Eco-sustainable prefabricated modular floating structures as a touristic solution for protected inland water areas
Svetlana Mojić Džakula
A faster and more stressful way of life has led us to go on shorter vacations more often. These vacations have made the regional tourist options more attractive.
According to data from 2017, EU residents spent 73% of their trips in their countries of residence, lasting on average 5 days.
Although the benefits of being near waterways have been proven, the European potential of inland tourism is underutilized. There are many places of exceptional natural value where there is no possibility of introducing an adequate infrastructure network. To make it possible for people to enjoy these areas, it is necessary to create a solution that is sustainable, can be prefabricated and then seamlessly transported to the site, operating if necessary, off the grid.
For these reasons, it was concluded that floating objects should be modular. Connecting a different number of modules, investors would be able to get floating spaces for different purposes. In order to find a suitable solution, three different types of water space with exceptional natural value were selected (one on a lake, river and a water channel), as exemplary locations, in order to find a universal solution that can be applied in different environments.
As a result of the research, a modular unit was designed to enable creating attractive, contemporary, environmentally sustainable floating objects for various purposes. They can form individual tourist units or entire complexes without polluting the environment in which they are located.
The paper includes: analysis of selected locations, needs of potential investors and needs of potential guests, the modular unit development method, different architectural programs created, and the final appearance of these floating objects resulting from the research.
KEYWORDS: inland waters, water tourism, floating objects, floating hotel
Svetlana Mojić Džakula spent over a decade on the National Sailing Team of Serbia, where she learned about the benefits of spending time on the water and how to respect it. After gaining two master's degrees in Architectural Engineering and Yacht Design and Construction, Svetlana opened her own architectural and design studio called “Salt & Water” in 2011. Later in 2015, her studio won the MYDA (Millennium Yacht Design Award) for the project of a floating hotel with catamaran-apartments. During the last 8 years, Svetlana and her team devoted a lot of energy in designing sustainable solutions for untouched areas of inland waters with great potential – lakes, rivers and canals. Up to today, they have designed different boathouses, floating objects and yachts for clients all over the world.