Every hour, the surface of the Earth receives more energy from the sun than the entire population of our planet can consume in a year. With a growing population, the Denmark and Switzerland pavilion wants to explore the 70% of the Earth that is covered by water as a potential habitable space for human living.

‘Blue Nomad’ draws inspiration from the lifestyle of the first Polynesian nomadic settlements. Their typical way of exploring the world was via an outrigger – a boat projection made of organic materials with ocean stability through a side pontoon. The project proposes an idea of future travelling and living on water that relies purely on solar energy for propulsion, fresh water, food production and electricity, providing a close to fully self-sufficient home.

The floating habitat is made of a structurally optimised weave of flax fibre, showing a future of organic and regenerative material harvesting. Inside, the space welcomes two nomads to live permanently with two guests.

Young creatives of different ages have co-created this vision for a future life on the ocean. ‘Blue Nomad’ is developed by Pioneer Ventures to promote experiential learning in primary and secondary education. The pavilion is designed and engineered in collaboration between SAGA Space Architects and students of K1-12 from Institut auf dem Rosenberg, Switzerland.

In the future, ‘Blue Nomad’ can be realised in full scale with the prospect of a 3000 km Maiden Voyage sailing across Europe, purely on solar energy. This journey will require 1MWh. ‘Blue Nomad’s mission will be promoting awareness for ocean sustainability, climatology and nomadism.