Archinect - News

More breathtaking photos take us inside "Under," Europe's first underwater restaurant

2019-06-25T15:09:00-04:00

With the restaurant's completion in March 2019, Europe's first underwater restaurant was a highly anticipated project from none other than Norway's Snøhetta. After Archinect's coverage of the restaurant opening, we take a peek inside this one of a kind gastronomical experience. Now three months after its initial public opening, photographers Inger Marie Grini and Ivar Kvaal take us on a visual tour of Under.

Textile-covered ceiling designed by Snøhetta in collaboration with Kvadrat and their sound-absorbing acoustic panels: Kvadrat's Soft Cells. Image © Ivar Kvaal

Image © Ivar Kvaal

It is quite easy to assume that upon entering the restaurant, feelings of claustrophobia may arise. However, thanks to the talents of Snøhetta's design team and design collaborators, the space is anything but confining. From the custom-made textile paneling by Kvadrat, which mimic the underwater colors of coral and sea life, to the custom made tables and seating by Hamran, every inch of the restaurant is ...

The world's largest offshore wind farm is now operational in the Irish Sea

2018-09-06T15:43:00-04:00

The world’s biggest offshore windfarm has officially opened in the Irish Sea, amid warnings that Brexit could increase costs for future projects. Walney Extension, off the Cumbrian coast, spans an area the size of 20,000 football pitches and has a capacity of 659 megawatts, enough to power the equivalent of 590,000 homes. The project is a sign of how dramatically wind technology has progressed in the past five years since the previous biggest, the London Array, was finished.

The Walney Extension is made up of 87 turbines and has a total capacity of 659 MW, enough to power almost 600,000 homes in the UK. This makes it now the largest operational offshore wind farm, however with wind farm supersizing along the British coastline it may not hold the record for long.

A 714MW is set to be up and running in 2020, while Ørsted itself is planning 1,200MW and 1,800MW farms off the Yorkshire coast. Currently, offshore wind farms provide nearly a tenth of the UK's electricity.

Under the sea: new Snøhetta-designed underwater restaurant in Norway will be Europe's first

2017-10-23T17:34:00-04:00

Snøhetta has certainly not forgotten its Scandinavian roots — after unveiling a number of smaller projects this year tailored to the Norwegian and Swedish terrain, like a boat tunnel, a treehouse hotel, and a readymade cabin, the architects today presented designs for "Under," Europe's first underwater restaurant located at the southernmost tip of the Norwegian coastline.

Snøhetta describes Under as a concrete periscope that guides up to 100 diners from the rocky tidepools near the entrance down to a champagne bar (marking the transition between the shoreline and Neptune's world) and further down to the restaurant with its large, 11x4-meter panoramic acrylic window gazing out to the seabed.

The volume of the building is simple and the exterior is mostly wrapped in a thick, rugged concrete shell designed to withstand harshest weather conditions and be a welcoming breeding ground for mussels and related marine life.

Whenever the ki...

The mystery of how Roman concrete has withstood the sea for millennia is finally solved

2017-07-06T13:09:00-04:00

Modern, steel-embedded concrete seawalls tend to need repair after a few decades of erosion from the endless procession of waves, but the Roman pier at Portus Cosanus in Orbetello, Italy has remained solid for almost two thousand years. Scientists have finally figured out the missing ingredient of this material's longevity, and it turns out to be mineral growth after the concrete has set.

Ancient Roman Seawall at Portus Cosanus in Orbetello. Image: Wikimapia

This concept of concrete that grows after it has been set is something that others have been experimenting with recently, but The Telegraph breaks this new discovery down thusly:

Roman engineers made concrete by mixing volcanic ash with lime and seawater to make a mortar, and then added chunks of volcanic rock. The combination of ash, water, and lime produces what is called a pozzolanic reaction, named after the city of Pozzuoli in the Bay of Naples, triggering the formation of crystals in the gaps of the mixture as it sets.

Th...

The scientists trying to harness the power of waves

2016-03-24T19:09:00-04:00

For four decades, the problem of how to create an economically viable business producing power from waves has fascinated a specialized group of engineers, many of whom are concentrated around the sea-beaten coast of Scotland. Inventors have created all sorts of strange and wonderful devices to coax energy out of the water; investors have poured millions of pounds into the effort.

"The problem is arguably one of the most perplexing in energy production. And maybe, just maybe, the answer is getting closer."

Interested in other articles on the renewable energy? Take a look at these links:

Life in the ocean micronation of Sealand, population: 2

2015-04-20T15:14:00-04:00

Michael Bates grew up seven nautical miles off the coast of England, on a platform made of concrete and metal. Michael, the son of Roy Bates, is the Prince of the Principality of Sealand, a contested micronation [...]. Today, as futurists, tech billionaires and libertarians start looking to the sea for the next stage of cities and governance, Sealand serves as a tiny example [...]. What can the experiences of the Bates family tell those who dream about ocean living?

