Giant Pyramid to Rise from the Deep

Jesse Walker | March 30, 2007

Fans of futuristic proprietary communities should keep their eyes peeled for the Maya Hotel (nice name), a floating pyramid off Cancun that's being designed by the Swedish company Oceanic-Creations. According to Technovelgy,

Oceanic-Creations also intends to construct hotels, casinos, island cities and even movable vacation villages. The secret ingredient for all of these projects is a unique plastic composite material which offers built-in insulation that makes the constructions suitable for all types of climate, from the freezing cold to extreme heat. This remarkable material is reportedly up to six times lighter and 10 times stronger than steel (depending on the reinforcement material used). It is also claimed that it can cut maintenance costs by 30 to 40 percent....

More than $6.5 million has already been invested in the venture; the Maya Hotel is expected to cost $209 million to complete.

In other words, you shouldn't necessarily expect it to get completed. And for now I'll hold back my faith in that secret wonder-plastic, too, though I'm intrigued to read on CNN's site that it was previously monopolized by the Swedish military. (Does that make this more believable or less believable?) But what the hell, it's a great story, I'll blog it anyway.

The hotel is supposed to be finished by 2010, just two years before the Mayan calendar ends and civilization collapses.

Comments

|3.30.07 @ 11:36AM|#

Hmm... Where have I seen this before -
http://www.oceanic-creations.com/High%20Resolution%20Pictures/003.jpg
Maybe here -
http://www.prologue.be/r1.jpg
Well, sorta, anyway.

VM|3.30.07 @ 11:37AM|#

"This remarkable material is reportedly up to six times lighter and 10 times stronger than steel"

transparent aluminum?

Guy Montag|3.30.07 @ 11:39AM|#

transparent aluminum?

Sounds more like unobtainium.

VM|3.30.07 @ 11:41AM|#

nice! (confession - had to look it up - but that's fantastic!)

(but I still get points for the not-so-obscure star trek ("save the whales") reference)

happy friday.

|3.30.07 @ 11:46AM|#

I attended a presentation on composites in January. It's pretty neat stuff. The biggest downside is the cost. It's definitely lighter than steel or concrete and can be stronger depending on the type of reinforcement and orientation.

Guy Montag|3.30.07 @ 11:50AM|#

See the suppliers website.

VM|3.30.07 @ 11:51AM|#

LOL!

dammit. note to self: don't be drinking (h2o) when fridaying it up!

Guy Montag|3.30.07 @ 12:06PM|#

With their conspicuous omission of the obvious, massive, dihydrogen monoxide requirement I seriously doubt that this idea will float.

VM|3.30.07 @ 12:10PM|#

obviously a shill for big EVIAN...

|3.30.07 @ 12:16PM|#

Come on guys. This is the future. This is how we'll construct the libertarian utopia!

|3.30.07 @ 12:20PM|#

The secret ingredient . . .is a unique PLASTIC composite material. .. suitable for all types of climate, from the freezing cold to extreme heat.

I wonder if "extreme" heat includes flame temperatures?

Yes, sir, I have confirmed your reservation for an upper story suite at our "Hotel de Styrofoam".

Ayn Randian|3.30.07 @ 12:22PM|#

a unique plastic composite material which offers built-in insulation that makes the constructions suitable for all types of climate, from the freezing cold to extreme heat. This remarkable material is reportedly up to six times lighter and 10 times stronger than steel...

Ha! So what if Rand was a little off and called it "Rearden Metal" instead of "Rearden Plastic"?

/feelings of Objectivist superiority

Schwebs|3.30.07 @ 12:53PM|#

"Unique Plastic Composite Material for Building"

Legos

|3.30.07 @ 1:02PM|#

OK, this isn't really related but I thought it was funny so I am sharing it...

Best google map directions I have ever seen

(step 20 is the money shot)

Guy Montag|3.30.07 @ 1:06PM|#

(step 20 is the money shot)

So, if I do that one does it make me the Wetback of London?

VM|3.30.07 @ 1:45PM|#

nice Tom! nice!

|3.30.07 @ 1:48PM|#

I dunno about this super-secret plastic composite, but epoxy laminated carbon fiber is 600% stronger than steel and less than half the mass.

|3.30.07 @ 1:49PM|#

CT,
That is beautiful. I bet you would have arms the size of tanks by the time you were done though.

|3.30.07 @ 1:54PM|#

I tried this one. Didn't work.

"We could not calculate driving directions between paris and dakar."

|3.30.07 @ 1:56PM|#

Oops! No longer Passenger 57, although you could honestly characterize me thusly:

He's an ex-cop with a bad mouth, a bad attitude, and a bad seat. For the terrorists on flight 163 . . . he's very bad news

|3.30.07 @ 2:15PM|#

Doing some more homework, it appears that it may simply be a composite sandwich of vinyl-ester laminated carbon fiber with a PVC foam core. Super light, super strong, and used in high end boat construction world wide (including the Swedish Navy's Visby class corvettes).

Could it be done, yes. Would it be cheap, no. More importantly, who would get the tax royalties from it and would it generate enough income to validate it's construction?

Guy Montag|3.30.07 @ 2:24PM|#

(including the Swedish Navy's Visby class corvettes).

I thought those were made of fiberglass, produced in Bowling Green, KY and ought to be exported to China along with Cadillacs.

|3.30.07 @ 2:35PM|#

Newfangled plastic: aborted from jets.

|3.30.07 @ 5:27PM|#

Newfangled plastic: aborted from jets

My new favorite band / album.

|3.30.07 @ 9:33PM|#

unobtanium.

That's awesome.