A Study of a Prototype Floating Community

Triton was a concept for an anchored floating city for 100,000 people that would be located just offshore and connected with bridges to the mainland. When President Johnson left office he took the model with him and installed it in his Presidential Library in Texas. This is the complete design report prepared by R. Buckminster Fuller (1895-1983) and his Triton Foundation staff for the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

A feasibility study to determine the possibility of developing the water areas of major cities by floating new communities on the water adjacent to the urban core. The technical considerations indicate that such a structure is possible. The basic unit of Triton City is a neighborhood-sized community which will accommodate 3500 to 6000 people and which will support an elementary school, a small supermarket and local convenience stores and services. Three to six of these neighborhoods will form a town which will include a high school, more recreational and civic facilities and possibly light industry. When a community reaches the level of three to seven towns (90,000 to 105,000 population) it becomes a full-scale city with more specialized industry and a city center module to accommodate government offices and medical facilities. The high density occupation results in great economies in transportation service and other utilities. One of the other important benefits of this type of development is the advantage of waterfront living in the central city â€" urban convenience and suburban open space.