Waterpod Project – A Floating World

Water­pod Project (ren­der­ings by James Halver­son of Lux Visual Effects)

A recur­ring theme for the future seems to be alter­na­tive hous­ing. The Water­pod Project intends to be a model for the future of archi­tec­ture and liv­ing. It is con­cerned with the same basic prob­lems as other projects, cli­mate change and increas­ing world pop­u­la­tion, but takes a dif­fer­ent approach. Where Polar Cities and Lily­pad are pri­mar­ily con­cerned with phys­i­cal sur­vival, Water­pod is inter­ested in cre­ativ­ity and expression.

The Water­pod is inspir­ing because it has moved past the hypo­thet­i­cal, it is cur­rently being con­structed in New York. Being a model for future build­ing, sus­tain­abil­ity is the key. The Water­pod is being built on a retired indus­trial barge using sal­vaged mate­ri­als. It fea­tures three domes to be used for artis­tic space, sleep­ing quar­ters, and agriculture.

It is cur­rently sched­uled to launch in New York in May, 2009, from the New­town Creek between Brook­lyn and Queens, nav­i­gate down the East River, explore the waters of New York Har­bor, and stop­ping at each of the five bor­oughs it will dock at sev­eral Man­hat­tan piers on the Hud­son River, then beyond.
—Water­pod Structure

Water­pod artist res­i­dency building

To begin with there will be five res­i­dents who will live and work and be com­pletely sus­tained on the barge. They plan to travel around to teach, give tours, and have exhi­bi­tions. They hope to be a model and inspi­ra­tion for the future, to pre­pare and to encour­age innovation.

This forces me to focus on cer­tain things that I have been putting off for too long, and forces me to live like we will prob­a­bly all need to live sooner or later.
—Mary Mat­tingly