[ By Delana in Art & Design & Home & Garden & Nature & Ecosystems. ]
When you see a piece of waste on the ground, do you walk by it? Or do you take a moment to pick it up and put it in its proper place? This question was at the center of one of the absolute coolest flashmobs ever. A large crowd in a mall celebrated the one person who took the time to make a difference.
According to the above video, 671 million kg of plastic products are produced each year. And every year, 400 million recyclable containers are not recycled in Quebec alone. 18,000 pieces of plastic float on every square kilometer of the ocean, making it obvious that our garbage is a growing problem. This incredible flashmob calls attention to just how many people choose to ignore that problem.
The look on the woman’s face when she is confronted by a cheering mob is priceless. This exercise in humor and positive reinforcement reminds us that every small action that helps the environment is a step in the right direction.
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Powerful Research: The 8 Best + Worst Electric Power Sources
[ By WebEcoist in Energy & Fuel, Science & Research, Technology & Gadgets. ]
Discussions of the best and worst energy sources often devolve into opinionated and dogmatic “religious” wars, full of speculation and low on scientific rigor. But this may not continue for much longer. According to a December 2008 press release, Stanford University environmental engineering professor Mark Z. Jacobson completed the “first quantitative, scientific evaluation of the proposed, major,energy-related solutions by assessing not only their potential for delivering energy for electricity and vehicles, but also their impacts on global warming, human health, energy security, water supply, space requirements, wildlife, water pollution, reliability and sustainability.”
In the study, Jacobson reveals what he found to be the 8 best-to-worst electric power sources. Here they are, in illustrated detail!
The Four Best
Wind power
(Images via TreeHugger, 4HCirriculum)
The best source of electric power, according to Jacobson’s study, is wind. As the diagram above helpfully illustrates, wind is converted to usable electricity by way of a blade-driven turbine with an internal generator. While wind currently only provides 1.5% of worldwide power, it is becoming more and more widely used, doubling in the 3 years between 2005 and 2008. According to Jacobson, a nationwide roll out of wind would result in a “better than 99% reduction” in carbon and air pollution emissions.”
Concentrated solar power (CSP)
(Image via Sustainable Design Update, RobertDowney.com)
Second to wind in Jacobson’s study was concentrated solar power, or CSP. Shown above, CSP systems utilize vast arrays of lenses and mirrors in order to focus a lot of sunlight into a small beam, which is then used as the heat source for power plants. Unlike some of the other power sources covered here, CSP is not new. Primitive forms of it date back to around 700 B.C. when the Chinese first used mirrors to ignite their firewood.
Geothermal power
(Images via EcoFriend, ReUK)
Clocking in at third in Jacobson’s study of the best and worst electric power sources is geothermal. The task of a geothermal power pant is using heat stored in the Earth to heat water that is in turn used to power steam turbines. As one might imagine, this is somewhat difficult. The rewards, however, seem to be worth it. According to EcoFriend, geothermal power generation represents “a completely safe, clean, and a virtually inexhaustible process and can fill the world’s annual needs 250,000 times over with nearly zero impact on the climate or the environment.”
Tidal power
(Images via StatKraft, Ausscifi)
The “last of the best” in Jacobson’s study was tidal power. Tidal power is based on the idea that the change in water levels between high and low tides can be forceful enough (in coastal areas) to power turbines. Since water is roughly 1,000 times more dense than air, lots of energy can be squeezed from even low-velocity tides. Tides also have the advantage of being more predictable than solar or wind power, which are only reliable insofar as the sun is shining or the wind is blowing.
The Four “Not So Best”
Solar photovoltaic (PV)
(Images via EIA, Ardenham Energy)
Photovoltatic solar panels are what most people associate with solar power. They are simply panels that use semiconductors to convert the sun’s rays directly into electricity. While these are certainly useful (and sales have risen from about 15,000 in 1998 to 886,000 in 2007), there are limitations, namely that they can only suck up electricity when the sun is shining.
Wave power
(Images via Sweden, Piston Heads)
The sixth best electric power source according to Professor Jacobson is wave power. It’s main strong point? According to Sweden’s national website, “while solar power is available for about 1,000 hours a year and wind power for about 2,200 hours a year, wave power is available for up to 4,000 hours a year.”
Hydroelectric power
(Image via K2M Energy)
The 7th best electric power source was hydroelectric, which currently provides about 19% of total world electricity. Despite this, hydroelectric comes with some significant disadvantages, such as how much space is required to build and operate a hydroelectric dam, possible dangers to nearby animal habitats, and disruption of aquatic ecosystems.
Nuclear power
(Images via Hello World Bea, Guardian)
The “worst” electric power source in the study was nuclear power. While nuclear has proven effective across the world (namely by powering 75% of France), the main risk is safety. As meltdowns like the one at Chernobyl have demonstrated, the risk of accidents in nuclear fission looms large, holding the potential to wipe out entire populations depending upon the severity of the meltdown.
Again: the entirety of Professor Mark Z. Jacobson’s detailed study on the 8 best and worst electric power sources can be read here.
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Spits In The Ocean: Seven Spectacular Scenic Sand Spits
[ By Steve in 7 Wonders Series, Geography & Travel, Nature & Ecosystems. ]
If you like beaches, you’ll love spits – if only because they’re basically two-sided shores. Low-lying, storm sculpted and constantly evolving, these seven spectacular scenic sand spits put you as close to the ocean as possible without getting wet.
Arabat Spit – Russia and Ukraine
(images via: Rower Fan, Earth Snapshot, Nika Shmeleva and DCTC)
The Arabat Spit, located in the western portion of the Sea of Azov in Russia’s Crimea region, is the longest spit in the world. Easily visible from orbit, the spit is 69.5 miles (112 km) long and varies in width from 885 feet (270m) to just under 5 miles (8 km). It may be large but the Arabat Spit is extremely young – geologists estimate it formed less than 1,000 years ago due to the combination of accumulated sediments and falling sea levels.
(images via: Detective Fiction, Wikipedia and C2)
Fans of the Flashman series of historical fiction novels by the late George MacDonald Fraser will recall Flash Harry’s dramatic (though temporary) escape from Russian custody over the “Arrow of Arabat” in Flashman At The Charge. Pursued by his captors and pack of hungry wolves, Flashman along with his captor’s lovely daughter “fly” a stolen troika sleigh down the moonlit, snow-covered spit… but how to get more speed?
