The London Festival of Architecture has an international part – architectural showcase Atlas of the Unbuilt World. We are proud to announce it will exhibit our project – the Island of Adria. The exhibition will be held at The Bartlett School of Architecture, Royal Ear Hospital, corner of Huntley Street and Capper Street, London, 7 – 27 June 2013.
About The Island of Adria:
THE ISLAND OF ADRIA
The impotence of politics, the strength of art.
It would appear that politics represents the absolute and only truth and the right way to guide and govern a society. Contrary to this, there is art – liberated from the limits of time and capable of creating visions and views which stretch beyond the possible or imaginable. Politics acts in a safe haven of its own despotism and its amputated ideas and visions forcing art to create time according to its own path and rules.
A perfect example of such political impotence is the search for a solution for a maritime boundary agreement between Slovenia and Croatia. An artificial island is one possible solution.
The artificial island has two main purposes. Firstly, as a general tourist attraction and secondly as a symbol of coexistence of the three surrounding neighbouring countries (Croatia, Italy and Slovenia). All three own the island. All three countries can access the International water and according to the UN convention on the Law of the Sea, maritime boundaries between the countries become irrelevant. The distance between the island and the land of all three countries is between 8-12 nautical miles and the size of the island is approx. 20 ha.
The island is designed as a lagoon with the hotel complex in the marine, with central activities and hotel rooms in the upper level, and entertainment and education in the underwater part.
In the inner lagoon there is a rotating tower with a lighthouse and panoramic restaurant as a symbolic element – tall enough (50 metres) to enable a view of all three countries and to be seen from all three countries. Additionally there are three more islands (symbolic) for golf courses.
The starting sea depth is 30 metres. The basic construction of the island is formed by lamp-holders, prefabricated elements from reinforced concrete and metal construction. Some parts of the island are floating. The hotel complex is built from the seabed in statically dynamic relation with other constructed parts of the island. The island is self-sufficient in terms of energy (water systems, wind, and sun). Water is supplied by desalination and from the land. Recycling systems are also incorporated.
Architecture and water 