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PICTURE: Cambridge inventor Tom Karen - whose iconic designs include the Raleigh Chopper and Star Wars' Landspeeder - says his 'floating cities' will help us overcome flooding
Written by GARETH MCPHERSON
A Cambridge inventor believes he has come up with a solution to one of man’s greatest problems - but he cannot understand why the rest of the world is not getting on board.
Tom Karen, who designed the Raleigh Chopper and the Star Wars Landspeeder, dreamt up his “floating city” concept 10 years ago, which he says would tackle global housing shortages while mitigating against rising water levels and the increasing issue of flooding.
But despite that he feels his idea for self-contained cities, which could float on bays, rivers and other sheltered waters around the world, has not been given the chance it deserves.
The 88-year-old, who lives off Hills Road, said: “I can see problems in the world that need solving and it occurred to me that in a place like Holland, a highly populated country that has got large expanses of sheltered water and they are very short of land, building on water makes a lot of sense.
“The Dutch, who are wonderful architects and designers, have started making floating houses. I thought that could be done on a bigger scale.”
On why he thinks there has been such a tentative reception to his plan he said: “I think some people are slow to react to new ideas, especially if they are not their own.
“I wish it would circulate a bit further. I can see so much sense in adopting an idea like this. The technology is accessible - it is already there, nothing new would have to be invented.
“You have thousands of people living on cruise ships, it would be the same except with the engine stripped out.” He said it would be a “doddle” for ship-building countries like South Korea to produce.
Because most of the world’s major cities are built next to water, he believes his idea could be deployed in places like Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore, Mumbai, Dubai and even on the River Thames in East London.
He ruled out Cambridgeshire because the River Cam is not wide enough.
The floating city, which could accommodate populations of more than 5,000, would also house shops and businesses, although he does not believe cars could be accommodated.
He added: “Some of the flats could have little boats attached to the outside and people could lower it down and toddle off somewhere and I think someone out there is clever enough to be able to make it rotate so everyone gets their portion of sunshine.”
Mr Karen, who was managing director and chief designer of Ogle Design from 1962 until 1999, no longer works - officially at least.
But he added: “I may be retired, but I can’t stop having these idea for trying to solve the world’s needs.”
Read more: http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Camb...#ixzz2xcTxoC9A
* The world is not as overpopulated as some claim.
However there are large parts of land on this earth which are simply not inhabitable.
With the world's population expanding at such a rapid pace, a few years back it was 5 million, now apparently it is 7 billion, we need to look for different options.
Written by GARETH MCPHERSON
A Cambridge inventor believes he has come up with a solution to one of man’s greatest problems - but he cannot understand why the rest of the world is not getting on board.
Tom Karen, who designed the Raleigh Chopper and the Star Wars Landspeeder, dreamt up his “floating city” concept 10 years ago, which he says would tackle global housing shortages while mitigating against rising water levels and the increasing issue of flooding.
But despite that he feels his idea for self-contained cities, which could float on bays, rivers and other sheltered waters around the world, has not been given the chance it deserves.
The 88-year-old, who lives off Hills Road, said: “I can see problems in the world that need solving and it occurred to me that in a place like Holland, a highly populated country that has got large expanses of sheltered water and they are very short of land, building on water makes a lot of sense.
“The Dutch, who are wonderful architects and designers, have started making floating houses. I thought that could be done on a bigger scale.”
On why he thinks there has been such a tentative reception to his plan he said: “I think some people are slow to react to new ideas, especially if they are not their own.
“I wish it would circulate a bit further. I can see so much sense in adopting an idea like this. The technology is accessible - it is already there, nothing new would have to be invented.
“You have thousands of people living on cruise ships, it would be the same except with the engine stripped out.” He said it would be a “doddle” for ship-building countries like South Korea to produce.
Because most of the world’s major cities are built next to water, he believes his idea could be deployed in places like Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore, Mumbai, Dubai and even on the River Thames in East London.
He ruled out Cambridgeshire because the River Cam is not wide enough.
The floating city, which could accommodate populations of more than 5,000, would also house shops and businesses, although he does not believe cars could be accommodated.
He added: “Some of the flats could have little boats attached to the outside and people could lower it down and toddle off somewhere and I think someone out there is clever enough to be able to make it rotate so everyone gets their portion of sunshine.”
Mr Karen, who was managing director and chief designer of Ogle Design from 1962 until 1999, no longer works - officially at least.
But he added: “I may be retired, but I can’t stop having these idea for trying to solve the world’s needs.”
Read more: http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Camb...#ixzz2xcTxoC9A
* The world is not as overpopulated as some claim.
However there are large parts of land on this earth which are simply not inhabitable.
With the world's population expanding at such a rapid pace, a few years back it was 5 million, now apparently it is 7 billion, we need to look for different options.