As the global population continues to expand, and as the demand for land within urban areas
increases, we have seen the rise of skyscrapers in some of the world’s leading cities - structures
that maximise floor area and value from small sites.
The evolution of our cities has also given rise to “groundscrapers” - like Google’s
new London headquarters - and even a design concept for an “earthscraper” beneath
Mexico City.
But with humans set to colonise an ever greater area of the planet’s land mass in the decades
ahead, a new frontier is now being explored.
Oceans cover more than 70% of the earth’s surface but remain relatively unexplored and
are seen by some as an obvious area to colonise as the human population expands.
To date this has taken the form of land reclamation projects such as those in Monaco and Hong Kong.
There have also been underwater hotels and research facilities and even an under-ocean
data centre, which was trialled by Microsoft off the coast of California in 2015.
Now, theoretical concepts for entire underwater communities known as “oceanscrapers”
have been floated.
An oceanscraper is an airtight, submerged structure that is built offshore and that
can operate independently from land.
Free from the constraints of gravity, and relying on the natural buoyancy of their structure,
oceanscrapers could in theory be built on a scale not possible onshore.
Some proposals have these structures tethered to the seabed while others are floating and
extend downwards from the surface - such as Sarly Adre bin Sarkum’s “Waterscraper”.
In 2015, Belgian architect Vincent Callebaut offered the most detailed concept for an oceanscraper
to date using his vision to highlight the pressures that are currently being placed
on our oceans.
“Aequorea” is a visionary city that would be built off the coast of Rio de Janeiro.
Shaped like a jellyfish, the structure’s cylindrical form allows for natural currents
to pass by undisturbed while offering stability and buoyancy in rough seas.
Spanning 500 metres across the ocean surface and extending almost 1,000 meters down into
the depths, these oceanic buildings would accommodate 20,000 people and feature apartments,
hotels and sporting facilities alongside state of the art research laboratories.
Callebaut’s “oceanscrapers” would be 3D printed from “algoplast” a hybrid material
that would be produced by cultivating marine algae and plastics from the “great garbage
patches” floating in the world’s oceans.
This submerged world would be powered by renewables, using solar, wind and wave technology.
Continuing the theme of self-sufficiency, these particular oceanscrapers would use their
surface structures for growing food, while farming algae and molluscs as a source of protein.
Fresh water would be harvested from the surrounding ocean via a desalination process.
Other concepts propose tethering structures to the sea bed and creating “earth factories”
which can be used to harvest materials and energy from the ocean floor for use within
the submerged community.
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