“It’s well known that we have a problem with plastics in the environment,” says Mackintosh. “We face the challenges of figuring out ways to reduce and prevent it as well as clean up the water that’s already out there.”

Held by the University of Surrey, the brand new public competition solicited entries from anyone who had an idea for a bio-inspired robot. Mackintosh’s proposal was a simple drawing showing how the robot fish could swim through the water, its internal cavity opening and then compressing to force water over the gills in order to collect plastic particles. The winning entry was selected and built by a group of senior engineers and scientists with years of experience bringing robotic concepts to life.

“We don’t know where the vast majority of the plastic that enters our waters ends up,” says Dr. Robert Siddall, lecturer at the University of Surrey and initiator of the competition. “We hope that this robo-fish and its future offspring will be the first steps in the right direction to help us find and eventually control this plastic pollution problem.”

The roboticists assisting with the competition turned Mackintosh’s proposal into a remote-controlled robot about the size of a salmon. It swims by flapping its tail while keeping its mouth wide open to collect water (and microplastics) in its internal cavity. Once the cavity is full, the robot closes its mouth and opens its lamellar gill valves, pushing the water out of the valves and lifting the bottom of the cavity. Its features include pectoral fins, a gill and mouth motor, a gill raker, particulate mesh, a separate motor for the fins, a tail fin actuation rod, a tail fin motor, battery and microcontroller, and sensors that detect light levels and turbidity (clarity) of the water.

You can now make your very own Gillbert Robo-Fish, as the plans for the current iteration of the design are available as free, open-source CAD files on GrabCad.com. Future revisions will make the fish autonomous instead of remote-controlled so they can be deployed in groups. The public is encouraged to make their own changes and improvements as they experiment with the design.

Other entries in the 2022 Natural Robotics Contest included a forest-protecting robot bird, a hermit crab rover, a robotic sea urchin, and a plastic-collecting dolphin. You can see them all and apply for next year’s contest at the Natural Robotics Contest website.

“We chose Eleanor’s both because we really liked the idea and the way it used bioinspiration, but also because cleaning up ocean plastic was the most common purpose among all the entries we received, so we thought our winner should reflect that,” Siddall told FOX Weather.

The post Gillbert the Robot Fish Sucks Up Microplastics in the Water as It Swims first appeared on Dornob.

Designed by Dutch architect Koen Olthuis, the SeaPod is supposed to represent a new way of living in harmony with coastal ecosystems. Ultra-minimalist and nearly all-white, the unusual home features 830 square feet of living space spread across three levels, including a bedroom, kitchen, living room, bathroom, and storage areas. It’s perched on a 7.5-foot-high pillar connected to a floating base hidden beneath the surface of the water. This stabilizing base uses more than 1,688 cubic feet of air-filled tubes to stay afloat. To get to and from the home or order supplies, occupants wear a smart ring that summons a vehicle or a food delivery drone. Prices range from $295,000 for the smallest and most basic pods up to $1.5 million.

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The idea behind the SeaPod is to unlock the ocean as a new frontier offering a high quality of life. In contrast with “green technology,” which usually refers to sustainability, Ocean Builders calls its philosophy “blue technology,” turning rising sea levels into a positive by working with the oceans instead of against them. The design of the SeaPod is based on the forms and materials of sea shells, which the company cites as beautiful, organically shaped, and naturally strong.

Ocean Builders CEO Grant Romundt says: “Every day, thousands of people all over the world move closer to the top 15 major metropolitan cities which are within 50 miles of a coastline—a trend that will continue to grow… We’ve been motivated by the opportunity to change and challenge the traditional real estate and tourism models and create first-in-class living experiences that can give back to our ocean environment.”

If all of that sounds a little too futuristic to work, the failure of the launch event might seem like a sign that this technology isn’t quite ready for prime time. Ocean Builders says the embarrassing incident was caused by a bilge pump malfunction that affected the balance of a steel spar in the prototype and caused it to flood. They insist that there was no damage, and in a statement to Autoevolution, a spokesperson for the company says “Like all innovation and new technology, there is a likelihood of trial and error, and that provides an opportunity to learn, improve, and continue to innovate on ocean technology.”

Every innovation has its stops and starts along the way, and an incident like this isn’t necessarily indicative of failure. But one interesting thing to note is that the prototype is so visually different from the company’s renderings. What was revealed in Panama last month looks more like a standard marine lookout tower than a sexy futuristic floating home, raising the question, once again, of whether this launch was just a tad rushed.

The post Eco-Friendly SeaPod Prototype Home Collapses on the Day of its Launch first appeared on Dornob.

Dubbed the “world’s first eco-restorative homes,” SeaPods are the brainchild of the company’s Head of Engineering Rüdiger Koch and Chief Executive Officer Grant Romund. The two partnered with Dutch architect Koen Olthuis and his firm Waterstudio to design a home suited for an aquatic lifestyle.

The pods’ floating capabilities were inspired by the physical properties of an iceberg. Just like most of the mass of an iceberg is underwater, the SeaPods have over 1,688 cubic feet of buoyant, air-filled steel tubes that rest below the surface, pushing the spherical living spaces almost 10 feet above the water.

