The Dead Sea, a body of water that sits at the nexus of several
political hot spots in the Middle East, has been a source of
contention for decades. Now a New York City architecture firm
called Phu Hoang Office has proposed a way to turn the sea into
a thriving center for tourism and eco-research. The firm
proposed the creation of artificial islands (pictured) called No
Man's Land that would house hotels, create energy, and harvest
clean water from the atmosphere. Check out more pictures and a
schematic below. According to Inhabitat: Salinity gradient solar
ponds, water purification tanks, and water filtering processes
will all be integrated into the designated "water islands" of
the chain. The other two island designs will be for tourists and
solar energy production, providing self sufficient power as well
as creating revenue. Here is a more detailed schematic: The
design was shortlisted for Architectural Association's
Environmental Tectonics 2007 competition because the design
attempts to solve political an