Project Phoenix

Later also known as the Westin Flagship and American World City.


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Early rendering of the Phoenix. 

A metropolis at sea. A ship that can accommodate more than 8.500 inhabitants.
This was the 20-year old dream of ship-owner Knut Utstein Kloster. A dream he was working hard on making come true.

Though, the presented ship varied vastly in size, the price tag was an estimated and staggering 5 billion Norwegian Kroner (about US$700 Million) in the late 80’s. The projected ship would be 3 times bigger than the SS Norway, weighing in at just above 200.000 gross tons and carry as many as 5.400 people and a crew of nearly 2.600.


The ship was thoroughly planned in conjunction with ship yards from all over the world. With the World City-idea however, it was a vision to make it an international city at sea. The new design would have both cultural and commercial aspects. Strong emphasis would be put on a shipboard media center which, using different languages will be able to speak to the whole world.


Knut Kloster did not only want to great everyone 'good morning' in Norwegian but the entire world. Not a good morning as in the dawn of a new day but good morning as a dawn of a new area.


An educational center was envisioned on board where University level courses would be offered and the students would live on board for longer periods of time. A large conference center would host conferences and other cultural programs anywhere in the world where the ship would be sailing.


The evolving and rapidly expanding cruise market would only be the ship's safety net. The ship's main deck would include anything that you would normally find ashore - including restaurants, meeting and conference facilities, shops, theaters and sports areas. 

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A marina would be situated at the stern of the gigantic vessel - a place where four 400-passenger high speed hydrofoil-like vessels would dock and transport passengers to and from the ship. The SES catamaran was developed out of this project together with a Norwegian shipyard (SES= Surface Effect Ship).


The main goal of Knut Utstein Kloster was to unite the five continents by increasing the opportunity for international understanding and communication aboard this World City.

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Two later images of the Phoenix Project: very futuristic in every sense. 





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