PayPal creator Peter Thiel will sponsor the creation of a floating city of free people. The city is slated to set sail in the open ocean by 2020.
The city will be built according to the mosaic principle of square and pentagonal floating platforms with sides of 50 meters. The concrete platforms will be able to support the weight of a three-story building. The entire city will be surrounded by a 50-meter-high wall to protect against large waves and strong winds.
The floating platforms, in addition to residential buildings, shops, hotels and restaurants, will house aqua farms, medical and research facilities, as well as power generators. The Seasteading Institute intends to begin construction no later than 2019. The first floating city will be able to accommodate 250-300 people.
In addition to its technological mission, the floating city project has another goal: to create a model for an independent and self-governing society. The president of the Seasteading Institute predicts that if the project succeeds, there will be thousands of such city-states in the ocean by 2050.
