The Seasteading Institute

May 1st, 2009 was the close of our first 3-D design competition. We had a great level of participation, with 41 entries being submitted.  More importantly, the quality of the entries was generally very impressive and the competition was very close, as several of the winners won by the smallest margin possible. Participants succeeded indeed in capturing the pioneering spirit of seasteading and expressing a vibrant, lively feeling through beautiful architecture.

We look forward to using these amazing designs in upcoming promotional materials to convey to people the exciting potential of this new way of life. A Number of media outlets, such as National Geographic, Archiworld, and Bloomberg Markets, have picked up the story.

Our heartfelt congratulations to the winners! If you like their work, please join The Seasteading Institute to support future projects. All design contest images and models on this page are under the Creative Commons Attribution License. It means that you are allowed to redistribute and modify images and source files but that you must attribute the original designer when doing so.

Winners

Download high-resolution images of all winners.

Overall Winner	Best Picture Category Winner	Aesthetics Category Winner	Personality Category Winner	Community Choice Category Winner

See also the runner-ups

Winners

Overall Winner: The Swimming City — András Gyõrfi

Title	The Swimming City
Designer	András Gyõrfi
Images	See more images and videos.
3-D source file	Download source file
Designer website	http://www.pic-studio.com
Prizes won	$1000 Free admission to the Seasteading ’09 conference Membership for The Seasteading Institute’s membership program A piece of merchandise featuring this design
Seastead function	Recreational resort
About the designer	András is a 27 year old architectural graphic designer, living in Eger in Hungary.
What inspired you to participate in this contest?	”It’s a challenge to take part in an international competition. (And win it as well )”
What makes your design unique?	”Check the pictures, and decide yourself! ”

Best Picture Winner: Oasis of The Sea — Emerson Stepp

Title	Oasis of The Sea
Designer	Emerson Stepp
Images	See more images
3-D source file	Download source file
Designer website	N/A
Prizes won	$250 Free admission to the Seasteading ’09 conference Membership for The Seasteading Institute’s membership program A piece of merchandise featuring this design
Seastead function	Resort
Tell us something about yourself.	“I am 23, living in Minneapolis, MN. I will be attending Graduate school at the University of Minnesota for Architecture.“
What inspired you to participate in this contest?	”I thought the challenge of designing a seastead would be exciting and the idea of pioneering ocean living is intriguing. The fact that it is for a non-profit organization was very appealing as well.“
What makes your design unique?	“I designed my seastead to be visually appealing yet at the same time able to withstand the harsh atmosphere that comes with maritime architecture.  I tried to make the design mimic the environment yet remain a separate entity, and I also utilized alot of lush vegetation to ensure that the seastead lost the feel of just being on a large boat.  I tried to make the areas around the structure seem as much like a beautiful urban park as possible to help people acclimate to the new setting.“

Aesthetics Winner: SESU Seastead — Marko Järvela

Title	SESU Seastead (SElf-SUstained Seastead)
Designer	Marko Järvela
Images	See more images
3-D source file	Download source file
Designer website	http://www.hirvesoo.ee
Prizes won	$250 Free admission to the Seasteading ’09 conference Membership for The Seasteading Institute’s membership program A piece of merchandise featuring this design
Seastead function	Mini society
Tell us something about yourself.	“I was born on December 17, 1966 (age 42), currently living and working in Tallinn, Estonia. I have graduated with the Master of Architecture degree from the Department of Architecture, Tallinn University of Fine Arts in 1992, and have done some post graduate studies in the Royal Technical High School, Stockholm, Sweden in 1992…1993. Since 1993 I have been working as an architect in Hirvesoo Arhitektibüroo architectural design office. I am interested in sustainable design. My hobbies include gardening and cooking.”
What inspired you to participate in this contest?	”The idea.”
What makes your design unique?	”The main objectives of the design have been aerodynamics, hydrodynamics as well as the capability to sail the open sea and withstand harsh weather conditions. The layered interior is derived from thermal and functional zoning. Passive solar design principles have been employed and vegetation is used extensively to control indoor climate and provide food for the inhabitants.“

Personality Winner: Rendering Freedom — Anthony Ling

Title	Rendering Freedom
Designer	Anthony Ling
Images	See more images
3-D source file	Download source file
Designer website	http://renderingfreedom.blogspot.com/
Prizes won	$250 Free admission to the Seasteading ’09 conference Membership for The Seasteading Institute’s membership program A piece of merchandise featuring this design Patri’s Special Congratulations: Best Portrayal Of Dynamic Geography
Seastead function	City
Tell us something about yourself.	“I am 22 years old. I was born in Porto Alegre, Brazil, where I still live. I am a 4th year architecture student. I study economics as a hobby, being very close and engaged to the Brazilian libertarian community.“
What inspired you to participate in this contest?	”My belief and desire to help the Seasteading Institute’s ambition to create places where freedom can be entirely expressed.“
What makes your design unique?	“It’s a highly dynamic platform where spaces may be constantly adapted to the inhabitants needs and desires. It’s freedom in architecture.“

Community Choice Winner: Refusion — Team 3DA

Title	Refusion
Designer	Team 3DA
Images	See more images
3-D source file	Download source file
Prizes won	$250 Free admission to the Seasteading ’09 conference Membership for The Seasteading Institute’s membership program A piece of merchandise featuring this design
Seastead function	Research facility
Tell us something about yourselves.	Zachariah Muñoz: Twenty-seven year old intern architect currently employed as a 3D artist in Las Vegas, NV.  Interested in the intersections between art, architecture, and technology.  Portfolio.Timo Harrison: 3D artist with an architecture education employed in Las Vegas, NV producing architectural visualizations.  Interested in visionary art, graffiti, and irrationalism.  Jason Gibeault: 3D artist living in Las Vegas, NV. Portfolio.   Eldridge Felder: 3D artist working primarily in 3D Studio Max, with experience in Maya and a large number of plug-ins and rendering engines including V-Ray and Mental Ray. For work most of my models are architectural, but I’ve recently expanded my field which involves visual effects and characters.  You can view a few of my hobby images.   Charles Crochet: 3D artist.
What inspired you to participate in this contest?	”The idea of designing an isolated structure in the middle of the ocean initially piqued our curiosity because of the unlimited range of possibilities and purposes.“
What makes your design unique?	“We believe our design is unique in that it challenges people to think beyond the modern-day practical implications of a seastead, but instead towards a visionary promise of the possibilities afforded by absolute independence.“

Runner-ups

The following runner-ups will be rewarded for their valuable contribution with a free Seahorse membership for The Seasteading Institute’s membership program and a The Seassteading Institute t-shirt.

Overall runner-up	Title: Seagull HotelFunction: Six stars hotelDesigner: Matias Perez Website: www.coroflot.com/antena See more images Download source file
Aesthetics runner-up	Title: Entwined Dragon SeasteadFunction: Hotel/museumDesigner: Patrick Kenny Website: N/A See more images Download source file
Personality runner-up	Title: The ArchFunction: ObservatoryDesigner: Rory O’Hagan Website: N/A See more images Download source file
Best Picture runner-up	Title: La gallerie de la merFunction: Gallery Designer: Hakeem Bux Website: N/A See more images Download source file
Community prize runner-up	Title: Micro city communityFunction: Independent communityDesigner: Ettore Mele Website: N/A See more images Download source file

If you have any questions, please contact contests@seasteading.org.

If you enjoyed these visions, please consider joining The Seasteading Institute to support projects like this!

All design contest images and models on this page are under the Creative Commons Attribution License. It means that you are allowed to redistribute and modify images and source files but that you must attribute the original designer when doing so.