Sea level rise is inevitable. According to UN Habitat, by 2050, 90% of the world’s largest cities will be subjected to rising sea level.

The predominant method of dealing with sea level rise and land scarcity is through the polder system. A polder is a piece of land in a low lying area that has been reclaimed from a body of water by building dykes and a drainage canal.

However, land reclamation through the polder system has severe detrimental impact on the environment. In addition, sand used for land reclamation is a limited resource and as such becomes a very expensive solution for deeper waters.

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We believe that future ocean cities should be built from modular self-sustainable floating platforms. These hexagonal-shaped platforms, which are modular and more structurally sound, enable the ocean city to expand to accommodate population growth.

The first ocean city we envision is a transnational economic hub located in the Singapore-Johor-Riau (SIJORI) growth triangle. The SIJORI growth triangle is an economic partnership among the countries to make the subregions more attractive to regional and international investors. Our floating platform provides a perfect middle ground for the different nations to concentrate their economic resources and foster a highly technological business district.

This first step to a sea city helps lower psychological barriers to ocean living.

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Seaforms is envisioned to be an economic hub. Hence, three main typologies comprising; production, industrial, and commercial are proposed to achieve self-sustenance. 

The agglomeration logic to construct the floating city follows an underlying hexagonal grid. A hexagonal circular cluster is first established and more of these clusters can be added on. Connectivity to the countries' mainland is achieved by creating a series of entry points from different orientations, which are near to the three countries. The three entry points, which are the transport hubs, converge at a centralised transport node.

The offices located near the transport hubs to provide ease of travel for office workers. Since greenhouses are also located close to the office hubs, fresh produce can be easily delivered to F&B outlets within the office buildings. 

Data centres and recycling centres are located at the perimeter of the city. The peripheral spaces on the industrial platforms are developed as nature reserves which act as a buffer to protect the city centre from occassional environmental threats. 

_{^{Agglomeration logic of platforms to establish the city}}

Reduction of environmental impact

Since the floating platforms will block sunlight in the waters directly underneath them, which damages marine life, to negate this impact, a void is created in each hexagonal cluster to allow sufficient sunlight to penetrate through the water. Additional artificial lighting can also be placed underneath the platforms to support marine life.

Starting with our first platform, AgriArk has decided to investigate global issues that are of immediate need to be resolved and identified that food security needs to be addressed in conjunction with Singapore’s vision of 30 by 30, which aims to meet 30% of our food demands through local food production by 2030. Thus, the typology of agriculture was selected to be designed and developed first.

Overview of Agriculture Floating Platform

The agriculture floating platform combines energy, water, and data monitoring systems to create a self-sustaining platform that can hosts a variety of programmes. 

Market Opportunity

There is huge demand to build Singapore’s agri-food industry’s capability to produce 30% of nutritional needs locally and sustainably by 2030. To support this growth, the government and local businesses have set aside funds of S$30 million for entrepreneurs to aid in this effort. The market size for agricultural spaces is growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.7%, which shows the profitability in investing in the industry.

Business Opportunity

The business model of Seaforms adopts a business-to-business (B2B) model. The optimal platform size is calculated to be 5000m², meeting the needs and wants of urban farming business owners.

With the agricultural platform’s offering, an owner will be capable of producing an average of 750 tonnes of vegetables. Each of the platform is priced at S$300,000 which is derived from a value-based pricing model.

Hexaponics is a 9m² scaled prototype of an agriculture platform. The platform houses a small hydroponic farm with all the necessary systems to allow it to be automated and self-sustaining. Part of the intention of having hexaponics is to capture the experience of ocean living and illustrate that the platform system is self-sufficient. 

A built-in water system make use of seawater and rain, purifying and reusing them to water the plants. Solar and wind energy is harnessed to power the smart hydroponics systems onboard. A sensor network is also designed to monitor these systems remotely, ensuring their optimal performance. 

^{_{Components of Hexaponics}}

^{_{Presentation on stage in the City Innovators category}}

^{_{Industry experts watching the video on Seaforms}}

Team AgriArk would like to thank our Capstone instructors: Dr Norman Lee, Dr Teo Tee Hui, Associate Professor Chong Keng Hua & Dr Susan Wong for their valuable advice which were pivotal to AgriArk's success. We would also like to thank the SUTD Entrepreneurship Centre for their support.

The team would like to thank our Venture Building mentor, Atsushi Taira, Managing Director at Mistletoe Singapore for his valuable guidance and help in securing a test bedding space.

Special thanks to Wouter for loaning us his hydroponics set to use as part of the Hexaponics prototype.