Sir Whirlysplat
GSV - General Systems Vehicle. These ships, the largest Culture vessels, have lengths measured in tens of kilometers. They serve as habitats for the Culture's species, factories of other ships and more. Classes include Plate class, Continent class, Ocean Class and others. In 'The State of the Art' Sma comments that a GSV is to the Culture, what a city is to a civilization on Earth.
http://www.answers.com/topic/mind-the-culture
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Culture#Ships
http://www.cs.bris.ac.uk/~stefan/culture.html
http://www.answers.com/topic/mind-the-culture
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Culture#Ships
http://www.cs.bris.ac.uk/~stefan/culture.html