Images: Courtesy of BIG Bjarke Ingels Group
