The Floating Future proposal has been awarded by NWO (Dutch Research Council). This 5-year research project, initiated by Rutger De Graaf-van Dinther from Stichting Blue Revolution Foundation and Olaf Waals from MARIN (Maritime Research Institute Netherlands) will research climate adaptive housing and infrastructure from the perspective of social sciences, legal, ecology and technology.

Resilient to sea level rise

The project will have 12 PhDs and postdocs to investigate the challenges around upscaling of floating buildings, both inland and offshore. Floating developments can be designed to be resilient to sea level rise and can be flexibly relocated. Last December a large consortium submitted the application to NWO. Rotterdam supported this with a letter of support and gave a confirmation of a subordinate inkind contribution. The main objective of the Floating Future project is to understand how the upscaling of floating structures could offer a viable and climate-proof solution for space limitations in the Dutch Delta.

Further innovation development and upscaling of floating buildings

As a delta city, Rotterdam is an important case in this proposal. This research programme will boost the further innovation development and upscaling of floating buildings in Rotterdam. There are already many great examples in our city, such as the Floating Pavillion, the Floating Office, the Floating Farm, and 18 lofts in the Naussauhaven.