Dungeness Spit – USA
(images via: Island Ashley, ReefNews Geography and HistoryLink.org)
Dungeness Spit juts out 5.5-miles (8.9 km) into the Strait of Juan de Fuca from the northern edge of the Olympic Peninsula in northeastern Clallam County, Washington, USA. Named for Dungeness headland in England by George Vancouver in 1792, Dungeness Spit was actually discovered by Europeans 2 years earlier, by a Spanish expedition led by Manuel Quimper.
(image via: Hugh Shipman)
Dungeness Spit, like most sand spits, is vulnerable to the effects of wind, water and weather. In December of 2001, a powerful winter storm washed water over the spit and caused it to break into three sections.
(image via: 1st Art Gallery)
The New Dungeness Lighthouse, located at the far end of Dungeness Spit, was effectively isolated and supplies were not able to be transported over the spit for approximately one month. Dungeness Spit was also breached by storms in 1971, 1975, 1993, 1996, and 1997.
La Manga del Mar Menor – Spain
(images via: LaManga.net, Resort La Manga, Best Invest Iberica and Abacasa Spanish Properties)
La Manga del Mar Menor is a popular vacation destination located near Cartagena in the Spanish province of Murcia. The spit is composed mainly of fine sand and runs for 15 miles (24 km) from the village of La Punta del Mojón to Cabo de Palos). On one side of the spit lies Mar Menor, the largest sheltered saline lagoon in Europe; on the other side a complementary beach is washed by the Mediterranean Sea.
(image via: Best Invest Iberica)
In the Middle Ages, La Manga was a chain of small islands and Mar Menor was a bay of the Mediterranean. Since that time, sedimentation has caused the islands to solidify into a long sand spit. Unlike Arabat Spit and Dungeness Spit, La Manga del Mar Menor is highly developed and pretty much the only wildlife to be seen are pasty-skinned tourists from northern Europe. Even so, the United Nations has designated Mar Menor as a specially protected area for the Mediterranean.
Hel Peninsula – Poland
(images via: Gdansk Adventure, Hanglos.net, Samper and Poland In Pictures)
The 21.75 mile (35 km) long Hel Peninsula is located off the Baltic Sea coast of northern Poland, where it separates the Baltic from the Bay of Puck. The spit formed sometime in the 17th century as a result of sedimentation overtaking a chain of islands, and since then the spit has been separated from the mainland a number of times during severe storms.
(image via: Academic.ru)
Hel Peninsula varies from 33 feet (100 m) to 100 feet (300 m ) in width, with the far end widening to about 18.5 miles (3 km) where the tourist town of Hel is located.
(images via: Szogun000 and Ookaboo)
The Hel Peninsula became an island via the hand of Man in 1939, during the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany, when Polish defenders dynamited part of the spit to aid their defense. The Battle of Hel lasted from September 9th to October 2nd, as approximately 3,000 Polish Army soldiers held out against overwhelming odds. After World War II, Hel Peninsula remained a fortified area and military zone though since the fall of communism the spit has taken on a much more peaceful aspect.
Farewell Spit – New Zealand
(images via: NASA, Farewell Spit Eco Tours and Fkoff.com)
New Zealand is blessed with an abundance of natural wonders and spectacular scenery – the Lord Of The Rings trilogy was filmed there for that exact reason – but there’s one scenic wonder filmgoers won’t see: Farewell Spit. Located at the northwestern tip of South Island, Farewell Spit extends eastward 18.6 miles (30 km) into the Tasman Sea. The northern side of the spit is mainly a broad, flat sand beach while to the south, a complex ecosystem of wetlands and tidal flats is gently washed by waves from Golden Bay.
(images via: National Wetland Trust and Farewell Spit Eco Tours)
Farewell Spit’s tidal flats are a prime location for various eco-tours. Visitors are often astonished by the wide variety of marine life stranded on the sands and mud flats, such as the unlucky Oarfish above.
Long Point – Canada
(image via: Canada Topo Maps)
Long Point is a 25 mile (40 km) long sand spit that juts into Lake Erie from northwest to southeast from the lake’s northern shore. The spit is only about 6/10ths of a mile (1 km) wide and storm-driven waves have cut through the spit a number of times, most recently in the mid-19th century.
(images via: James Choy and Long Point World Biosphere Reserve)
Much of the spit is included in the Long Point World Biosphere Reserve, a protected Great Lakes ecosystem that encompasses long uninterrupted beaches abutting the shallow Inner Bay, undisturbed sand dunes, grassy ridges, lush meadows, and undisturbed woodlands, marshes, ponds and streams.
(images via: Monarch Butterfly)
Long Point is a beacon for over 300 species of migrating birds and Monarch Butterflies, who take advantage of the spit’s 25 mile head start before making the trip south across Lake Erie. It’s sort of like a “Last Chance” gas station drivers don’t want to bypass before heading out across a desert highway.
Curonian Spit – Russia and Lithuania
(images via: Baltic Travel Company and NHP Fund)
History buffs looking over maps of northern Germany and the Baltic states may have noticed an odd land formation stretching in a delicate curve from the former East Prussia up to the Lithuanian coast. This is the Curonian Spit, a 60 mile (98 km) long sand spit formed when sediments driven inshore from the Baltic Sea collected on a residual glacial moraine. The spit assumed much of its current appearance and structure by around 3000 BCE.
(images via: Kaleva Travel, Meeting.lv and FeaturePics)
The Curonian Spit is the scene of an age-old battle for supremacy between windswept sand dunes and thick forests. When much of the forests were chopped down to provide lumber for ships in the 18th century, runaway dunes threatened to subsume entire towns.
(images via: Wikipedia, Stylewalker and Mundus Travels)
This led to one of the first large-scale reforestation schemes, conducted by the government of Prussia in the mid 1820s. Today trees and dunes peacefully coexist along with tourists who flock to the Curonian Spit’s fine sandy beaches and coastal villas.
(image via: A Girl From Foreign)
Sand spits demand careful management lest the human presence destroy the essential qualities that make them so appealing. Take the scene above, showing a typical summer’s day on the Curonian Spit. One wonders where the manager might be… those into playing a little “Where’s Waldo?” had better get out their magnifying glasses.
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Deadly Hide and Seek: 17 Examples of Nature’s Best Camouflage
[ By Marc in Animals & Habitats, Nature & Ecosystems. ]
Like something seen out of the corner of your eye, or a trick of the shadows, it can be startling when something doesn’t appear as you thought it did. There’s an entire subset of wonderful creatures who utilize camouflage to evade predators. These niche practitioners of the art of stealth and camouflage have evolved with fantastic results.