Each Pod offers 833 square feet of living space within its three-and-a-half floors, including a master bedroom with stunning panoramic views, living room, kitchen, and bathroom. The entire space is futuristically simple with hidden light switches, power outlets, and lightbulbs. LED light strips that can provide either blue-toned daytime or yellow-toned nighttime lighting are tucked within floor and ceiling grooves for a true minimalist look. Even cooler, all functions are controlled by “smart rings” worn by the residents, allowing them to turn on their music or unlock a door with just a wave of their hand.

“If Apple had built a home, I think you would end up with the SeaPod,” said Romundt in an interview with CNN. “…There’s a lot of technology built into the homes. I like to think of it as, instead of having a phone as a digital assistant, your home actually becomes your assistant, and you can use it to optimize your life.”

The pod structure is crafted to grow with changing technology. “We have designed Pods to be easily upgradable,” the company writes on their website. “There are set locations behind walls where new devices and components can be plugged in like LEGO pieces for upgraded functionality as technology improves.”

The software controlling the Pods can also be updated remotely. It will be like “a mobile phone where you can install new ‘home apps’ that are constantly being developed.” New automations and sensors can be hot swapped as needed.

Perhaps the best part of the SeaPod lifestyle is the symbiotic existence with the natural world. Instead of destroying natural habitats when a traditional house is built, “when you build a home on the water you actually create a habit for ocean life to thrive,” Ocean Builders said. “…Anytime you put something in the water that makes shade it attracts sea life. It often starts with barnacles and other life starts to grow on the underwater surface of your Pods. This can lead to coral growth and eventually homes for fish.”

The first set of pods are already under construction in Panama’s Linton Bay Marina and are scheduled to be completed and revealed online in late September. They’re expected to sell for between $295,000 to $1.5 million each, with potential buyers being able to move in at the end of 2023. An additional 1,000 pods will go into production by 2024.

Also in the works from Ocean Builders are two other pod models: the land-based GreenPod, and the eco and budget-friendly EcoPod.

The post SeaPods Provide Oceanfront Living While Restoring Life Below the Surface first appeared on Dornob.

Looking a bit like a giant bird with its pointed, beak-like front end and green “wings,” the RaceBird first took conceptual form while E1 co-founder and CEO Rodi Basso was staying at her summer house in Sweden. She noticed birds gliding over the surface of the water and imagined how that form could translate to a futuristic, environmentally friendly boat with serious competitive capabilities.

A Formula 1 engineer who previously worked with McLaren, Ferrari, and NASA, Basso founded the E1 Series all-electric race boat championship with sports entrepreneur Alejandro Agag with a goal to bring electric motorsports to rivers and oceans around the world. The duo partnered with Norwegian designer Sophi Horne, naval architect and marine engineer Brunello Acompara, SeaBird Technologies, and Victory Marine to develop, manufacture, and build the RaceBird as the official racing vessel for the E1 championship.

The RaceBird features a fully electric outboard motor produced by marine propulsion experts at Mercury Racing and a cockpit resembling a single-seater race car with a steering wheel and pedals. Designed for just one occupant — the pilot — the RaceBird is powered by a Kreisel Electric battery and uses immersion cooling technologies to maintain top performance while in motion. The hydrofoils keep the body of the RaceBird above the water to reduce drag and maximize its energy efficiency.

Engineers successfully tested the RaceBird in northern Italy in April 2022, and the vessel is now on track to compete in the E1 World Championship in Spring 2023.

“We’re now one step closer to making electric racing on the water a reality,” says Agag. “I remember very well the same scenarios we encountered during the early stages at both Formula E and Extreme E, and just like on those occasions this is a major breakthrough on E1’s journey. Seeing the RaceBird fly proves to me that we can use this exciting, new sporting platform to drive technological innovation in the marine industry and create something spectacular for fans in the cities we visit.”

“Seeing the RaceBird flying on the water for the first time was an emotional moment for myself and many others who have been working on this project over the past few months,” says Basso. “So far, the RaceBird has exceeded expectations especially with the performance, agility and cornering capabilities. The current performance levels are exactly where we wanted them to be, helping to promote exciting foil-to-foil racing close to the shoreline.”

“In the coming weeks, we’ll continue to run further tests and gather the necessary data. I’m really looking forward to showing it in public for the first time, which we’ll be announcing more on shortly. This test marks the first page of a new chapter in the electrification of the marine industry, focusing on accelerating future technologies for the benefit of our waters.”

The post All-Electric RaceBird Hydrofoil Boat Flies Over the Water at Incredible Speeds first appeared on Dornob.

At the Museo Subacuático de Arte (MUSA), an underwater art museum off the coast of Cancún, Mexico, the eerie submerged displays don’t shy away from these contradictions. Snorkeling and scuba diving are supposed to be tranquil pastimes, but these scenes (made of nontoxic marine-grade cement) are meant to provoke. A little boy sits on an upturned bucket surrounded by the sort of trash that can be found throughout the Earth’s oceans. A group of figures bury their heads in the sand. A man dressed like a banker stands in the center of a circle of children, all pointing weapons at him. Objects resembling bombs are strewn throughout the area.

Like many other underwater sculptures around the world, these displays are the work of sculptor, scuba diver, and photographer Jason deCaires Taylor, perhaps the most famous and prolific underwater artist of all time. His art can be found in the seas off Grenada in Spain, near Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, in the Maldives, and near other key tourist destinations.

