Maldives Floating City isn’t just a vision for the future—it’s already taking shape as a groundbreaking response to sea-level rise, rooted in the Maldivian people’s history, culture, and close relationship with the sea.
A first of its kind, this ambitious project is designed to float in a 200-hectare lagoon just ten minutes by boat from the capital, Malé, and the international airport. The city is a joint venture between Dutch Docklands and the Government of the Maldives, with master planning by the Dutch architecture firm Waterstudio.nl. Thousands of residential units—each a floating home with direct waterfront access—will be built, forming a fully functioning mixed-use community that includes hotels, restaurants, shops, schools, and health facilities.
What sets Maldives Floating City apart isn’t just its scale, setting, and concept. The city’s layout draws direct inspiration from a brain coral, the intricate marine structure known for its strength, resilience, and natural efficiency. Seen from above, the city’s structure of meandering roads and canals mirrors the branching pathways of brain coral. This isn’t just an aesthetic choice. The project’s developers aim to integrate nature into urban design and promote coral conservation simultaneously.
By choosing brain coral as its guiding metaphor, the city declares its mission: to live in harmony with nature, learn from marine ecosystems, and take bold steps in protecting the reefs that make Maldivian life possible. It’s a poetic and practical decision, especially in a country where 80% of the land lies less than one meter above sea level.
Floating cities may sound futuristic, but the concept makes perfect sense for the Maldives, a nation of seafarers. Maldivians have always lived close to the water, and the Maldives Floating City builds on this legacy. The canals serve as the city’s main thoroughfares, just like roads in a traditional town, but are blue and boat-accessible.
The community will rely on walking, biking, and electric buggies instead of cars. White sand paths will connect neighbourhoods, giving the city a beach-town feel while reducing pollution and noise. By minimizing land-based movement and prioritizing shared spaces, the design creates ecological protection and social connection.
The city isn’t just a tourism concept or luxury retreat. It has full government support and a legal framework that allows residents to obtain title deeds for their floating homes. This will enable people to finance and insure their properties like on land. International buyers are welcome too—with a residence permit included in the purchase, the city is open to global citizens looking for a peaceful, eco-conscious way of life.
The city’s modular construction is key to its flexibility and scalability. Prefabricated units reduce construction time and environmental disruption, while the smart grid ensures energy efficiency. Each home is part of a system that shares and balances power using renewable energy sources, minimizing emissions and energy waste.
Floating cities are not immune to the forces of nature, but this one is designed with the long term in mind. Wave movement, sea-level rise projections, and extreme weather scenarios have all been factored into the engineering of the floating platforms. Mooring systems and flexible city elements absorb environmental forces while maintaining safety for residents.
One of the city’s most innovative ecological features is underwater. Artificial coral banks will be attached to the underside of the floating structures, encouraging natural coral to regenerate. The city will serve as a blue habitat, creating new space for marine life to flourish. Existing coral reefs around the lagoon will also act as natural wave breakers, further protecting the city and supporting biodiversity.
Maldives Floating City follows 10 key requirements for any viable floating city: legality, accessibility, modularity, power and waste management, minimal environmental impact, mooring and stability, safety, community participation, and cultural relevance. These criteria are a global benchmark for future developments in coastal regions facing similar climate threats.
The Maldives isn’t just building a city—it’s rewriting its story. From being seen globally as vulnerable to rising seas, the island nation is emerging as a climate innovator, showing the world that resilience can look like beauty, practicality, and deep respect for nature.
