Floating Garden

Peter von Bartheld;

Building a permanent living situation out of common and cheap materials, that is comfortable yet can withstand 10-meter waves that have an impact of 100t per square meter, right..?

Pfew...

I guess we have to choose between either building a structure that is as efficient as possible in any weather situation, which would for sure mean we'd have to make a lot of compromises, or building one that protects itself in bad situations and unfolds again when the weather clears. Like a flower closing its leaves or a turtle crawling back inside its protective shell.

So I've been thinking a bit on how to provide yourself with fresh vegetables during the trip;





Maybe not really shaped like a ship, but more like a buoy... Both of the sketches show how the vulnerable parts can be covered when the weater turns. Well, they look funny, but not too efficient. Lots of vessel and very little space to actually plant something. And no way to reach it.

So maybe something like a very basis platform that floats just above the waves? Easy to access via a little path in the mittle. And I've been thinking of all sorts of fancy ways to protect the greenhouse from bad weather, but I guess the easiest would be to just close a lid...



1) We could think of all kinds of hulls, but I guess the best would be to find something you know it will stay afloat no matter how many waves go over it, and using pipes or barrels in this way would also be so much cheaper.

2) A light but strong steal frame raises the beds about a meter above the waterline. in the middle there's a pathway that allows one to work on the beds.

3) The boxes in which the plants are grown are painted black to absorb the warmth of the sun.

4) (plexi)glass sheats cover the boxes the keep the warmth of the sun in there.

5) Since most of the saline plants can be kept small, the boxes don't have to be to deep.

6) Simple lids protect the glass and the plants during harsh weather.

With a simple manual pump seawater could be pumber into the boxes to imitate the tides. Via taps it could be released again.

Would there be a way to increase the surface area to plant stuff without adding to much material? Bigger, flatter boxes? Would something like this work? Would it be efficient enough?If anyone has any suggestions, please comment!

With most of the pictures and ideas i've seen sofar I prefered the ones that actually stick out of the water as far as possible. The salt water attackes everything, (electrical) equipment, food, plants, even the steel rots away from under your feet. For the safest place on earth, the ocean ist still pretty hostile...

 read more and see the development .... >>>