Snohetta has lately unveiled its design of the first European underwater restaurant in Båly, Norway. The new project, which also accommodates a research facility for aquatic life, hangs over an outcrop by the ocean. The structure is made of concrete and it is partially immersed in the water, five meters below the surface of the ocean. Linking it with the aquatic environment, the huge windows of the restaurant will have outstanding seabed views.
Courtesy of MIR and Snøhetta
The building’s smooth shape is enveloped in a concrete cover with a rugged surface to encourage mussels to latch on. The increase in the mussels’ population will convert the building into one massive mussel reef. The reef will have double functions: rinsing and cleaning the sea as well as inviting more aquatic life to the rinsed waters.
Courtesy of MIR and Snøhetta
Portions of the restaurant will be devoted to aquatic biology research—only during closing hours. “Researchers from Norwegian research centers will seek to train wild fish with sound signals, and will study whether fish behave differently throughout different seasons.”
The researchers will be responsible for improving the seabed conditions in order for the marine life to prosper close to the restaurant.
Courtesy of MIR and Snøhetta
The restaurant is composed of three levels. As visitors walk through the entrance, they go into a wardrobe area, then descend one level to make it to the bar, which is right at the level where the ocean and the shore meet.
The visitor can have great views of the seabed at the bar. The restaurant comprises two large dining tables as well as other smaller ones. All the tables have enormous panoramic views of the ocean.