(Images via jimmccormac, monstrous, simbania, richard-seaman)
Phasmatodea, otherwise known as stick insects, are masters of the art of blending into their surroundings. Evolved to the point that they almost identically mimic the plants on which they reside, these walking bundles of sticks even move with a rocking motion that helps fool predators. There are over 3,000 varieties and are apparently great to keep as pets.
(Images via travelpod, mi9, pixdaus, wikimedia)
Not all frogs are as conspicuous as Kermit and his celebrity seeking friends. The frogs that like to blend into their environment do it incredibly well. As can be seen in the photos above, if one didn’t realize there was a frog in some of them, it would be nearly impossible to see.
(Images via howstuffworks, pixdaus, ncmls)
Walking leaves are some of the greatest mimics in the animal kingdom. These insects have bodies that are incredibly detailed, with wavy bodies and faux leaf veins. Their realistic coloration makes these insects nearly impossible to distinguish from their surrounding leaf cover.
(Images via necroford, conservationreport, bukisa)
Oceans are full of dangerous wide open spaces with little to no cover for possible prey. Many creatures have evolved to hide expertly among the clutter on the ocean floor. Sea horses are able to emulate gently swaying kelp, and some fish look almost identical to surrounding rocks. Some flounder have evolved incredibly, with entirely flat bodies and perfect coloration.
(Images via bakati, snipercountry, warnewsupdates)
Humans have spent a lot of research and effort into emulating the camouflage skills of our natural counterparts, through use of computer generated color schemes, and good old fashioned ingenuity. There are few skills as valuable for survival as the ability to blend into one’s environment.
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Sleeping in Trash, Trains & Drains: 14 Recycled Hotels
[ By Steph in Art & Design, Geography & Travel. ]
When you’re in search of a romantic honeymoon spot or comfortable lodging after a long day of travel, sewage pipes, harbor cranes and the county jail probably aren’t at the top of your list. But believe it or not, such structures have been transformed into fun, quirky and sometimes stunning hotels. From a former research lab at the bottom of the sea to a Boeing 727, these unusual recycled and upcycled hotels offer up one-of-a-kind accomodations.
Boston’s Liberty Hotel in a Former Jail
(images via: libertyhotel.com)
Prison inmates once wasted their lives away in these rooms. Today, affluent travelers pay top dollar to occupy them. The Liberty Hotel in Boston was converted from the historic Charles Street Jail in a stunning $150 million restoration that preserved vestiges of the jail cells within common areas like the lobby and the appropriately named ‘Clink’ bar and restaurant.
Controversy Inn: Reclaimed Trams
(images via: inhabitat)
How fun is this colorful Netherlands hotel made of four recycled trains? Named for the ‘Controversy Farm’ where the hotel is located, the inn features reclaimed trams that once rode the rails in Germany and Amsterdam and now house themed rooms packed with eco-friendly recycled details like tabletops made from old traffic signs.
Hotel Made From Beach Garbage, Rome
(images via: corona)
A sharp contrast to the elegant white columns of the Vatican behind it, the ‘Save the Beach’ hotel is Rome’s trashiest – and it’s proud of that designation. The temporary hotel was built entirely from garbage collected on European beaches and erected on one of the dirtiest beaches in Rome. 12 tons of trash were used to create three bedrooms and two bathrooms, and highlighted some of the weird materials that get dumped on beaches, with mannequin legs and musical instruments among the bits sighted in the walls.
Drain Pipes at the Das Park Hotel, Austria
(images via: dasparkhotel)
Sewage pipes might seem like the last place you’d ever want to sleep, and most of the time, there’s good reason for that. But it’s a different story at Das Park Hotel in Austria, where three of these massive concrete drain pipes have been reclaimed for use as extremely compact lodging. There’s no bathroom and it’s definitely not for the claustrophobic, but it’s fun and modern, and definitely a creative example of adaptive reuse.
Shipping Container Travelodge, UK
(images via: world architecture news)
Shipping containers are being reused in all kinds of awesome and unexpected ways, and one of the most practical yet is in the form of a hotel in the UK. Budget chain Travelodge built a clever modular shipping container hotel from 86 used containers that were fully pre-fabricated with walls, electric and bathrooms in place before being assembled onto a giant steel frame. The design is also easily disassembled, so once renovations are required, the containers can simply be replaced.
727 Airplane at the Costa Verde Resort, Costa Rica
(images via: inhabitat)
Since most airplanes end up rotting in bizarre plane graveyards when they’re no longer air-worthy, it’s always nice to see them get transformed into something new. At the Costa Verde Resort, guests can stay in a 1965 Boeing 727 that has been converted into a cozy two-bedroom suite with a kitchenette, dining room and private terrace. Perched on a platform 50 feet above the ground, guests can experience something like the sensation of flight, not to mention incredible views of the ocean.
De Vrouwe Stavoren Wine Cask Hotel, Austria
(images via: de vrouwe van stavoren)
It’s the ultimate getaway for oenophiles: a hotel made from upcycled wine casks that once held 14,500 liters of Beaujolais from a French chateau. Each cask holds two twin beds, and guests have access to adjoining bathrooms and sitting rooms.
Oil Rig Hotel & Spa Concept
(images via: jetson green)
Abandoned oil rigs already sit and rot in oceans around the world, and many more will be decommissioned as we transition from heavy use of fossil fuels. So innovative ideas like the Oil Rig Hotel and Spa not only provide highly unusual and unique lodging and recreation on the water, but also prevent old oil rigs from being removed – which is done, at great hazard to sea life, by explosion. The concept, by Morris Architects of Houston, would feature 300 guest and luxury suites, event space, dining, shopping, entertainment, a casino, a fitness center and more.
Dockside Crane Hotel, Netherlands
(images via: luxuo)
Until 12 years ago, this harbor crane had a lot of work to do, unloading heavy timber on a daily basis. But the construction of a new harbor forced the crane into early retirement. Luckily, it found its niche as an extremely quirky 1-room speciality hotel. The guest room is in the former machine room and features a double bed, Eames chairs and a large screen television not to mention a commanding view of the harbor. Breakfast, which is included, comes up to the bedroom on an internal lift. But that’s not even the best part – you get to play captain in the working control room and spin the cabin around.