At first glance, it may seem a bit grandiose to fill these places with representations of human activity, regardless of the subject matter. But these pieces are actually crafted to help preserve vulnerable natural reefs that are affected by the presence of divers, creating alternative places to sightsee underwater. They also function as artificial reefs, creating new homes for coral, sponges, and other marine life.

MUSA is Taylor’s brainchild, and he serves as its Artistic Director. Joined by other artists like Karen Salinas Martinez, Roberto Díaz Abraham, Rodrigo Quiñones Reyes, Salvador Quiroz Ennis, and Elier Amado Gil, he’s filled the museum with 500 sculptures occupying an area of more than 420 square meters with a total weight of over 200 tons. “The Silent Evolution” is the largest work, comprised of a group of human figures representing cultures from all over the world. As more marine life entangles itself with the cement statues, they transform, seeming to come alive.

Each sculpture is installed carefully and timed to make sure it’s in place before larval coral spawning occurs. Often placed in areas of barren sandbanks to boost diversity, the installations also give scientists the rare opportunity to study new ecosystems as soon as they’re established. They also provide economic benefits to the areas they’re installed in, mainly in the form of tourist dollars that go back into conservation efforts.

Taylor’s works have inspired other artists to create similar installations around the world, like the Centeen Memorial Dive Park along the St. Lawrence River in Ontario, Canada by David Sheridan. Italian fisherman and activist Paolo Fanciulli similarly dropped Carrara marble sculptures into the Mediterranean Sea to prevent damage to marine life by trawling boats.

The post Ghostly Underwater Sculptures Draw Tourists Away from Busy Diving Sites first appeared on Dornob.

And the future is now. Famed Italian shipyard Tankoa made a splash at this year’s Monaco Yacht Show with their concept design for a new superyacht. Dubbed Apache, the futuristic yacht is not only striking because of its size (a whopping 250 feet), it’s also a visual masterpiece loaded with luxe amenities for the discerning seafarer.

Clean, streamlined, and sleek, Apache is an emblem of modern design. Despite its massive size, the yacht doesn’t appear cumbersome. Rather, it seems to glide over the water. With an open design concept that allows for plenty of light to permeate the interiors and create unimpeded views of the surrounding seas, Apache is meant to stand out from its fellow luxury yachts not only in looks, but also in atmosphere. Designer Alberto Mancini recently described his vision: “Indeed Apache’s beach club design is not just an area for accessing the sea to be enjoyed only when anchored during the day; it is fully integrated with the main deck salon so it can be used day or night as an extension of the outdoor living space.”

Apache avoids the typical cave-dark effect of its fellow floating beach clubs through its unique attention to detail, which includes dynamic folding terraces made of one-way glass that surround the 1,345-foot resort space. These allow natural light to enliven the space while simultaneously enhancing the yacht’s exterior glamor and dynamic aesthetics.

Looks aside, the superyacht also stands out because of its amenities, which include a total of three (!) pools, and most notably one that has been dubbed a “flying pool.” Not actually flying of course, this pool is a glass-bottomed, suspended beauty located on the main deck, accessible via the owner’s private suite — the first of its kind to be featured on a yacht of this size.

Other supercharged amenities on the Apache include ultra-fancy accommodations for VIP guests, a gym, a socializing “hub” replete with a movie theater, a formal dining area, and observation decks that offer spectacular 360-degree views of the surrounding water. The two additional pools would also add to the superyacht’s superior ambience and uber-luxe atmosphere.

The Apache is not the first ambitious project in the Italian shipyard’s dynamic oeuvre, which includes the launch last year of the mega-yacht Olokun, itself a floating behemoth measuring 164 feet long. The Olokun was lauded as one of the most exciting launches of 2020 because of its singular, custom design that drew comparisons to Darth Vader’s iconic get-up. Tankoa hopes the ambitious Apache will surpass last year’s launch in both size and grandeur.

Known for their cutting-edge designs, Tankoa creates luxury experiences on the water that are memorable not only because of their luxe amenities and sophisticated technology, but because their yachts are sublimely futuristic and spark the imagination of those looking for the ultimate seafaring experience that even Styx would be proud of. Come sail away, indeed.

The post New Apache Superyacht Boasts Futuristic “Flying Pool” first appeared on Dornob.

The environmental impact of plastic is well-known. If not recycled, it pollutes our neighborhoods, oceans, and the world around us. With this work, the trio hopes to illustrate how we use and misuse plastic, where it goes, and where it ultimately ends up (most times, in the ocean).

Color coding the trash into categories further emphasizes how humans misuse plastics. The white portion of the sculpture in particular shows that first-use plastics are discarded a whopping 60 percent of the time, whether in landfills, unmanaged in the overall landscape of our planet, or by making its inevitable journey into our oceans.

But that’s not the only data visible on the sculpture. There are also other colors that represent the complicated journey that plastics often take through our global waste stream. For example, green represents recycled plastics, red represents incinerated plastics, and blue shows plastics still in use. The width of each stream is proportionate to its statistical number, but it’s the black stream that’s truly the most alarming here, as it’s meant to reflect all the plastic ever produced since 1950: a whopping 8.3 billion metric tons, all for human use and consumption.

