Holland is a small country, and they have already found many ways to expand its territory into the sea. Now they’ve come up with one of their most ingenious ideas to date. The Maritime Research Institute Netherlands (MARIN) is currently working on designing an artificial island.
The MARIN island will be made of large triangles which will be connected in a modular way. They are currently running computer simulations and testing the idea with a scale model island, which is composed of 87 triangles. They are doing so in a facility called Offshore Basin, namely in a 131 by 131 ft (40 by 40 m) pool where they can simulate all the conditions a real life artificial floating island will face, such as wind, waves, and currents.
Once complete, this island will be able to support homes, public spaces, as well as ship docks, and fishing and seaweed-harvesting facilities. It will also be able to house various renewable energy systems such as solar, wind, tidal or even wave energy generators.
The project is still being tested. They are currently working on finding the best ways to lock the triangles together and how best to anchor the whole island into the seabed. There is also the movement of water to consider, and how the homes and other structures on it will be effected by it. There are also other effects of the environment to consider and address.
It is certainly a clever idea, and will hopefully see the light of day. With the rising sea levels many other countries will soon be facing the need for additional land and building artificial islands like this could be one way to gain it.
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