Holiday Inn Made of Recycled Key Cards
(images via: fast company)
Expert card stacker Brian Berg teamed up with Holiday Inn to create the most unlikely of hotels: a literal house of cards. And while Brian proves the strength of his creation by sitting on the bed, this hotel where even the toilet paper is made from recycled key cards isn’t actually available for sleeping. Nevertheless, it’s an interesting accomplishment using reclaimed materials. If laid end-to-end, the 200,000 cards used to create the structure would stretch 11 miles.
Hotel Monaco in a Former Post Office, Washington D.C.
(images via: monaco-dc.com)
Patterned after the Roman Temple of Jupiter, the General Post Office building in Washington, D.C. has long been an architectural attraction in America’s capital city and is on the National Register of Historic Places. But now, Washington’s first all-marble building, built in 1839, is home to Hotel Monaco, a 183-room boutique hotel. The main post office area of the building was turned into the hotel lobby, which has retained the character of the building with all of its white columns. And in what was once the mail-sorting area, diners can sit down and enjoy a meal in the hotel restaurant.
Waitanic Patrol Boat Hotel
(images via: woodlyn park)
Guests can choose between four rooms – the Titanic, Britanic, Honeymoon or Captain’s – in a grounded World War II patrol boat at the Waitanic Hotel, one of New Zealand’s most unusual offerings. Not only is this clever reuse of a boat that once detected submarines, guests get another wacky treat when they stay there – the owner, Billy Black, is a professional sheep shearer and performer who puts on a ‘Kiwi culture show’.
Research Station to Jules Undersea Lodge
(images via: jul.com)
If you want to stay at the Jules Undersea Lodge, you’ll need scuba equipment. No kidding. Built in a marine research station, this hotel in Key Largo, Florida requires a 21-foot dive beneath the surface of the sea just to gain entrance. The station, which was once used to explore the continental shelf off Puerto Rico, now features a bedroom, a common room with a kitchenette, and a ‘wet room’ where divers surface, take off their gear and enjoy a hot shower. It’s even air-conditioned.
Hotel Icon in a Former Bank, Houston, Texas
(image via: hotel icon)
Built in 1911, the former Union Bank building is one of Houston’s most iconic architectural attractions – so is it any wonder that after a $35 million hotel conversion project, it’s now called Hotel Icon? This 135-room hotel retains the massive wooden counter of the old bank as its front desk, and the vault can be seen in the lobby.
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Oceanic Biomimicry: 13 Designs Inspired by the Sea
[ By Steph in Art & Design, Science & Research, Technology & Gadgets. ]
How do you design the perfect turbine blade for use underwater, or build a fleet of vehicles that can pack tightly together and navigate around obstacles in a flash? Look to nature – specifically, in this case, the astounding complexities of the sea and all of the life it contains. Architecture in the shape of shells, robotic lobsters, cars that behave like schools of fish and swimwear modeled on sharkskin are just a few biomimetic designs inspired by the ocean.
Pollution-Sensing Robotic Fish
(image via: gizmag)
When a team of British scientists needed to put a robot into the sea to test pollution levels, they realized that nothing would be able to navigate the waters better than a fish. So they designed a completely autonomous, wi-fi connected, life-like robotic fish equipped with chemical sensors that can located the sources of hazardous pollutants in the water. The fish, which transmit the information they collect to a control center while re-charging their batteries at a “charging hub”, were released into the waters in the Spanish port of Gijon in 2010.
Taiwan BioLab Inspired by Nautilus Shell
(images via: world architecture news)
A nautilus shell is one of nature’s most perfect shapes, and it is from this sophistication that architect Manifred Nicoletti drew inspiration for the BioLab Squadron in Taiwan, which are set to be among the most technologically advanced laboratories on the planet. Nicoletti’s honorable mention-winning proposal not only used the nautilus shape as the basis of the two labs, but delved further into biomimicry with an outer skin pattern that emulates the four symbols attributed to the DNA sequence of the bacteria that would be studied inside the labs.
WhalePower
For millions of years, whales have propelled themselves through heavy water despite their bulk and weight – thanks to a finely honed design that couldn’t be more perfect if all the world’s most talented engineers spent their lives trying to outdo it. Biology professor Dr. Frank Fish (no joke) noticed that the little bumps on the flippers of a humpback whale served an important purpose, increasing their aerodynamic efficiency. Along with Stephen Dewar, Fish co-founded WhalePower, a company turning this discovery into innovative solutions for things like airplanes, submarines and wind turbines. Their most tangible accomplishment thus far is a highly efficient ceiling fan.
Stunning Shell Villa Retreat
(images via: artechnic)
The stark white exterior of the Shell Villa curves around itself in a clear yet subtle imitation of its namesake. This graceful home hovers off the ground in sharp contrast to the green of its natural surroundings and the brown of its wooden decks. Designed by ARTechnic, the airy and naturally day-lit structure dazzles with walls of windows and built-in furniture that sets off its curvilinear surfaces.
Nissan’s Fish-Inspired Car Design
(images via: inhabitat)
Robotic cars may someday make traffic automatic – but it’s important for commuters to retain the ability to navigate around unexpected obstacles. Nissan engineers noted the way schools of fish pack tightly together and move quickly around predators and coral, and applied it to the EPORO, a cartoon-like concept car that uses Ultra Wide Band radio signals and laser measurement technology to mimic this behavior.
“We, in a motorized world, have a lot to learn from the behavior of a school of fish in terms of each fish’s degree of freedom and safety within a school and high migration efficiency of a school itself,” said principal engineer Toshiyuki Andou. “By sharing the surrounding information received within the group via communication, the group of EPOROs can travel safely, changing its shape as needed.”
Robolobsters: Biomimetic Underwater Robot Program
(images via: design life now)
It’s got eight legs, antennae and a protective shell, but this is no ordinary lobster. For one, it can detect mines and send that information back to the military. It’s also made of plastic, metal and wire. Scientists realized that the perfect design for trawling the ocean floor was in the biology of a lobster, and they adapted not just its physical shape and movements but the way its nervous system responds to variable conditions in its environment. Robolobsters will allow detection of mines in places where human direction isn’t possible, potentially saving a lot of lives.
Syph: Jellyfish-Like Self-Contained Ocean City
(images via: inhabitat)
In a worst-case scenario world where the earth is so flooded, there’s little land left for human civilization, ocean cities could provide a safe haven. This concept by Arup Biomimetics is not just a single floating city, but a collection of ‘organisms’, clearly inspired by jellyfish. The entirely self-contained cities have trailing appendages performing different energy and water-related functions, drawing in seawater to desalinate or collecting energy from waves.