By using plastic collected by 50 volunteers on the Bali beach with the goal of finding the appropriate colors, the creators hoped to shift perspectives. Rather than collecting garbage, they were meant to be collecting and curating the pieces with the goal of taking “creative action.” As artist Liina Klauss (one of the three masterminds behind the project) says, “Science gives us new knowledge about the world. Art gives us new perspectives how to see the world. [And] merging the two has tremendous power.”

Klauss began the vision for the impactful sculpture about ten years ago, in 2011. When she was living in Hong Kong, she gained a deeper understanding of how plastic pollution impacts our planet, and how statement-making art can build awareness. Making Indonesia her second home only served as a catalyst for ultimately producing this colorfully impactful piece on the beach in Bali.

The latest sculpture is just one of the many pieces Klauss has created in the intervening decade, effectively turning “rubbish into rainbows.” On her coastal walks, she has found everything from medical waste to refrigerators washed up on the beach, using all of it in her more than 50 art installations across Hong Kong, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, and Taiwan. All are colorful and use the beach as a canvas — the perfect way to illustrate how plastic devastates our coasts, our oceans, and our planet.

Klauss says, “All over the world on remote beaches, plastic pollution has become insane normality or normal insanity.” By creating her sculptures, she hopes to raise awareness and change people’s perceptions — and maybe even their habits. Look for Klauss’ “Perpetual Plastic” on the big screen when it debuts later this year as a short film by director Eric Ebner.

The post Bali’s “Perpetual Plastic” Sculpture is (Literally) Trash first appeared on Dornob.

Bourgnon of all people understands how crucial such designs are for the health of the planet’s waterways. With 20 years of experience setting world-records in solo expeditions and transatlantic competitions, the Franco-Swiss ocean adventurer has observed a dramatic rise in ocean waste. In fact, Bourgnon had to quit the Trans Jaques Vabre yacht race in 2015 when his ship was assaulted by floating rubbish.

“During my racing career, I’ve missed out on records and broken my boat 12 times from hitting ocean debris,” he said in an interview with the Robb Report. “I’ve circumnavigated the world twice in my life, once at the age of 12 with my parents, and another 30 years later. The difference in the amount of plastic pollution was alarming. I knew something had to be done.”

“To fold your arms and say ‘No, we’ll do nothing, we’ll leave it, we’ll focus on dry land, we’ll leave the waste in the ocean,’ is totally irresponsible,” he added.

His solution? A185-foot sea-cleaning catamaran that will be partially powered by the garbage it eats.

Called the Manta – once its solar “wings” are extended, it resembles the swimming ray fish – the concept was developed in collaboration with an NGO thinktank of 58 engineers, technicians, and researchers that Bourgnon assembled in 2016.

The sailing vessel is designed to be traverse the seas removing plastics and other garbage with its large nets that can span 151 feet across and three feet deep. It’s estimated that the Manta will be able to collect up to three tons of waste each hour. With a crew of 22 rotating in two 12-hour shifts, each haul will be pulled in (larger debris will get help from two onboard cranes) and immediately sorted: organic matter back in the ocean, glass and metal sent ashore to recycling facilities, and plastic turned into energy for the ship. The boat’s Waste-to-Electricity Conversion Unit (WECU) will melt the plastic, creating gas to power an electricity-generating turbine.

Additionally, the Manta will incorporate two wind turbines at the stern, 500 square meters of solar panels at the bow, and two hydro-generators under the ship, enabling it to be roughly 70 percent self-sustaining while creating enough power for sailing speeds between two and three knots.

With a goal of operating his sea-cleaner 300 days a year, Bourgnon says it could eliminate up to 10,000 tons of ocean trash every year. If 400 such boats were set to the task, he and his team guess they could clear one-third of the world’s floating garbage. And even though it is fully capable of negotiating ocean waters, the Manta’s focus will be on clearing the estuaries of the planet’s major rivers. Two smaller, more nimble cleaning boats, the Mobula 8 and 10, will be stored on the catamaran to navigate more shallow and narrow inlets.

“The 20 largest rivers in southeast Asia account for 60 percent of ocean plastic, so that’s where we’re concentrating our effort,” Bourgnon says. “We’ll be collecting dense areas of macro-plastic pollution before it sinks or disintegrates into micro-plastics. Hurricanes and tsunamis cause massive inflows of pollution into the ocean, and it’s imperative that this pollution is dealt with quickly before it drifts, sinks, and becomes irrecoverable.”

Bourgnon expects the first model to be finished in two years, with the Manta’s initial sea trials occurring in Europe before it begins its work in southeast Asia in 2025.

He also hopes the concept will encourage more innovation and similar fabrications. “I’m not in competition with other boat builders to be the only one with a Manta,” Bourgnon explains. “Our hope is that hundreds of Mantas will be built around the world to help with the great ocean cleanup.”

The post This New Yacht Eats Ocean Trash for Breakfast first appeared on Dornob.

Born in Australia and currently based in Mount Maunganui, New Zealand, Young draws inspiration from the scenery he’s been surrounded by his whole life. A boat builder by profession and surfer in his spare time, he says he’s driven by an enduring love for the ocean and a fascination with the relationship between humans and nature.

