There’s a lot of debate these days about what the cities of the future should look like with most people agreeing that they need to be energy efficient, modern, well laid out and possibly even self-sustaining. French architect Jacques Rougerie has captured all of those elements in his rather ambitious concept for a Manta Ray-shaped floating city.
Rougerie talks at length about his love for the ocean in an interview in which he brands himself as a “mérien,” that’s a term he has coined which translates to “one belonging to the sea.” The idea behind this concept is to populate the City of Mériens with like minded people who will go out to conduct research on the surrounding ocean.
City of Mériens will measure 3,000 foot by 1,600 foot and will be able to house 7,000 researchers and students who will be able to carry on with their duties aided by countless classrooms, laboratories and living quarters. They will also have spaces for sports and other leisure activities onboard. City of Mériens would be self-sustaining and it will run completely on marine energy without producing any waste.
Since this is a rather ambitious project one can’t really be sure when it will be built and sent out in the ocean, but perhaps 70-year old Rougerie hopes to inspire younger generations instead to continue down this path so that perhaps one day it could become a reality.
Filed in .. Source: inhabitat