Jellyfish House by Iwamoto-Scott
(images via: evolo)
Unlike the Syph, the Jellyfish House doesn’t actually look anything like a jellyfish, but it’s just as connected to the billowy invertebrate. Design firm Iwamoto-Scott imagines an ultramodern home that, like a jellyfish, coexists with its environment through a network of senses and responses despite having no brain or nervous system. The house, designed specifically for reclaimed land, can actually act as a water filtration system that operates within the ‘skin’, or exterior walls, helping to remediate the toxic soil at the building site. “Like jellyfish, the house attempts to incorporate emerging material and digital technologies in a reflexive, environmentally contingent manner. The house is designed as a mutable layered skin, or ‘deep surface’, that mediates internal and external environments.”
Algaerium: Algae-Inspired Design
(images via: inhabitat)
Going even deeper beyond just biomimicry is ‘Algaerium’, living surfaces and textiles that actually produce biofuels from algae. Marin Sawa’s design was inspired by how efficient natural systems can be without any electronics. She set out to utilize algae’s biological attributes of photosynthesis and bioluminescence to create design products like ornamental plant-based décor and jewelry that is also useful in other ways. The products are ever-evolving, changing color as the algae goes about its natural processes.
The Porpoise-Shaped Oculus Yacht
(image via: schopferyachts.com)
With three levels capable of accommodating twelve guests in the utmost comfort, the Oculus Yacht is definitely luxurious – but all of its ostentatious trappings aren’t really what makes this 250-foot vessel by Schopfer Yachts stand out. It’s the unusual design, clearly inspired by the shape of an open-mouthed porpoise. The design isn’t based on science or aerodynamics, just looks, but it’s an interesting direction to take for high-priced homes on the sea.
Shark Scale Swimsuits & Ship Skins
(image via: speedo)
Ever wonder why sharks have scales? They enable smooth, fast swimming, eliminating the drag caused by eddies that can form as water passes over the surface of an object. Considering that in the Olympics, the difference between winning and losing can be one-tenth of a second, crafting synthetic shark skin into swimsuits for athletes can definitely provide an edge. Speedo’s FastSkin line of swimsuits incorporates not just the texture of shark scales, but also the variability, changing the shape and texture over various parts of the bod for optimal aerodynamics. Applied to the exterior of ships, the same concept could even make Navy fleets faster and more energy-efficient.
Sea Snail Shells to Military Armor
(image via: science blogs)
The three-layered shell of one particular species of sea snail could lead to improved armor for soldiers and military vehicles. An MIT study found that mimicking the iron-plated shell of the scaly-foot snail would provide advanced protection due to the way the shell dissipates mechanical energy, like attacks from crabs. The strength of the snails’ shells evolved due to the animals’ harsh environment on the floor of the Indian Ocean, where it not only fends off attacks from predators but is subject to extreme fluctuations in water temperatures and acidity from hydrothermal vents.
BioWAVE: Harnessing Wave Power
(images via: biopower systems)
Just like the little plants that grow on the sea floor, the bioWAVE ocean wave energy system is designed to sway with the movement of the ocean. The buoyant blades capture the force of the waves during optimal energy-harnessing periods but are also able to cease operating and lay down flat in a safe position during extreme conditions to avoid damage. BioPower Systems is currently testing this technology for 250kW, 500kW and 100kW capacities in the hopes of providing power to the Flinders and King Islands off Australia in the short term, and possibly the entire state of Victoria in the long term.
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Rock Steady: The World’s 10 Most Amazing Balanced Stones
[ By Steve in 7 Wonders Series, Geography & Travel, History & Trivia. ]
Earth may be one of the most geologically active planets in the solar system, but don’t tell that to these 10 brazenly oblivious balanced stones. Poised between inertial stability and the relentless force of gravity, these rock-steady rocks maintain a precarious balance between soil and sky.
Balanced Rock, Colorado, USA
(images via: Suhafuha, World Is Round, Bagel! and Transformations and Whispers)
The huge balanced rock known as, er, Balanced Rock can be found in the Garden of the Gods, a Registered National Natural Landmark located near Pike’s Peak in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The rock looms over a paved access road that provides an excellent view – hopefully, not the last view an unlucky driver ever sees.
(image via: BamaWester)
The photo above highlights the layers of sandstone that make up Balanced Rock while accentuating the narrow base that has weathered away over the eons, partially freeing the boulder of harder red sandstone from its imprisoning matrix of softer stone.
Balancing Rock, Digby, Nova Scotia, Canada
(images via: Joanpopular, Nova Scotia Blogs and Welcome To Nova Scotia)
Balancing Rock in Digby, Nova Scotia, is a 30-odd foot high spire of columnar basalt that has gradually eroded out from the cliff face over countless years. The town of Digby has lately built an infrastructure of railings and walkways so that access to this striking phenomenon of nature is now much safer – both for tourists and for the rock itself.
(image via: Archer10)
According to Wally Hayes, a first-time visitor to Balancing Rock, “I was even more awestruck when I approached for a closer view and could look under the rock through a narrow horizontal crack and see the ocean beyond. The rock column didn’t appear to have much attachment to base rock on which it stood. Not only that, part of the base protruded out from the supporting rock. It looked like a pencil standing upright, half on and half off the edge of a table top. But this was not pencil, rather many tons of solid rock.”
Idol Rock, Brimham Moor, North Yorkshire, UK
(images via: Armchair Travelogue, Tj.Blackwell and The Pilgrim Club)
A number of oddly shaped and curiously balanced rocks dot a 50-acre expanse of Brimham Moor in North Yorkshire, England. One of the most outstanding – from a balanced rock point of view – is the so-called Idol Rock. Estimated to weight around 200 tons, Idol Rock balances its enormous weight atop a comparatively tiny, pyramidal stone upon which frighteningly high pressures are being expended.
(image via: Deputy Dog)
Idol Rock and its companion Brimham Rocks, which include The Sphinx, The Watchdog, The Camel, The Turtle, and The Dancing Bear, can be viewed at the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The UK’s National Trust oversees the area and admittance is free.
El Torcal de Antequera, Andalucia, Spain
(images via: Pixelhut, Spain Online and Fotonatura.org)
El Torcal Nature Reserve, situated in the mountains south of Antequera, Spain, features a plethora of karst limestone rock formations that typically feature tall, tapering spires of rock combined with horizontal weathering patterns. The result of this combination is often expressed in huge “flapjack stacks” that are actually more stable than they appear.