Each piece starts as a drawing, then a miniature three-dimensional model. Young creates templates and makes custom jigs to guide his glass cutting process with a glazier’s hand tool. The glass he uses is clear, but since light passes through multiple layers, it takes on shades of blue that grow deeper as the layers get thicker. That gives each sculpture the nuance that enhances their sense of realism, while the solidity of the concrete provides an interesting contrast. Each bronze piece begins as a hand-carved wax sculpture before it’s cast in metal.

“I do a lot of thinking before I even start to draw or cut,” Young says. “I work with 2D shapes and have to figure out how to translate that into a 3D finished piece. Sometimes my starting point changes dramatically as I have to find a way to layer the glass to create certain shapes.”

“The way I use the glass enables me to portray so many different elements of my conceptual ideas,” he adds. “Lighting plays a large part in the presentation of my pieces. When lit from beneath, the light reflects and gives off the illusion of the piece being brought to life. I hope viewers might imagine the work as something ‘living’ that creates the illusion of space, movement, depth, and sense of spatial being. I like to play with the irony between the glass being a solid material and how I can form such natural and organic shapes.”

The sculptures, which have names like “Watchful Gaze,” “Contemplation,” and “Sea of Separation,” are more than just pretty depictions of oceanic scenes. They explore an array of emotional themes that become apparent when you look beyond the (literal and metaphorical) surface, like loneliness, isolation, and the precariousness of human life on Earth. Young’s latest collection, “Sentiments of the Sublime,” aims to forge connections between the artist and the viewer “in a moment of awe and nostalgia.”

Young has previously exhibited alongside well-known glass artists around the world, and he’s currently represented by galleries in Melbourne, Auckland, Singapore, and New York. His pieces are in demand and sell as fast as he can produce them, but if you’re really in love with them and want a way to bring one into your home, he also sells original prints for $180 to $250 USD. He’s also available for collaborations and commissioned pieces, if you’d like to see him bring an idea of your own to life.

The post Carved Glass Sculptures by Ben Young Capture the Spirit of the Ocean first appeared on Dornob.

Underwater Photographer of the Year 2021: “Sharks’ Skylight” – Renee Capozzola (USA)

Capozzola captured this shot of blacktip reef sharks while in French Polynesia. An avid shark enthusiast, she’s particularly excited for the publicity her photo might bring to the need for their protection. “Since many shark species are threatened with extinction throughout the world, it is my hope that images of these beautiful animals will help promote their conservation,” she said on the UPY website.

This prize was an easy call for the judges this year. “The first time I set eyes on this image I was nothing short of mesmerized. It’s the palette of colors which first attracted me…mind-blowing underwater imagery at it’s very best,” comments judge Martin Edge.

Up-and-Coming Underwater Photographer of the Year 2021: “Tying In” – SJ Alice Bennett (Mexico)

After her careful plan to take this shot of cave training failed, Bennett had to quickly improvise before their gas reserves were depleted. She pressed the shutter just as her lighting assistants created the beautiful halo effects.

Judge Peter Rowlands explains why Bennett’s work earned the runner-up prize as such: “This strong image brought two words to mind – confidence and talent. Confident enough to pull off such an ambitious image, and talented [enough] to visualize such good composition and control complicated lighting.”

British Underwater Photographer of the Year 2021, My Backyard Winner: “While You Sleep” – Mark Kirkland (UK)

Shot in an area near Kirkland’s home in Glasgow, Scotland, the photographer used a combination of long-exposure, backlighting, close-focus wide angle, split photography, and a whole lot of patience to pull off this shot. “This final shot is a culmination 25 hours over 4 nights of lying in darkness, covered in mud, waiting on nature’s unpredictable elements to align. Time well spent? Absolutely,” he says.

And the judges agree. “I honestly think that the appearance of this image will go down in the history of underwater photography as a defining moment. Perfect yet flawed, natural in urban. I think it is a masterpiece,” gushes Rowlands.

Marine Conservation Photographer of the Year 2021: “Aerial view of a crowded island in Guna Yala” – Karim Iliya (USA)

Karim Iliya was in this region of Panama to photograph the art of making Mola, the traditional clothing worn by the inhabitants of this island. While waiting for a ferry, he sent up his drone and took this shocking aerial scene. “The importance of humanity’s relationship with nature and the need to protect it becomes very apparent when you look at our species from a bird’s-eye perspective and see how much space we take up.”

Underwater Photographer of the Year 2021, Behavior: “A striped marlin in a high-speed hunt in Mexico” – Karim Iliya (USA)

For his second prize-winning entry, Iliya captured this terrifying scene of small fish fleeing a striped marlin. “I went to Mexico to document these feeding frenzies but was not expecting such a fast-paced hunt, almost too fast for my brain to process,” he says, adding that “for a brief moment, this scene unfolded before me and I had to rely on all my instincts and practice underwater to take this photo.”

Underwater Photographer of the Year 2021, Wrecks: “BOWLANDER” – Tobias Friedrich (Germany)

After scrapping shoots in Tiger Beach and Bimini due to bad weather, Tobias Friedrich and his team tried a spot near Nassau in the Bahamas. They were surprised to find a totally new and precariously-perched shipwreck.

Judge Rowlands comments: “Images leap out for several reasons; David and Goliath scale, magnitude, and unambiguity to name three, and this image has all of those and more. If you want to know the secret formula for a classic wreck shot, look no further.”

These are just a few of the show-stopping 2021 victors and runners-up from this year’s contest. The rest of the awards and finalists can be viewed on the UPY Winners webpage.

