3deluxe envisions floating campus complete with a natural biotope for manhattan

3deluxe has developed a floating campus complete with a natural biotope for manhattan, commissioned by new york-based organization ‘we the planet’ (WTP). the project serves as a communicative platform to protect all life on land and under the sea, offering facilities for convening international summits, workshops, and educational programs that focus on transforming our world for a better future. the vision of the campus is to be completely self-sufficient in generating energy and drinking water, while floating marshland biotopes make up 50% of the overall surface areas.

all images by 3deluxe

3deluxe was commissioned by we the planet to create an inspirational structure that nurtures and investigates new and forward-looking opportunities for people-friendly architecture in harmony with nature. the result presents a new generation of corporate buildings, offering not only the functional structural shell of a building, but also taking a stance on relevant social questions such as climate protection, nature conservation, and transparency. 

‘after the shock of the pandemic and the social polarization of recent years, there is a longing for positive change,’ says dieter brell, creative director of 3deluxe. ‘it is time for architecture and urbanism to take a more ambitious approach to humanize our living environment.’

the 50/50 concept developed by 3deluxe foresees an architecture for the future that centers on shared spaces for both people and nature. according to this architectural concept, in the future, all building projects should give back just as much substance to nature as they take from it. this would mean that as compensation for soil sealing, CO2 production, and the use of energy and materials, new living environments would be created for flora and fauna (neophytes).

the WTP campus sits on a floating platform that is future-oriented, mobile, and unaffected by rising sea levels. its floating natural biotope provides an extra piece of greenery, extending the tightly packed land area that is manhattan. ‘this partly public platform not only represents an additional destination for new yorkers for sports, leisure, and communication, but also an attractive new honeypot for western manhattan,’ notes 3deluxe. ‘an option exists to extend the principle of the floating green platform and to install other floating parks and green running courses along the shoreline.’

besides the marshland biotope, the project also includes the meadow, the sand biotope, and the thatched and green roofs, which create living environments for a diversified, urban animal and plant world. the building materials can be divided up into natural materials such as wood, clay, or reeds and recycled materials such as bioplastics. the latest surface technologies for air cleansing will also be used, along with algae bioreactors, wind farms, photovoltaics, and marine power plants under the platform for energy extraction.

project info:

name: we the planet campus

architect: 3deluxe