Even the worst economy in decades can’t suppress the human urge to build. Today’s most ambitious projects are bigger and wilder than ever!
Posted 02.27.2009 at 4:51 pm
14 Comments
A Floating City: Population 6,300
400 tons: Weight of soil and plants in the ship’s park
500 tons: Water to fill world’s largest at-sea swimming pool
724: Number of hollow 66-ton steel blocks that fit together to form ship’s decks
2,800: Number of people working on ship’s design and construction
Nick KaloterakisName: Oasis of the Seas
Where: Florida
Cost: $1.2 billion
Estimated Completion: This year
The Challenge: Build an 18-story-tall superliner with more outdoor space
When the Oasis of the Seas sets sail later this year, it will claim the record for biggest passenger ship, with space for 6,300 passengers, 2,000 more than any other ship. But it will also claim the most rooms with balconies, the biggest onboard swimming pool, and the first at-sea, tree-filled, outdoor park.
Those features were possible because of the ship’s unique design. Traditionally, the top of the boat is built like one big box, with only a handful of rooms facing outward and an open deck area limited to the bow and stern. Instead, Royal Caribbean engineers widened the hull and split the box in half, erecting two six-story towers of cabins on either side, with enough space between them to fit the football-field-size park.
To maneuver this new giant, three 20-foot-tall propellers pull rather than push the boat through the water. The propellers are mounted on swiveling pods along with electric motors (powered by diesel generators in the ship) delivering the equivalent of 30,000 horsepower. This system is more efficient, because it eliminates the need for a long drive shaft, which typically creates drag under the ship. The propellers can rotate 360 degrees, so they also act as the steering system, allowing the captain to make adjustments in port of as small as one foot. “Ten years ago, we felt that 140,000 tons was as big as we could go,” says Oasis designer Harri Kulovaara. “Now that we’ve got the experience, we’ve taken a quantum leap.”
See more extreme engineering projects in PopSci's look at the Future of Building!
Want to learn more about breakthroughs in electronics, medicine, nanotech, and more?
Subscribe to Popular Science today, for less than $1 per issue!
Subscribe to Popular Science today, for less than $1 per issue!
14 Comments
To comment, please Login.
|
|
|
|
|
|
June 2013: American Energy Independence
Five amazing, clean technologies that will set us free, in this month's energy-focused issue. Also: how to build a better bomb detector, the robotic toys that are raising your children, a human catapult, the world's smallest arcade, and much more.
Popular on Popsci
Most Commented
Science
- Scientists Create First Cloned Human Embryo
- State Drops Charges Against High School Student Arrested For Science Experiment
- Dear Schools: Stop Treating Science-Curious Kids Like Criminals
- Mexican Cartels Control Pot Farms As Far North As Washington State
- Buzz Aldrin Wants To Send People On A One-Way Trip To Mars
- Space Tourism's Black Carbon Problem
- Giving White People The Illusion Of Darker Skin Makes Them Less Racist
- Cold Fusion Machine Gets Third-Party Verification, Inventor Says
- What Modern Humans Can Learn From The Neanderthals' Extinction
- FYI: Do Wind Farms Make It Less Windy?
Most Emailed
Science
- Climate Change Will Increase Heat-Related Deaths In NYC, Study Says
- Why Are Tornadoes So Hard To Predict?
- Scientists Reveal The Cause Of The Irish Potato Famine
- Reconstructing The Oklahoma Tornado From Start To Finish, In Videos
- Megapixels: A Parasitic Worm Infects An Ant
- Cold Fusion Machine Gets Third-Party Verification, Inventor Says
- Inside The World's Most Ambitious Eco-City
- Huge Tornado Flattens Towns Near Oklahoma City [Updated]
- Number Of Published Cancer Studies That Can't Be Reproduced Is Shockingly High
- IMDB's Greatest Movies Ever, Beautifully Organized By Genre [Infographic]
Most Viewed
Science
- Climate Change Will Increase Heat-Related Deaths In NYC, Study Says
- Why Are Tornadoes So Hard To Predict?