Here are a few more breathtaking images for the road:

UPY Compact Winner: “Doule (Kuhlia Rupestris) near the surface” – Jack Berthomier (New Caledonia)

UPY Wide Angle Runner-Up: “Gothic Chamber” – Martin Broen (New Caledonia)

UPY Macro Runner-Up: “Larval Lionfish” – Steven Kovacs (USA)

UPY British Waters Compact Winner: “Sunrise Mute Swan Feeding Underwater” – Ian Wade (UK)

The post Dive Deep Into These Mind-Blowing “Underwater Photographer of the Year” Entries first appeared on Dornob.

This apartment looks nothing like any cruise ship suite we’ve ever seen before. In fact, if not for a few tell-tale details, you might think you were looking at a well-appointed studio apartment in Manhattan. Rendered in soothing pale blue, the rounded built-in structures brimming with transforming features reference Le Corbusier’s modernist Unite D’Habitation housing project in Marseille, France, which was itself inspired by midcentury ocean liners.

“As a jumping off point for the project, we looked to Modernist architecture’s fascination with nautical design and cruise ships, which optimized for small-scale living, modular organization, and efficiency,” says Chen. “In particular, Le Corbusier’s belief that a home should be regarded as a ‘machine for living,’ his own multifunctional apartment and atelier at the Immeuble Molitor, as well as his fascination with cruise ships as models for self-sufficient, utopian apartment complexes, like his famed 1952 Unite D’Habitation, offered inspiration.”

The clients are an older couple who use the residence as a getaway for themselves and, occasionally, their adult children. They wanted the ability to expand the space from a one bedroom to a two bedroom as needed using extra tables and beds that fold away almost imperceptibly. Hidden behind surface panels are the components of extra sleeping spaces, two baths, a dressing room, a sitting area, a trunk room, and a “landing zone.”

The dining area converts into the second bedroom on demand, with the cantilevered folding bed tucked behind a fold-down table. When all four guests are present, a sliding screen divides the apartment to create privacy while maintaining access to the common living area, which itself faces a wall of glass that looks out to the ocean.

Chen adds that “concepts of motion and multi-functionalism underpin all aspects of the residence’s organization and aesthetic. In addition to disappearing tables and beds, MKCA has incorporated hidden lighting and integrated appliances that can be boldly revealed or neatly tucked away. Continuous aluminum ribs help conceal panel divisions, doors, and appliances, and also impart a sensation of height in the relatively low, eight-foot tall space.”

“Finishes across the apartment are either impervious or designed to patina over time. This dichotomy extends to the furniture selection, whose surfaces are highly tactile, shifting from polished metals and stones to more plush materials such as mohair, velvet, and suede, and serve as sculptural elements within the space.”

It’s obvious from the deft execution of this project that Chen is accustomed to designing small spaces. Micro living is a common theme in his firm’s portfolio, including the brilliant “Unfolding Apartment” and a 12×16-foot micro-housing concept designed for Häfele. Building on a ship presented a few new challenges, like restrictions on potentially flammable materials, but the resulting combination of warmth, simplicity, and nautical style is a refreshing take on both small spaces and floating residences.

The post Pied-a-Mer: Small Residence Onboard a Yacht Transforms to Accommodate Guests first appeared on Dornob.

A new collaboration between architects and marine scientists at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) is using modern technology to make it happen. Their new method of 3D printing specially designed reef tiles could boost coral’s chance at survival by providing an anchor for “corals of opportunity,” which are dislodged coral fragments that might otherwise just float away and die.

The Marine Park is home to more than three-quarters of reef-building corals in Hong Kong, as well as more than 120 fish species. Mass mortality events, coral bleaching, and bio-erosion all put them at risk. Offering the coral a structurally complex foundation for attachment prevents sedimentation, which is when sediment run-off from the shore either directly suffocates coral reefs or gets mixed into shallow coastal waters, reducing the available light coral need to photosynthesize.

In July 2020, marine scientists deployed the 3D printed terra-cotta “reef tiles” made by the HKU Robotic Fabrication Lab and seeded them with coral fragments at three key sites within the Marine Park covering about 40 square meters total (about 430 square feet), including Coral Beach, Moon Island, and a bay near the WWF Marine Life Center.

The 3D Printing Media Network reports some fascinating details on the project:

“Three coral species historically common in the Marine Park, namely Acropora, Platygyra, and Pavona, were selected for the study. They have different growth forms, representing the branching ‘staghorn,’ massive ‘brain’, and foliose ‘plating’ colony forms, creating a diverse habitat for other marine species. Marine scientists at SWIMS will investigate the success of restoration using the mono-, mix-, and polyculture of the three coral species, while researchers will monitor the performance of corals on the tiles for the next one and a half years.”

“The 128 pieces of reef tile with a diameter of 600mm were printed through a robotic 3D clay printing method with generic terra-cotta clay and then fired at 1125 degrees Celsius. The design was inspired by the patterns typical to corals and integrated several performative aspects addressing the specific conditions in Hong Kong waters.”

