Waterstudio
A rendering of a floating island home off the coast of Dubai.
Like a number of coastal areas around the world, the United Arab Emirates is becoming increasingly vulnerable to sea level rise.
According to a 2017 study from the Emirates Wildlife Society and World Wildlife Fund, researchers expect ocean levels to rise around three feet by 2100. If that happens, water would inundate about 8.1% of the Emirate of Ajman, 1.2% of the Emirate of Sharjah, and 5.9% of the Emirate of Umm Al-Quwain. Many UAE residents live in these coastal areas.
A new type of floating home could withstand future rising sea levels. Waterstudio, a Dutch architecture firm that exclusively designs floating structures, is creating 33 private villas on artificial islands off the coast of Dubai. Developer Dutch Docklands will build the first one this month.
The buoyed islands will bob up and down with water levels so they won't flood, Waterstudio founder Koen Olthuis told Business Insider.
Take a look at the project below.