Italian architect firm Carlo Ratti Associati has unveiled a masterplan for the Currie Park waterfront of West Palm Beach, Florida, USA, complete with “floating plaza”
This has been designed to will allow pedestrians to walk from the centre of the beach to the middle of a lagoon.
The design utilises some of the technologies employed in the construction of underwater vessels as the square will sit partially below sea level, and will have a system of responsive air chambers to keep it afloat – similar to the buoyancy tanks used in submarines.
Ratti said: “This project showcases how a new technology allows us to radically redefine the relationship between architecture and water.”
As well as the plaza, thedevelopment will include housing, retail and leisure facilities such as an organic restaurant with its own hydroponic cultivations, a circular pool and an auditorium.
Construction will begin this year and is expected to be complete in 2018.