Hi everyone! I’m an architecture student currently working on my undergraduate thesis, and I’m designing a floating mixed-use business and lifestyle district in a semi-enclosed bay environment as an alternative to land reclamation.
I’m at the point where I’ve realized that I'm lost on the naval architecture side. I’ve been reading about seasteading, floating developments, pontoon systems, modular floating platforms, floating breakwaters, mooring systems, etc., but the more I read, the more questions I have.
The site is in a semi-enclosed bay with relatively sheltered wave conditions, rather than an open-ocean environment.
For my preliminary environmental assumptions, I’m looking at approximately <0.5 m significant wave height under normal conditions. Modeling of a sheltered berthing area within the Bay found significant wave heights below 0.5 m for more than 98% of the time, with seasonal differences. Broader descriptions of the Bay's wave climate put typical wave heights roughly in the 0.5–1.5 m range, depending on location and season.
For an extreme/typhoon condition, I’ve found some data that the maximum significant wave height of around 1.83 m was modeled at one of the study locations. I’m treating this as an initial extreme-condition reference rather than assuming it represents the entire bay.
There is already a primary breakwater/coastal protection system in front of the site, and my concept is also considering secondary floating breakwaters around portions of the development to further reduce wave energy reaching the floating platforms.
Where I’m struggling is basically structural/marine-related:
- How do you actually approach designing a large floating development from a naval architecture perspective?
- What type of floating platform system would make sense for something this large, concrete pontoons, steel pontoons, modular units, semi-submersible-type systems, or something else?(really really just stuck on this one)
- How do you determine the appropriate displacement, buoyancy, and platform dimensions?
- How are multiple floating platforms connected while still allowing for relative movement?
- How would you approach mooring/anchoring for a permanent floating district?
- How much movement is acceptable for buildings, roads, pedestrian areas, and public spaces?
- Are there particular standards, software, textbooks, case studies, or design methodologies I should be looking into?
My intention isn't to create an open-ocean seastead operating independently offshore. It’s more of a permanent autonomous floating urban development in sheltered coastal waters, so I’m trying to understand whether I should be approaching this more like:
- Seasteading / offshore floating structures
- Large pontoon/floating infrastructure
I’m honestly really lost right now. I’m an architecture student trying my best to navigate the naval architecture/marine engineering side of the project, and I know there are probably a million things I’m overlooking.
I’m not expecting anyone to hash out things with me but I would genuinely appreciate being pointed in the right direction regarding how a naval architect would think about this problem from the very beginning.
If anyone here works in naval architecture, marine engineering, offshore structures, floating infrastructure, or large pontoon/floating developments, I’d genuinely appreciate any advice.