(image via: Graphix 1)
The karst stone towers of El Torcal de Antequera have evolved terraces of limestone over which tourists can ascend like stairs in order to get up close & personal with the rocks. Climbing further is NOT recommended, however – Darwin has provided enough examples in the reserve without your becoming another one!
Kjeragbolten, Norway
(images via: Armchair Travelogue, TheStar.com and Diamir8000)
Kjeragbolten is a 5 square meter (roughly 15 sq ft) rock that his wedged itself in a crevasse between two gigantic rocks on Kjerag mountain, Norway. It’s not your typical, top-heavy balanced rock by any means but that’s not to say that Kjeragbolten is at perfect rest – just ask Aron Ralston, whose arm was trapped by a similarly wedged boulder in Utah’s Blue John Canyon, requiring him to take desperate measures to free himself.
(image via: Vacation Ideas)
Unlike Ralston’s nemesis in an underground canyon, Kjeragbolten is lodged high up on Kjerag. How high? Those who are brave enough to walk across the boulder (and yes, this is allowed) can easily view the valley floor about 1,000 meters (over 3,000 feet) below. For sheepish hikers especially, the admonition “don’t look down” was never so appropriate.
Peyro Clabado, Sidobre, France
(images via: Notes From A Broad, L’Ardoise Magique de Christineee and Hiramabi)
Peyro Clabado (Nailed Rock) is perhaps the most famous of the many enormous, eroded granite boulders and rock formations that make up the Sidobre in Languedoc, France. The rocks are all that remain of a 300 million year old mountain range that loomed over what was to become western Europe. Today, isolated outcrops loom over intrepid visitors who have hopefully updated their wills before visiting.
(image via: TechniPIERRE)
As hard and dense as granite may be, given enough time even the hardest specimens will be reduced to sand and sediment. Peyro Clabado is on its way to that fate, but for a brief moment in geological time we’re privileged to observe this 780-ton rock perform an exquisitely delicate balancing act.
Mushroom Rocks, Kansas, USA
(images via: All The Pages Are My Days, Space Weather and Sarah/RoadTrip2007)
Mushroom Rock State Park, located in the Smoky Hills region of Kansas, may only be 5 acres in size but it holds some of the oddest balancing rocks on Earth… and yes, a couple of them do indeed resemble mushrooms. Very, very large mushrooms – one might expect to see the hookah-smoking caterpillar from Alice In Wonderland relaxing on top of one.
(image via: Susan Ward Aber)
The Kansas Mushroom Rocks are a work in progress, and unfortunately the end of the job means the end of the rock formation. Although weathering by wind and water is a slow process, it’s remarkably effective over long stretches of time. In the Mushroom Rocks, one can easily see how the harder, darker Dakota Sandstone cap rock protects (to some degree) the softer, lighter colored stone that forms its pedestal. Even more remarkable is the fact that the narrow pedestal was once part of a distinct layer of rock, the vast majority of which has eroded away.
Chiremba Balancing Rocks, Epworth, Zimbabwe
(images via: Gerald Zinnecker and Deeping Blogorama)
The Chiremba Balancing Rocks are little known outside of Zimbabwe but the locals certainly appreciate their majesty: one impressive grouping is featured on the country’s banknotes. Like the balancing rocks of the Sidobre in France, these weathered boulders are made of ancient granite and it’s taken millions of years for them to settle into their outwardly precarious positions.
(image via: TravelJournals/TheGoose)
Epworth is located a few miles southeast of Zimbabwe’s capitol, Harare, and the Chiremba Balancing Rocks are just a short taxi ride away. They were declared a national monument in 1994 and admission to the park is approximately 3 dollars.
Mexican Hat Rock, Utah, USA
Mexican Hat Rock is located just outside Monument Valley in south-central San Juan County, Utah. The 60-foot (18 m) wide by 12-foot (3.7 m) thick red sandstone rock outcropping is the only one of its kind in the area and can be seen for miles around.
(image via: Bridgepix)
There are two designated climbing routes laid out for those who wish to make the strenuous hike to the base of Mexican Hat Rock’s sombrero-shaped cap. Though not a “balanced rock” in the pure sense of the term, the cap rock is attached to its base by a very narrow neck which will inevitably snap sooner or later… keep that in mind, hikers.
The Steady Hand Of Man
(images via: Rock On, Rock ON!, Squarewithin and Cheerful Monk)
The frozen tranquility of natural balanced rocks has inspired artists to try and replicate their beauty – not an easy proposition considering naturally balanced rocks have settled into their positions while creating such a tableau means working backwards, so to speak. Even so, the art of balancing rocks has gained a surprisingly large and talented following.
(image via: Rock On, Rock ON!)
Daliel Leite is one of these artists and his creations approach – and on occasion even match – the suspended splendor of nature’s best balanced rocks. The precisely oriented chunk of petrified wood above is one of Leite’s best known efforts. Is the rock still standing on its minuscule base, or did it tumble seconds after being photographed? Leite isn’t saying – and thanks to the marvel of photography, it really doesn’t matter.
(image via: Life Without Limits)
Those of a certain age will be very familiar with the concept of balanced rocks – and the consequences of their sudden unbalancing – shown time after time in the 48 classic Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons first broadcast in 1949. The 2D desert landscape in which Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner conducted their many epic encounters was a virtual minefield of balanced rocks which suddenly, catastrophically, became unbalanced when in close proximity to poor Wile E.’s noggin. Luckily, reality is kinder to both coyotes and balanced rocks – there are still plenty of both to go around!
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Business Model Generation and Social Entrepreneurship – Alexander Osterwalder
Designing innovative and sustainable business models requires examining the various components of an organization’s operations, customers, and value proposition. Alexander Osterwalder is the co-author of the book “Business Model Generation”, and in this interview with SLM’s Mario Vellandi, discusses how he helps companies along this path, the similarities and differences between BMG and Blue Ocean Strategy, how social entrepreneurs are tackling difficult challenges as opposed to nonprofits, and the value of visualizing ideas in group discussions. Learn more about Sustainable Business & Design at: sustainablelifemedia.com
Floating Cities: 15 Last-Hope Homes for a Watery World
[ By Steph in Art & Design, Geography & Travel, Nature & Ecosystems. ]
With so many visions of humanity’s future involving the devastating effects of climate change, architects are looking toward a life without land: entire self-contained cities purposefully built on water complete with housing, schools, hospitals, restaurants and shops. These floating city concepts range from recycled oil rigs to what could be the largest structure ever built (if we ever discover a material strong enough to bear the weight, that is.)
