Floating Homes At the Edge of Being Capsized!
Previously, the teens were given a challenge to move residences to floating homes to make more space on an island for a growing economy. This week they took a 360 degree turn!
Last week, the teens picked different roles to play in a team helping the local government in an island embark upon a very novel project- moving residences on the land to floating homes on water, thus making more space on land for growth infrastructure projects, offices, factories, education, hospitals etc;. Read a synopsis of the discussion between the Engineer, Architect and the Society manager who highlighted all the potential problems in managing such a society spread out on the water around the island.
The Engineer and the Architect came up with amazing plans. However, the concerns of the Society Manager could not be ignored. The following week we were scheduled to address those concerns and see if there could be easy solutions. The teen playing the role of a real estate agent, had more concerns although the plan for the floating homes were amazing. He was of the opinion that this project was not likely to be successful. It would be incredibly hard to sell.
Rocking the boat: The project in trouble
The island is prone to storms. Why build floating homes? Dangerous proposition and must be incredibly hard to live in these especially during storms.
Too confined as a home. Stepping out isn’t easy.
Why not relocate the residents to the parent country? Most islands are a part of another country.
Climate Change, Rising Water Levels a Threat to Islands
“How about adopting the cruise ship idea?” suggested the teen who played the role of an architect. “Today we have the knowledge and technology to build large multi storied buildings on land. Perhaps in the future, we will have giant cruise ships having multiple homes and recreational facilities on board.”
“That comes with a whole new set of challenges!” sighed the Society Manager.
The beautiful ads created by the Ad Agent lay unrevealed, now that the floating homes idea was out of the door.
The advertising agent however was already ready with fantastic ads featuring floating homes in the serenity of the island in the backdrop. All the effort couldn’t go waste. The team came up with an alternative idea instead. They suggested making these floating homes a holiday destination that is open only during seasons in which storms are less likely to occur.
Summary
This activity was designed, drawing inspiration from an interesting trend- people choosing floating homes over brick and mortar homes on land across the world.
The teens chose different roles ranging from Engineer & Architect to Society Manager, Creative Director from an Ad Agency to Real Estate Agent.
In that process, they brought to the forefront environment consciousness, practical aspects of living in a floating home, building materials to suit water, protect against storms, etc,.
Several challenges got identified in the process and parallels with the real world were drawn. We touched upon governance, country status, affiliation of islands with larger countries in terms of governance etc,.
Islands in particular remind us of rising water levels and the potential possibility of getting submerged. That led to the possibility of large cruise ship like apartment complexes or floating homes. Is that a distant possibility? Only time can tell.
Islands in particular remind us of rising water levels and the potential possibility of getting submerged. That led to the possibility of large cruise ship like apartment complexes or floating homes. Is that a distant possibility? Only time can tell.
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