Floating plastic island in San Francisco Bay could calm waves – Business Insider

A tiny fiberglass island is bobbing up and down in the San Francisco Bay right now.

From far away, it looks like a beluga whale poking through the water. Up close, it looks like a misshapen raft. In reality, it's a buoyant structure known as the "Float Lab," which is designed to foster a floating ecosystem.

The prototype was deployed in August by a team of designers at the California College of the Arts (CCA)'s Architectural Ecologies Lab. Their goal is to see if animals will attach to the island, thus expanding its size and creating a buffer against ocean currents. An entire network of islands, they predict, could help calm the bay's choppy waters and prevent future floods from ravaging the coast.

If the structure holds up, it could even provide a model for floating cities a design concept that's supported by the United Nations as a way to address rising sea levels.

Take a look at how prototype is faring in the water.

See more here:

Floating plastic island in San Francisco Bay could calm waves - Business Insider

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