A story of contemporary migration. The case of the Maldivian archipelago

Since ancient time, human beings have always adapted to the hardest living conditions, developing specific identities in time and space. Nowadays modern technologies compensate the nature, making even the most barren deserts habitable. Accustomed by our artifice, we are surprised by the destructive power of nature. In this moment of history we face a critical increase of storms, floods, heat and cold waves, drought and sea level rise, that wipe away entire cities. Small countries all over the world risk the complete annihilation. Like birds looking for a warmer areas, climate refugees retire inland from the shores, or move to other countries. Once again, we are about to witness a new big wave of migration, this time of climate refugees. As the movement of an entire population may seem absurd, it is precisely what was proposed by the Maldivian government. Before the coup that overthrew the democratic government, plans were made to purchase land in countries like Bangladesh and Australia, as new settlements for the migrants. Considered by many as a paradise on earth, the 1190 small islands that constitute the Maldivian Archipelago, rise to a maximum of 2.5 m above sea level. It’s estimated that sea level will gradually rise for centuries, with an increase of 2.3 meters (7.5 ft) for each degree Celsius of temperature rise. Having an average altitude of about 1.5 m, in this scenario the country shall disappear approximately in a century. Given these data, is migration the only choice? This project rises from the need to give a possible alternative, in contrast with the migration and the modern city currently under construction, which completely ignores the cultural aspects of daily life in the Maldives. In order to rise the attention on the problem, this work aims to reflect upon the inevitable identity loss, developing a possible preservation system, with the creation of a cultural data-bank. The proposed project is composed by two artificial islands of biodiversity: the natural reserve, and the cultural city. With an extended research on the current social, economic and political context, the present work aims to consider the peculiar culture and tradition, to give the basis for a new society.