Usually when considering utopias one tends to think about how they are impossible, naïve and idealistic while missing the point behind them. This being that they are possible solutions to contemporary anxieties. This makes utopias only relevant in the time it was created. Viewing utopias in that light requires one to ask which anxiety would I like to address. Global warming, or to be more specific, the consequence of a near future rise in the sea level that will submerge all coastal cities is the anxiety of choice for this thesis.

The mentality behind this dissertation is to be proactive towards the problem by building cities in the water. When the inevitable happens, we would have already adapted. This might sound strange, but many people already live in aquatic conditions. Examples being cruise ships, the nomad Indians in both lake Titicaca and in the Malaysian sea, and deep-sea oilrigs. It’s the oilrigs that seemed most interesting.

The proposal is to create a floating city through the adaptive reuse of offshore oilrigs. Even though many great proposals exist using the oilrig as a floating structure, they always seem to be isolated. This proposal differs that way, instead of being one block that has everything; it’s an ever-growing series of blocks that collages itself into the city that is wanted from it’s citizens.

Using the jack-up rig as the initial prototype allows the possibility of adjusting how high off the sea level the user would want to be. In the proposed scenario, it helps alleviate the flatness of the rigs by creating topography. This change in levels permits a more dynamic public space that works on two levels: one on the ground floor of the platforms and the second being in the bridges between all the volumes. Using perforated panels throughout the volumes responds to the way oilrigs today emit a twinkle like imagery at night. The pools of fresh water contextualize with the ocean, bringing its massive expansiveness up close, yet it acts as a contrast to the salty surroundings.