Toward autonomous floating architecture

This study examines trends in floating architecture based on literature and 18 exemplary projects. 72% of the analysed structures are planned or built for open-sea conditions, highlighting the ambition of floating architecture to address climate change and the expansion of urbanisation at sea. The analysis covers three categories: individual floating objects (A), divided into housing/collective housing and other uses; floating complexes (B); and floating cities (C). Three aspects are evaluated – function, form, and sustainable solutions – to determine the level of autonomy in floating structures. This autonomy is defined at the building scale, distinguishing autonomous installations and sustainable structures, and at the urban scale, including independence from land, mixed-use programs, food production, and sustainable transport. Floating architecture is composed mainly of low-rise, compact forms that adopt modular systems to improve energy efficiency and enable extension and reuse. Platform geometries range from rectangular to circular, polygonal, or organic, with arrangements mainly radial, but also concentric, branching, or linear. This demonstrates the design flexibility of floating structures while simultaneously supporting a wide range of sustainable solutions. However, fully autonomous installations are present in only 33% of cases, confirming that achieving full autonomy – linking both the building and urban scales – remains challenging.