The use of environmentally friendly terra-cotta instead of plastic is particularly interesting here, especially since it’s usually associated with architecture and design. In fact, the tiles look like decorative art pieces you might have as a sculptural element in your garden. Fired in a kiln, the 3D printed tiles are durable enough to withstand underwater conditions. Hopefully we’ll get an update from the researchers once the coral attach — it’ll be interesting to see whether the patterns of the tiles affect the formation of the coral, or if they disappear altogether under a blanket of new marine life.

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Designed by architect Yves Behar and his firm fuseproject, early renderings of “PROTEUS” looks a lot like still shots from a sci-fi film about building human habitations on a faraway planet. Set to be built 60 feet below the surface of the ocean off the Caribbean island of Curaçao, a location rich in biodiverse marine life, it will be the most advanced underwater research station ever built once it’s complete.

The station will act as a state-of-the-art lab for the world’s leading researchers, academics, government agencies, and companies working to advance science for the future health of the planet. On-site facilities will allow organic samples to be studied as soon as they’re captured, eliminating the problem of specimens degrading or dying by the time they reach the surface. At 4,000 square feet, PROTEUS will be three to four times the size of existing submarine habitats, capable of housing four people at once.

The structure will consist of a series of modular sleeping, bathroom, medical, life support, storage and laboratory pods attached in a spiraling shape to a main body, all of which is secured to the ocean floor by legs that can adapt to the variable terrain. The largest pod will contain a “moon pool” that allows submersible watercraft to dock. Dual levels connected by a spiraling ramp encourage the inhabitants to maintain healthy physical activity while underwater.

Cousteau hopes the facility will allow for the discovery of new species, learning more about how climate change affects the ocean, and developing advanced technologies for renewable energy, aquaculture, and robotic exploration.

“As our life support system, the ocean is indispensable to solving the planet’s biggest problems. Challenges created by climate change, rising sea levels, extreme storms, and viruses represent a multi-trillion-dollar risk to the global economy. PROTEUS, contemplated as the first in a network of underwater habitats, is essential to driving meaningful solutions to protect the future of our planet. The knowledge that will be uncovered underwater will forever change the way generations of humans live up above,” he explains.

When it comes to scientific research, time is often of the essence. Having complex equipment and technology at their fingertips while still on location will helps scientists sample and access more and varied types of marine life. PROTEUS will also serve as a diving base for oceanic exploration.

Cousteau adds that “scuba diving has serious limitations as a research tool for ocean scientists primarily because the amount of time safely spent in deeper waters is limited to less than two to three hours per day. However, saturation diving (diving at great depths for long periods of time) offers ocean scientists unlimited access to greater depths and can sustain continuous day and night research when supported by an underwater station. Anything that gives a researcher more time at greater depths is a huge benefit to their research because everything is both more difficult to execute in deep water and typically takes more time to accomplish vs. on land or in shallow waters.”

The project is still in early planning phases, so it’s unclear exactly when construction might begin, but it will be interesting to see how PROTEUS takes shape in the coming years.

The post PROTEUS: Fabien Cousteau’s Underwater Oceanic Research Center first appeared on Dornob.

Working with scientists at James Cook University and the Australian Institute of Marine Science, Jason deCaires Taylor has created a collection of figurative sculptures and other structures forming the first artificial reef ever to be installed in the waters near Australia’s famous Great Barrier Reef. “The Coral Greenhouse,” located at John Brewer Reef, opened to visitors in August 2020.

Sharing a message of reef conservation and restoration, the museum is filled with 20 “reef guardian” sculptures. They may be still and silent, but they’re actually doing the highly-important task of propagating coral. That’s right: more than 2,000 fragments from marine nurseries have been planted into the sculptures to help the site generate its own marine ecosystem. Installed just prior to coral spawning season, it’ll offer clean surfaces made of pH-neutral marine cement, to which coral larvae can easily attach.

The 60-foot-deep installation includes a 40-foot-long skeletal building that houses the sculptures, which itself is anchored securely enough to the sea floor to withstand a Category 4 cyclone. Scientists are monitoring the water salinity, pH, and oxygen levels and recording the development of coral with underwater cameras. Each of the sculptures is modeled on a member of the local indigenous community who traditionally own the land. Alongside Taylor and a team of local artists, they participated in workshops to construct and install the statues.

Adventurous visitors can book guided tours of the museum through a variety of different local dive operations, snorkeling or scuba diving right next door to one of the “Seven Wonders of the World,” to boot. These tours vary from shorter group trips to full-day excisions and are held on private chartered boats.

A second installation is a little more accessible to the average person. “” emerges from the water at the end of Townsville’s Strand Jetty, a popular tourist attraction that’s part of a 1.5-mile waterfront business district. Modeled after 12-year-old Takoda Johnson, another member of the Wulgurukaba people, the sculpture shifts in color according to the ocean’s temperature using data collected by the Davis Reef weather station.

“She looks over the land of her forefathers,” says Taylor.

The Museum of Underwater Art represents Taylors’ first time working in the Pacific Ocean. The UK-born sculptor and scuba diving instructor first gained international renown in 2006 for “Viscissitudes,” a ring of 26 children set underwater off the coast of Grenada, Spain at the Molinere Underwater Sculpture Park. After that, he launched a series of underwater art museums across the globe, including Museo Atlántico near the Spanish island of Lanzarote and the M.U.S.A. Museo Subacuático de Arte in Cancun, Mexico.

Taylor, a lifelong environmentalist, hopes his work will inspire a sense of urgency around protecting our oceans and the life they contain.

