This elegant underwater restaurant Under in Norway opened a few years back, featuring a simple yet stunning design, where the dining room rests about 18 feet below the surface of the ocean. The architects, Snøhetta, were curious how the natural environment would respond to the structure, after time under water.
Now that the physical building has been submerged for a few years, we can see that sea life has clearly adapted to the building’s presence.
This is what designers were hoping for, the building being accepted by sea life, and the building becoming an extension of the sea life, versus a monolithic foreign object.
We are impressed by not only the elegant form of the restaurant, but how it interfaces with the sea. It’s not surprising that sea life and plant life has taken to the building, but it’s also reassuring to see how readily limpets and kelp have engulfed it.
Have you visited this fascinating restaurant? It’s high on our list.
Photography by Timon Koch. Used with artist’s permission.Â
“The underwater restaurant Under on the Norwegian coast of Lindesnes was designed to fully integrate into its marine environment over time, as the roughness of the concrete shell was aimed to function as an artificial reef, welcoming limpets and kelp to inhabit it”
“Many argue that for mankind to truly take better care of our nature, more people need to see and learn more about it,” the studio said.
“This also lies as a core idea in the project of Under. Being able to give people greater insight into life in the sea, makes the Under restaurant an extra exciting project for marine biologists.”
Photography is by Timon Koch.