Miami Designer Fundraises for First Sustainable, Tsunami-Proof Houseboat

​Forget Starbucks sales. One economic indicator that the economy is actually recovering is the number of ambitious, unreasonable, and expensive design projects popping up. Miami has a history of such lofty projects from tropical ski slops and spinning skyscrapers to the recent sovereign floating island. 

The ocean must be the new frontier, because we've spied another water-craft project: the world's first sustainable, tsunami-proof houseboat. Deemed the Pearl, it's perfect for anyone simultaneously terrified and protective of Mother Nature.


The open seas living vessel is the brainchild of Miami-based industrial designer Orhan Cileli and his start-up, Rootiment Design. He is currently seeking $24,000 on the micro-funding site Indie GoGo or at least access to a large wave testing pool.

The houseboat looks like a large fishing bobber with its spherical, gyroscopic design, which allows the vessel to literally bob through high seas without capsizing. But Cileli holds it's more luxury home than tsunami life boat.

The top floor will be a greenhouse, which collects rainwater for irrigation, provides shade, and produces oxygen for the other three floors. The Pearl will also be lined with solar panels because when fleeing a natural disaster, the last thing you want to do is add to the carbon footprint and anger Mother Nature even further.

​As Celili relates: "The future is here, and it's in safety, sustainability, it's in harmony with nature, and it's in beautiful design. We don't need to be scared of nature, and we certainly don't need to abuse it.  We need to live in it, with it, and better it, for the good of all."

A the time of this writing, the project had zero funders but 100 days left in the campaign. According to Celili's updates, he has already had plenty of attention from yacht companies and is at work on a representative model.

As most of the tsunamis over the past 100 years have struck off the Pacific, Rootiment might want to steer their engineering efforts toward more East Coast paranoia with hurricane --or at least tornado-- escape pods.

Pros: No construction noise. Cons: You might see Bin Laden's shrouded corpse float by.

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