FLOATING STAIRS

Our design, “Floating Stairs”, is inspired by the foldable feature of stairs. We designed a floating modular system that rises and falls at the water level.

The "Floating Stairs"

Modules can adapt to rising and falling tides

 

We decided to adopt a 3000mm*1500mm*1500mm L-shape modular unit so that the units can form a more integrated and varied interface. 

Module combination methods

Function list and features

The floating module consists of two parts: a pontoon and a shell of the platform for citizens’ recreation. 

Exploded view of the module

 

The pontoon is made up of a stack of recycled 2-litre plastic bottles with 100mm of diameter and 300mm of height. The bottles are prepared by squeezing them and filling them with 12 grams of powdered dry ice, then capped and heat-sealed with recycled plastic. As the dry ice turns from a solid into gas it pressurizes the bottle with carbon dioxide. Then silica gel is used to fix the bottles as a pontoon of diameter of 100mm and height of 300mm. 

（1) Pontoon made up by bottles
(2) Bottles fixed by silica gel
(3) The ideal size of the bottle

 

Floatable composite material is used for the platform, containing abandoned materials such as coal ash, calcium carbide slag, steel slag, etc. The dovetail joint plays the role of connection between the modules and control of the height.

Composite Materials 

The Dovetail connection 

Planting 

On the other hand, we add a 300mm*600mm*800mm ocean waste collecting device into the pontoon for environmental conservation. The floating garbage will naturally flow into the collecting device’s opening, just like whales’ eating process.  The direction of opening will automatically change as needed, always keeping the opening to the tide to effectively collect waste from high tide to low tide. As the water level falls and the module lands on the shore, the collecting device is folded back into the pontoon.

Waste collecting device

 

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Our design follows the principles of sustainability in the following aspects:

1.Environment friendly: Our modules are mainly built with waste materials such as plastic bottles and slag. The garbage collecting device filters the floating garbage on the water and therefore purifies the urban waterway. Planting improves the ecological environment and is conducive to the living fish.

2.Mobility and Flexibility: Each module can adapt to rising and falling tides. Besides, the modules can be easily relocated and reassembled to fit various new needs and specific sites.

3.Revitalization of the city’s idle land: The floating modular system transforms the idle city embankment into a recreation park, bringing people in the city closer to nature.

Site Plan