If you think an extravagant five-star skyscraper, beach side resort or cliff-side villa is the ultimate hotel experience, then think again. Prepare for a new dimension in luxury lodging … floating pyramids.Oceanic-Creations, a Swedish based company, has unveiled plans to build floating commercial and residential buildings around the world with the help of a new composite material.

The company’s first major project — the Maya Hotel — is estimated to cost around $209 million and will be located south of Cancun, Mexico, on the Caribbean Sea.

“We have a lot of hopes about the future. We have more customers than actual production right now,” said Ronny Nordell, an engineer and co-founder of the project, which plans to construct hotels, casinos, island cities and even movable vacation villages.

The floating buildings will be built with an unique plastic composite material, which is normally used in the defense industry and will feature built-in insulation that makes the constructions suitable for all types of climate, from the freezing cold to extreme heat. The material, which the maker says is up to six times lighter and 10 times stronger than steel depending on the reinforcement material, can also cut maintenance costs by 30 to 40 percent.

“They don’t break easily and are much easier to maintain,” said Ronny Nordell.

There are already plans underway to build student housing with the technology especially in congested places where there is a lack of space to build. The company is set to focus on emerging markets such as the United Arab Emirates where the interest for the technology has been very strong.

via designboom , Oceanic-Creations