Joseph Lim
Research Team: Christopher Wijatno, Davis Wong, Chen Qisen, Roy Tay,
Wang Yigeng, Sakinah Halim, Bek Tai Keng, Zhang Linwang & Karen Ho
Department of Architecture, School of Design and Environment
National University of Singapore
E-mail: akilimem@nus.edu.sg
Abstract – This research study is a collection of ideas proposing offshore and nearshore
settlements responding to emergent need in the light of climate change. They are counterpoints
to megacities with ecological footprints that are unsustainable. The continued depletion of
natural resources leading to scarcity has resulted in displaced communities and prompted.
What if we floated on sea instead of consuming land inefficiently?
And could we use wave energy instead of nuclear energy?
Could we replenish food supply and regenerate marine eco-diversity?
How would our lives be shaped by new offshore settlements?
What would we use as structures for shelter, farming scaffold and recreation?
Floating cities emerged in the 1960s with Buckminster Fuller’s Triton City and Kenzo Tange’s
Tokyo Bay Plan. Current manifestations include Vincent Calebaut’s Lilypad, the Seasteading
Institute and the mile long Freedom Ship housing 50,000 people.
As an alternative to these examples, three types of vessels in the marine industry, viz the jack-up
platforms, the semi-submersibles and the super-barges are repurposed as small footprint
habitable propositions to accommodate a projected global population of 7 billion people in
2030. Floating communities are spatially conceived with food and energy estimates for housing,
recreation, education at sea, post-disaster healthcare and resettlement for nearshore
deployment.
Keywords – Repurposed oil rigs, floating settlements, sustainable, offshore, nearshore.
Dr Joseph Lim is Associate Professor with NUS Architecture. He has a special interest in prototypical structures addressing emergent spatial and environmental need. His design projects have won SIA Design Awards and international awards including an Honorable Mention for Lee Treehouse at the Kenneth F. Brown Asia Pacific Culture and Architecture Design Award in 2003; and a Merit Win for Dragon Bridge in URA Southern Ridges Bridge International Design Competition in 2004. He was appointed architect by Mercy Relief for the post-Tsunami rebuilding efforts and his self-sufficient housing proposal won an Honorable Mention at the Institute of Advanced Architecture of Catalonia in 2005. Joseph’s focus in Industry and Infrastructure explores land intensification through architectural investigations, which have significant implications on the planning of future settlements, townships and infrastructure. In 2008, he pioneered corporation-funded design research studios, collaborating with JTC in 2008-10. MPA-funded research studio followed in 2014, which explored an urban design study for Tuas Port 2027 and was exhibited at the Singapore Maritime Week Exhibition and SG50 NUS Exhibition in 2015. The research studio was also featured in a Channel News Asia documentary – Futuropolis Episode 2: Keeping Afloat televised in 2017 – on the effects of rising sea levels and the viability of floating settlements. Joseph is the author of Bio- structural Analogues in Architecture (2010) and Eccentric Structures in Architecture (2012); both publications are in their third reprint and have been translated in Korean and Chinese languages. His latest publication, Skybridge I investigates forms of air rights structures built over Ayer Rajah Crescent and the research conclusions were presented at the JTC i3C Symposium on Industrial Infrastructure Research in 2017. The forthcoming Skybridge II publication explores new R&D typologies in Greater One North.