Category
Marine & Leisure

Team
arkee studio Pty Ltd

Organiser
RIBA (Royal British Institute of Architects)

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Project Location:

Rose Island, Bahamas

Project Status
Design Competition Longlisted Entry

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Project Time

2022

Project Area

​Approx. 1,660 m²

The LilyPad is a simple contemporary design solution to offer different water experience for visitors and tourists at Bahamas island. It creates temporary restful space above the water where near the beachfront, allows people to look back at the island, beach rocks, vegetation and the topography from afar, from the water, from different access angles and perspectives. While most people are spending time at the beach, near the water or on boards, LilyPad creates its own space on the water from distance for everyone by reminding them how beautiful, peaceful and wonderful the island is.

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LilyPad extends the exclusive waterfront space using modular design, even allowing users to come up with more typologies and shapes. Once installed, the buoyancy levels can be adjusted to ensure the platform remains level, and the structure could be either attached to the seabed using anchors to stop it drifting away, or it could use the portable propeller engine to navigate.

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The production line and supply chain is simple, by manufacturing the steel sticks and connectors from Nassau, they can easily be transported to Bahamas (rose) island, timber can be locally sourced from any local trees, anyone can install the structure on-site with no covered workshops required, materials (steel sticks and timber) are replaceable, using regular tools such as regular screw drivers or hammers.

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The structure also is designed to store electricity batteries when no one is using the platform, by installing photovoltaic cells, LilyPad could easily become a solar farm, with multiple available LilyPads, the solar energy could be collected very efficiently.

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By using the design for manufacture and assembly methodology, LilyPad could become a sophisticated de-salination plant from 1m x 1m IP68 protected and corrosion resistant steel sticks to a water collector system. Using multiple LilyPads to surround potential area and act as barriers to the sea water, work with plankton and mangroves to increase the chance of building fresh water pond for future use, or farming for local food.

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As a platform-based design solution, LilyPad also can adopt the existing pier at southern part of the island and turn it into usable foundation for lighthouse design, or medical facility where close to the waterfront.

Once a LilyPad is no longer in use, it can be de-assembled and reused for other purposes, both steel and timber are recyclable.

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In conclusion, LilyPad is a simple solution to many questions and problems for the marina environment, it enables the creativity and opportunities to the visitors and local people, contributes to the infrastructure solution and supports the future development of the island.