“Our oceans are going through rapid change, and there are huge threats, from rising sea temperatures to acidification, and a large amount of pollution entering the system,” he told The Guardian. “Part of creating an underwater museum is about changing our value systems — thinking about the sea floor as something sacred, something that we should be protecting and not taking for granted.”

The post Museum of Underwater Art Opens Near Australia’s Great Barrier Reef first appeared on Dornob.

We’ve seen this before with “Casa Brutale” by OPA, which is actually set to be constructed in Lebanon, and “Mirage House,” an infinity-pool-topped concept home by Koi’s Associated Architects. Now, “The Air Cabin” by Yakusha Design envisions a 270-degree glass structure set on a dramatic vertical pillar.

Designed with a surfer resident in mind, this cliffside home features a recycled concrete foundation that blends into the rocks. It almost looks like the pillar was simply hammered into place, granting the open-concept 48-square-meter home a highly unusual perspective of the Atlantic Ocean.

The designers took inspiration from lighthouses for the way the home juts out of the cliff like a beacon. In addition to being structural, the pillar also contains the home’s utilities. Integrated blinds offer privacy when desired, and all of the furniture is low to the ground to enhance the feeling of airiness. The home truly feels like it’s hovering in the air — a quality Yakusha intended as a tribute to surfers’ ability to ride waves before they crash onto the shore.

Unlike Casa Brutale, “The Air Cabin” has a relatively light footprint on its building site. There’s less heavy excavation required, and the residence is small enough that it really could be supported as rendered.

The design team explains that “the idea behind this project [is] to create a feeling of instability and futility of such an architecture. From the equilibrium point of view, the volume is mounted on a vertical wall, which at the same time, not only stands on a rock but also stands in front of it. The central element takes up little internal space, at the same time includ[ing] most engineering communications, and maximizes the view outside the window.”

“The interior layout is free so that nothing interferes with the view. Functional zones flow one into another but do not contradict. Stylistically, there is a combination of modern geometric styles: straight lines, rounded forms of sofas, round lamps, ethnic: straw, roughly processed logs, decor, a bit of Asian: low dining chairs, a mat. Bathroom privacy [has also] been preserved — we used a special glass with transparency adjustment.”

It may seem like houses like these never actually get built, but that’s not true. They just tend to end up looking a tad less dramatic in real life. In another example, OOAK Architects built a stunning cantilevered concrete home overlooking Afiarti Beach on the Greek Island of Karpathos, and while it doesn’t exactly blend into the landscape, it doesn’t look like a UFO landed on the cliff, either. Still, designs like these can be controversial for the way they overtake an otherwise natural setting, emphasizing an ostentatious sense of human dominance. Do you love them or hate them?

The post Glass Surfer Cabin Floats on Air Above the Atlantic Ocean first appeared on Dornob.

German photographer Tobias Friedrich calls attention to vulnerable underwater species through gorgeous images of underwater creatures, shipwrecks, and reefs. But some of his most recent images might be the most striking of all: those depicting icebergs from an angle we rarely see.

Friedrich recently took a trip to Greenland to dive beneath the surface, capturing what’s usually not visible beyond “the tip of the iceberg.” With mottled, textured surfaces that sometimes extend many meters into the deep, the icebergs almost seem alive, mimicking the presence of whales. He hopes these images will help raise awareness about the effects of global warming by encouraging us to reflect on the natural formations and what their loss could mean for our planet.

The photographer can be seen in many of the images, gazing up at the underwater portions of the icebergs in his scuba diving gear. Beside them, he looks as small as a single solitary fish. Some of the shots depict underwater landscapes that are almost alien in nature, while others place creatures like jellyfish in the foreground to remind us of their earthly context.

Some of the coolest shots are taken from right at the surface, so half the photo is underwater and half is above. In other cases, Friedrich even had to drill a hole in the ice in order to get beneath the massive icebergs.

He calls this collection “SHADES OF WATER — ICE: FREEDIVING WITH ICEBERGS UNDER THE ICE.”

A description on the photographer’s official website notes that “in his childhood Tobias Friedrich loved to watch the adventures of the Calypso with Jacques-Yves Cousteau as its captain and the beauty of the world that is below the ocean’s surface. It’s still an overwhelming feeling for him when he has the chance to dive. He loves the elegance and calmness of the world under water standing in contrast to the hectic atmosphere above.”

“Tobias Friedrich lives in Germany and started taking pictures with a DSLR underwater in the year 2007. Since then, his images have been published in prestigious scuba diving magazines and newspapers around the world. Several underwater photographic competitions have honored his work, resulting in over 50 awards with nearly 30 1st places.”

“Lately he has been named ‘Underwater Photographer of the Year 2018’ in the prestigious UPY London competition. All waters, from zero to 30° Celsius, are attractive for him, at least there is something to photograph. He [uses] SEACAM equipment for his Canon EOS 1DX Mark II and 5D Mark II DSLR. He is leading expeditions and workshops around the world, where everybody can join.”

You can keep up with Friedrich’s work on Instagram or at his website, Below-Surface.com, where books of his photography are available for purchase. Prints can be found on RedBubble.

The post Stunning Photo Series Lets Us Gaze Up at Greenland’s Icebergs from Beneath first appeared on Dornob.