Research on MAST Maritime Architects

MAST Maritime Architects are experts in creating magnificent marine visions. It is surprising to see how their artistic genius effortlessly mixes form and function, creating vessels that float on the waves and also capture minds with each subtle curve. Moreover, it is noticeable how people deal with the problems caused by urban flooding and rising sea levels. The awareness of these dangers has increased interest in building on water, but the current solutions appear to be limited. Plastic pontoons and polystyrene-filled concrete foundations appear heavy, difficult to transport, and environmentally unsustainable.

The method for building floating structures called Land on Water was created by  MAST with the goal of being more adaptable and environmentally friendly than traditional methods. Similar to how gabion cages are used in the building sector, the system created by Copenhagen-based MAST consists of modular containers that may be filled with various floating materials. These flat-pack modules, which are made of recycled reinforced plastic, could be readily transported around the world and put together in a variety of ways to fit a diversity of building styles.

"We've developed a totally new system for building almost anything on water. We think that a system like ours could, in the future, provide a way of organically developing large communities on water." said architect Marshall Blecher, who founded MAST with maritime designer Magnus Maarbjerg cited by Frearson (2022).

In addition, Land on Water aims to support biodiversity. The floats' gaps should promote the growth of mollusks and seaweed while acting as a habitat for fish and crustaceans. The system is built around flat-pack floating foundations that are simple to carry and put together in a variety of ways. The technique is modelled after gabion structures, a method for building affordable foundations and walls that makes use of mesh cages loaded with rubble. In this instance, locally produced, recycled floating materials are used to fill the flat-pack cages, which are comprised of reinforced, recycled plastic and can hold the weight of the structure on top. The additional benefit of this is that the flotation material may always be modified or changed depending on the weight of the building above.

Their designs were visually appealing buildings that blend nicely with aquatic environment. They built intriguing structures that amazed and coexist with nature's natural beauty by balancing design, engineering, and sustainability. It is also seen that they considered the weather condition and the surroundings before designing their structure. Moreover, this is a major factor for my project and these research enlightened my ideas and helped me a lot.

References:

Florian, M.-C. (2022) Mast designs a sustainable, modular system for building floating architecture, ArchDaily. Available at: https://www.archdaily.com/991029/mast-designs-a-sustainable-modular-system-for-building-floating-architecture (Accessed: 18 August 2023).

Frearson , A. (2022) Mast develops adaptable flat-pack system for building Floating homes. [Online] Available at: https://www.dezeen.com/2022/10/14/land-on-water-floating-homes-mast/ (Accessed: 18 August 2023). 

MAST (2023) Land on water. [Online] Available at: https://mast.dk/land-on-water (Accessed: 18 August 2023).