Embassy of Drowned Nations
(images via: oculus)
As sea levels rise, it seems that some nations will inevitably sink beneath the depths, leaving behind thousands or perhaps millions of displaced residents. We may hope that the Embassy of Drowned Nations is never actually needed, but time will tell. The artificial island, conceived by Australian design firm Oculus, would temporarily house climate change refugees.
Drowned London, Rebuilt on Oil Rigs
(images via: io9)
If London, too, falls victim to climate change, where will everyone go? Perhaps they’d evacuate to abandoned oil rigs and recycled ship hulls, as in this concept by Anthony Lau. Says the designer, “By utilising the flooded landscape, a floating city of offshore communities, mobile infrastructure and aquatic transport will allow the city to reconfigure through fluid urban planning. Wave, tidal and wind energy will be ideal for this offshore city and the inhabitants will live alongside the natural cycles of nature and the rhythms of the river and tides.”
New Orleans Arcology Habitat
(images via: greener ideal)
Five years later, New Orleans is just beginning to feel like its old pre-Katrina self again – but that could change all too quickly if another major hurricane happened to hit the city. Perhaps residents should aim for a solution that works with rather than against the water they’re surrounded by – like this concept for a ‘New Orleans Arcology Habitat’, a floating metropolis in the Mississippi River. It’s not just a last-ditch emergency shelter: with housing, hotels, cultural facilities, a school system and even casinos, it’s a self-contained community for everyday living.
Boston Arcology
(images via: ahearn schopfer)
Boston may not be living under the constant threat of flooding like New Orleans, but rising seas could still be a problem for this bustling coastal city. Designer Kevin Schopfer would bring 15,000 Boston residents out into the harbor with the BOA development, a floating pedestrian-only city with all the amenities one would expect in any urban setting.
Seasteading San Francisco
(images via: seasteading.org)
For some libertarians, no government is good government – and that’s why they’d like to find a way to live in self-contained, self-sustainable floating cities located in international waters. The Seasteading Institute imagines “homesteading on the high seas” on mobile platforms. The group’s first project may be ‘ClubStead’, a 200-person resort seastead in the San Francisco Bay.
Shimizu Mega-City Pyramid
(image via: wikimedia commons)
If you’re interested in futuristic architecture concepts on the opposite end of the spectrum from the “tiny house movement”, look no further than Japanese firm Shimizu, which has come up with all manner of mega-projects ranging from electricity-collecting belts for the moon to this “Mega-City Pyramid”, which if built would be the largest building ever constructed. A self-contained city for one million people situated on a river delta, the 1.25-mile-high structure isn’t technically possible yet because no known material can support that kind of weight.
Green Float – Lilypad Skyscraper City
(images via: shimizu)
Another big idea from Shimizu is “Green Float”, which is just as much a sky city as a floating city, given that it places housing in tall skyscrapers perched on lilypad-like platforms. Each skyscraper is insanely tall at one mile high each, and would house 1 million residents, with the ‘stem’ of each tower containing vertical gardens.
Disney’s 1984 Sea City of the Future
(image via: paleofuture)
In 1984, Walt Disney had some interesting ideas of what agriculture would be like in farming areas near the sea by the year 2050. Published in a book called ‘The Future World of Agriculture’, this image was accompanied by the following text: “Robots tend crops that grow on floating platforms around a sea city of the future. Water from the ocean would evaporate, rise to the base of the platforms (leaving the salt behind), and feed the crops.”
1968 Sea City
(image via: darkroastedblend)
Dark Roasted Blend bemoaned the fact that, when it comes to visions of futuristic architecture, “the future’s gotten too damned small.” But that’s definitely not the case with those Shimizu projects, or with this mysterious concept, which the blog identifies as “Sea-City, 1968 – architect Hal Moggridge for Pilkington Glass Company.” The design is sadly bereft of further information but it’s certainly a striking image with its illuminated strip of buildings forming an artificial harbor.
Freedom Ship: City at Sea
(images via: freedomship.com)
Aesthetically speaking, the Freedom Ship isn’t quite on the level of most other floating city designs – but that may actually make it easier to achieve. An amazing mile long, this mega-stretched-out cruise ship could house over 50,000 people with living quarters, work space, retail, education and health care. It has its own full-size airstrip on the roof as well as a giant port for smaller leisure boats and visiting vessels.
Shanghai Expo’s Floating City
(images via: treehugger)
It never did materialize, but if this 2007 vision for a floating city had really been constructed, it certainly would have been the most innovative and eye-catching display at the 2010 Shanghai Expo. Dutch designers envisioned an eco-friendly series of honeycomb semi-spheres floating on the Shanghai River, packed with a 3D cinema, pubs, a shopping mall and a restaurant.
Ark City from ‘Brink’
(images via: io9)
The stunning “seagoing eco-city gone wrong” that serves as the setting for the game Brink was inspired by the writings of Geoff Manaugh, founder of BLDGBlog, and by concepts like the Shimizu Mega-City Pyramid. “It was familiar enough to draw on zeitgeist-ish current concerns, but distant enough in time and space that players wouldn’t have seen it before,” wrote Brink developer Ed Stern.
Buckminster Fuller’s Triton City
(images via: a place to stand)
From WebUrbanist’s ‘Retro-Futurism: 13 Failed Urban Design Ideas‘ – “If not for a certain tell-tale 1960s aesthetic, Buckminster Fuller’s ‘Triton City’ could easily fit among today’s designs for floating eco-friendly cities. The futurist, architect and inventor was ahead of his time as usual when he imagined this tetrahedronal metropolis for Tokyo Bay, a seastead for up to 6,000 residents. Fuller wrote about the possibility of desalinating and recirculating seawater ‘in many useful and non-polluting ways’ and using materials from obsolete buildings on land, which were hardly popular ideas at the time.”
The Gyre: Floating Oceanic Skyscraper
(images via: zigloo.ca)
From WebEcoist’s ‘Underwater Cities: 12 Sci-Fi Visions & Real Design Ideas’ – “Technically, the Gyre isn’t a floating skyscraper – it’s more like a seafloor-scraper. Rather than reaching high into the air, the tip of the Gyre descends 400 meters under the ocean’s surface from a floating platform with four arms that buoy the building and create harbors for massive ships. The Gyre, powered by the solar, wind and wave energy, would house a research station and a resort complete with shops, restaurants, gardens, parks and entertainment.”
