A Floating City in the Maldives May Open as Soon as 2024

City life may get a lot more interesting come 2024 in the Maldives. The island nation in the Indian Ocean just partnered with architecture firm Waterstudio to create a floating city that can house 20,000 people. Dubbed “Maldives Floating City,” the development could open in less than two years.

Maldives Floating City, being built in response to changing sea levels, is a brain-shaped collection of hexagonal floating structures on which homes and businesses will be built. As the sea level rises, so will this structure.

The city will take up just under 500 acres of space and will contain 5,000 low-rise floating homes, restaurants, stores, schools, hospitals, and government buildings. Homes will start at $250,000.

Waterstudio has designed the city to be entirely solar-powered, and will use water from the ocean to air-condition the buildings. Artificial coral banks will be installed underneath the hexagonal platforms to stimulate natural coral growth, too.

The Maldives are predicted to be uninhabitable by 2100 due to sea-level rise, as 80 percent of the nation sits less than three feet above sea level. The floating city will be ready to accept inhabitants by 2024, and will be entirely complete by 2027.

Maldives Floating City is just one of several floating city plans currently in the works, and architects are working closely with the Maldivian government and legal authorities to ensure this new venture is being done properly.

With the effects of global warming becoming apparent far and wide, floating cities may just become more mainstream in the future.