The effectiveness of sustainable floating structures in the Gulf Region (Middle East)

The use of marine environment for human life due to its positive effects on life style has created new ideas for offshore construction. In this new generation of offshore projects, the use of offshore pile-deck structures, sea reclamation by offshore soil embankment for creating the artificial Islands and, the use of floating structures have been used in the Persian Gulf. The “World and Palm Jumeirah” projects in Dubai (UAE) and a project in Kingdom of Bahrain are samples for marine reclamation. “Mitra” project in “Kish” Island (Iran) is an example for pile and deck system for offshore housing. The idea for floating marina in Dubai is an example for floating building in this region. This paper has studied on these three different experiences for offshore construction in the Gulf region using the weighted parameters ranking analysis method. Weight factors applied to the effective parameters based on clients/owners' and engineer's preferences. Results show that; although reclamation solution is much more economic but it cannot save the environment properly, so a sustainable design of floating concept in the Gulf region for future extensions would gather all requirements economically and environmentally together.