Shifted Waterfrontby Eva Herrmann | 28.06.2012

Floating Cruise Terminal

Ship of dreams

Cruises are less interesting in terms of high sea crossings – this is only relevant to passengers suffering from extreme fear of flying – , but mainly for theme-related cruises within a fixed area with various countries and shore leaves. The closer, the better. Thus, it can happen that a giant cruiser takes away the sun from you on the Canale Grande in Venice. The damage is high. Thousands of tourists overrun the lagoon city and kill each others’ nerves at the same time. However, the bigger problem by far are the huge water quantities a mega-ship like this displaces when coming in, pushing the flood wave into the smaller canals. Another problem are the occasional averages when it’s misty, quite a few ships have touched the ground already…

Floating Cruise Terminal

This may be history now, thanks to the Floating Cruise Terminal, invented by Dutch architect Koen Olthuis and his Waterstudio.NL (see also Floating Golf Course). People raised in The Netherlands, where 1/3 of the land has been taken away from the sea, naturally occupies themselves with the consequences of this way of gaining land. Or with bringing those two conditions together in an intelligent manner.

The Cruise Terminal is one of his latest projects, a swimming triangular platform, with its 700 x 700 meters large enough to be able to deal with up to three cruisers with draft simultaneously. The geometrical basic structure flaps open at one corner and thus provides access to a marina for smaller ships and yachts. Water taxis and ferries connect the terminal with the nearby mainland.

Behind all this lies a clever principle, since a structure like this needs to keep its full stability in terms of shape, length and surface, even with higher waves at the open sea.

Shape and design are supposed to be taken from the field of ship construction. Dynamic lines, shinning surfaces and open access to the water speak for themselves. Even photovoltaic cells for ensuring an independent supply are well integrated into the design. And if you wish to have a day off from vacation, you can relax by taking advantage of the various facilities for shopping, meeting, SPA and dining …