Sea City 2000
(image via: futuresavvy)
FutureSavvy.net scanned this unidentified article about ‘Sea City 2000′, a concept based on the ideas of both Buckminster Fuller and Paolo Soleri, which features a pyramid-shaped building covered in solar panels on a floating platform. The pyramid contains apartments, shops, gardens and schools while the equipment underneath it would support jobs like fish farming and “mining the sea bed for minerals – sure to be an important activity in the 21st century.”
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Underwater Cities: 12 Sci-Fi Visions & Real Design Ideas
[ By Steph in Art & Design, Science & Research. ]
Whether it’s adventure or necessity that ultimately propels us to venture beyond our shores and build new communities in the sea, we’ve got plenty of space to work with: over 70% of the Earth is covered with water. The world’s oceans can provide a dreamy setting for all manner of submerged societies, from self-sustaining utopian cities to ultra-modern inverted ‘skyscrapers’ and museums. These 12 ideas range from science fiction to theoretically achievable projects, possibly leading to the world’s first permanent aquatic abode.
Sub Biosphere 2
(images via: phil pauley)
Imagine an entirely self-contained city that could go practically anywhere as the need arose – from floating on the surface of the ocean, to hidden in the depths. Sub Biosphere 2 is a concept for a submerged city featuring eight live/work/farm biomes surrounding a large central biome containing all necessary equipment to keep the city running. Theoretically, with enough notice and supplies, Sub Biosphere 2 – which is also a seed bank – could survive everything from a hurricane to a nuclear war.
The Gyre – A Floating Skyscraper
(images via: zigloo.ca)
Technically, the Gyre isn’t a floating skyscraper – it’s more like a seafloor-scraper. Rather than reaching high into the air, the tip of the Gyre descends 400 meters under the ocean’s surface from a floating platform with four arms that buoy the building and create harbors for massive ships. The Gyre, powered by the solar, wind and wave energy, would house a research station and a resort complete with shops, restaurants, gardens, parks and entertainment.
Jellyfish-Inspired Ocean City for Australia
(images via: design boom)
Some ocean cities aim not to look like a modern metropolis that has simply been submerged, but like part of the ecosystem of the sea. The beautiful ‘Syph’, a jellyfish-inspired Ocean City concept for Australia, proposes not buildings but ‘organisms’ that each have a specialized task like producing food or housing residents. Designed by Arup Biometrics for the ‘Now + When Australian Urbanism’ competition, this concept has a flowing elegance that’s fitting for its environment.
Trilobis 65 Underwater Home
(images via: sub-find.com)
Not everyone is eager to pack into densely populated underwater skyscrapers and housing complexes, whether more of us live under the sea as a novelty or by necessity. Some deep-pocketed lovers of luxury may choose partially submerged abodes that are a variation of modern-day yachts. The round Trilobis 65 features an ‘observation bulb’ that provides a 360-degree view at a cost of just $4-5 million.
Amsterdam’s Underwater Future
(images via: treehugger)
Amsterdam has been dealing with a multiplying population and a shortage of land, a problem that will only get worse if the seas rise with global warming. While many forward-thinking architects have proposed a floating future for Amsterdam, this proposal would take certain functions of the city beneath sea level. Moshé Zwarts believes that draining canals, building under them and then re-filling them could provide space for parking, shopping and leisure.
Water-Scraper Self-Sufficient Floating City
(images via: evolo.us)
Like a combination of the Gyre and Australia’s ‘Syph’, the Water-Scraper is an inverted underwater skyscraper but also employs some stunning biomimicry. Designer Sarly Adre Bin Sarkum of Malaysia says “Its bioluminescent tentacles provide sea fauna a place to live and congregate while collecting energy through its kinetic movements.”
Hydropolis Hotel
(images via: builder blog)
It was supposed to be the world’s first underwater hotel, a massive 220-suite structure with a submarine ‘leisure complex’, an above-water land station and a tunnel connecting the two. But the Hydropolis Hotel was just a bit to ambitious of a project for the worldwide economic troubles of 2008-2010, even for Dubai, and though construction was set to start anytime, the project has been shelved.
Poseidon Undersea Resort
(images via: one nation)
Now that Hydropolis is off the table, Fiji’s Poseidon Undersea Resort really will nab the title of ‘world’s first underwater hotel’ – maybe. The resort was first supposed to open in 2008, but got pushed back to early 2010, which didn’t happen either. It’s unclear whether construction has even begun. But if it does ever become a reality, the resort will offer 24 suites on the floor of a 5,000-acre lagoon with stunning views for a fee of $30,000 per couple per week.
Alexandria’s Underwater Museum
(image via: national geographic)
Few people ever get a glimpse of the remnants of ancient Alexandria, long since sunken into the Mediterranean Sea. But all the treasures discovered by divers in the 1990s, including 26 sphinxes, could be visible to the public if the world’s first underwater museum ever gets built. The partially above-water museum would feature four sail-shaped structures representing the points on a compass, and would keep the ruins underwater to follow the UNESCO convention of preservation of underwater heritage. A team is still trying to determine how to build around such priceless artifacts without disturbing them.
Minnesota’s Secret Underwater City
(images via: io9)
Since 1996, people have been mesmerized by online accounts of a “secret underwater city” not under the sea in some exotic location, but deep within the Minnesota River. The “official Mankato, MN web page” has even lured tourists in with stories about an ancient city dating back to about 4,000 B.C., confirmed by “world famous astrogeologist Seymour Bottoms.” Getting the drift yet? The page was created by a professor at Minnesota State University to show his students that you can’t believe everything you hear on the internet – and yes, it has definitely resulted in some very disappointed and confused tourists.
Bioshock’s Underwater City of Rapture
(images via: the next side)
It never was and never will be a reality, but one of the most stunning underwater cities ever imagined is actually from a video game. The city of ‘Rapture’, from the game Bioshock 2, is entirely submerged somewhere off the coast of Iceland. Initially built as a utopian refuge from the post-World-War-II world, it fell victim to unrest from within, and it is the abandoned Rapture that gamers get to explore. This image is one of several by concept artist Tim Warnock depicting Rapture in all of its initial Art Deco glory.
R’lyeh, Home of Cthulu
(images via: john coulthart)
Long before any of the other undersea cities and buildings on this list were ever dreamed up, H.P. Lovecraft’s vision of R’lyeh was the most fascinating submerged metropolis since Atlantis. Illustrator John Coulthart brought it to frightening life in this incredible work of art, reminding us that undersea living isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be.
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