Living Breakwaters wins 2014 Buckminster Fuller Challenge

2014-10-23T15:06:00-04:00

"Living Breakwaters" took the grand prize of the 2014 Buckminster Fuller Challenge, considered to be the highest award for social impact design. Designed by a multidisciplinary team led by SCAPE / Landscape Architecture, Living Breakwaters uses an "Oyster-tecture" ecological intervention concept to help create resiliency for coastal cities. As its starting point, the project uses the Northeastern Seaboard of the U.S., which suffered heavy damage from Hurricane Sandy.

Kate Orff of SCAPE will accept the Fuller Challenge prize and the US$100,000 cash award on behalf of the winning team at The Wythe in Brooklyn, NY on November 20.

The SCAPE team is composed of: SCAPE/LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE with Parsons Brinckerhoff, Dr. Philip Orton / Stevens Institute of Technology, Ocean & Coastal Consultants, SeArc Ecological Consulting, LOT-EK, MTWTF, The Harbor School and Paul Greenberg.

Head over to Bustler to learn more about the project.

Recently-Discovered Underwater Methane Leaks Contribute to Global Warming

2014-08-26T18:30:00-04:00

Scientists have recently discovered deep deposits of a powerful warming gas leaking into the ocean from previously hidden vents just off North America's East Coast, kicking up underwater carbon dioxide levels [...] Most of the vents are located about 1,600 feet down, the perfect spot for the ocean's temperature and water pressure to combine and create an oozing mix of ice and methane gas, a powerful substance with an impact on global warming that's 20 times more damaging than that of [CO2].

"Blue Urbanism" book takes urbanism out to sea

2014-08-20T12:42:00-04:00

“We are the ‘blue planet’ and everything we do here in cities is connected to and impacts the oceans. But we don’t in the urban planning community think of connecting our work to oceans and ocean conservation.” [...] Blue Urbanism ... explores the ways cities and oceans connect, such as through food, trash, the need for energy and commerce.

Michael Maltzan Sinks Underwater Reef Garden Idea for Revised St. Petersburg Pier Design

2012-11-28T12:14:00-05:00

Maltzan and his firm were sent back to the drawing board to revise plans for a pier renovation in St. Petersburg, Florida after scientists disputed the feasibility of the proposal’s main appeal: its underwater reef garden. Today, the firm released details of its revisions – the redesign will add shaded balconies, vehicular transit, and another restaurant — features suggested by the local community — while taking away the quasi-aquarium that helped christen the project “The Lens.”

Scientists propose more realistic vision for Michael Maltzan's pier's underwater garden

2012-08-13T15:06:00-04:00

This week, architects and city staff met with marine scientists for the first time and heard the verdict: Maltzan's dream of a Key West-style reef with corals and easily visible sea life would remain just that in Tampa Bay waters. Now the architect is going back to the drawing board, looking for more realistic ways to present the centerpiece feature of the Lens, as the replacement of the current Pier is known.

Floating Architecture: Finding Ways to Live With Rising Water

2012-05-31T14:58:00-04:00

There is a saying that "God made the world, but the Dutch made Holland." And for centuries, the Dutch have built different types of barriers to hold back rising water and allow for development. But as sea levels continue to rise, instead of trying to fight the water, Dutch architects and urban planners are taking a new approach: finding ways to live with it.

bracket [goes soft]: ESP // Estuary Services Pipeline

2012-04-17T16:49:00-04:00

In anticipation of this week's event, Publish Or... bracket [GOES SOFT], we are showcasing a piece from the book each day this week. We hope to see you this Thursday!

ESP // Estuary Services Pipeline
by Bionic / Marcel Wilson

The Estuary Services Pipeline is a regional utility infrastructure designed to cope, adapt, respond, and leverage the changes presented by sea level rise in the 170 miles of coastline in the San Francisco Bay estuary. This century sea levels are projected to rise as much as 55” due to global climate change. This epic disaster will unfold slowly and threatens our most productive economies, infrastructures, cultures, and coastal ecologies. The sheer magnitude of the issue promises uncoordinated efforts among governments, agencies, and the private sector. Response is likely to be slow, late, and resource intensive. The pipeline is a coordinated large-scale force for the San Francisco Bay Metropolitan Area that leverages all available resources to engage...

Maldives plans 18-hole floating golf course

2011-04-26T15:56:35-04:00

Troon Golf, Waterstudio.NL and Dutch Docklands have announced plans to build a floating golf course in the Maldives islands, in the Indian Ocean, with holes connected by underwater tunnels.

Wired tells us about plans to build a zero-footprint, super-ambitious, golf course project. At least we'll have golf when the sea levels rise.