- Scientists Reveal The Cause Of The Irish Potato Famine
- Reconstructing The Oklahoma Tornado From Start To Finish, In Videos
- Megapixels: A Parasitic Worm Infects An Ant
- Cold Fusion Machine Gets Third-Party Verification, Inventor Says
- Inside The World's Most Ambitious Eco-City
- Huge Tornado Flattens Towns Near Oklahoma City [Updated]
- Number Of Published Cancer Studies That Can't Be Reproduced Is Shockingly High
- IMDB's Greatest Movies Ever, Beautifully Organized By Genre [Infographic]
Online Content Director: Suzanne LaBarre | Email
Senior Editor: Paul Adams | Email
Associate Editor: Dan Nosowitz | Email
Assistant Editor: Colin Lecher | Email
Assistant Editor: Rose Pastore | Email
Contributing Writers:
Rebecca Boyle | Email
Kelsey D. Atherton | Email
Francie Diep | Email
Shaunacy Ferro | Email
Today on PopSci.com
Copyright © 2012 Popular Science
A Bonnier Corporation Company. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.
A tree filled park on a ship - because a swimming pool on a ship wasn't counter-intuitive enough. I know when I feel like a stroll through the park, I want to pay a few thousand dollars for the privilege.
Hopefully they will also be innovative with the lower class cabins. We upgraded when we took a cruise, so I don't have all the details, but apparently the base cabin is not much more spacious than the new Smartcars. Our 'upgraded' cabin was barely adequate, so I don't doubt that the base cabin was pretty awful.
Also, the plumbing required some complex manuvers to get it to function correctly. It's been a while, but it was along the lines of "Open valve A until .... then open valve B and close valve A. Finally ... "whatever, I think you can catch my drift.
From the creative minds at Pixar... :)
Anybody want to start bidding on offshore condos??? Since there very little forest left the next logical step is to star building on the oceans. What would it be like to be born and raised entirely in a contained city floating on the ocean. Could we revolt and start a new country that truly has no borders, move the entire country from the Gulf of Mexico to the South Atlantic????
Omg!!
Bet you I am going to be its first passenger!
Are your stats correct? The Royal Caribbean web site (oasisoftheseas.com) puts Oasis at 220,000 tons, not the 160,000 you printed on page 44. Also, it says 5,400 guests, not the 6,300. If you're including "crew" in that number then it is misleading.
Siress,
I thought your comment was very funny.
It's amazing to see just how far engineering has come. What's even more impressive is the decrease in amount of time it takes us to build these amazing machines. This ship is definitely going to be one of the best and I cannot wait to see it in real life.
Timothy
Boston Engineering and Construction
Of course, "Oasis of the Seas" was actually built in Turku, Finland. Not in Miami, Florida. Not that it matters, really. Location schmocation. Who cares?
Oh come on Quintus, you know us Euroweenies are all lazy socialists, we don't build ships like this ;)
STX Europe on the otherhand do :)
There is a full sized wooden carousel onboard too. They had it built by from Carousel Works in Mansfield OH. It's going to be installed sometime in April I think. There is one scheduled to be built for the sister ship next spring also.
These new highly advanced ships will have a hull design structure that makes them virtually unsinkable, so they won't need life boats. The maiden voyage will be on a course riddled with icebergs to test this theory out.
Virtually unsinkable! That's a contradiction and not correct! Our seas will take when it wants to. Rest assured if the seas whipped up a storm this boat would sink and or topple. The ship is just beautiful, and if I were to consider a ship cruise this appears to be the ultimate in luxury and somewhat excessive use of materials in order to maximize the benefits for the passengers. The maiden voyage was an resounding success and contrary to some of the negative comments, the green garden and park is very popular as is the boutiques, swimming pools and all the entertainment that is available on board.
Mark
www.liquiddesignmd.com
When I consider the size of our town, this boat is nearly three times the size and has capacity for more than double our population. This ship is fabulous design and will be the envy of most who cannot afford this luxury.
www.industrial-buildings.net