Dubai is known for architectural giants like the Burj Khalifa or the Infinity Tower. However, the city’s most brilliant architecture is not reaching for the sky now, rather it’s going deep in the ocean!
Originally introduced at the Dubai International Boat Show, the Floating Seahorse villas will leave you awestruck. For starters, the villas float like anchored boats. Every three-story retreat features an entire floor submerged beneath the sea with two enormous windows (25 square-meters each) that offer a magnificent view of marine life to those in the front-row seats. The villa has a submerged floor where one can experience the feeling of stepping down into the master bedroom to see the reef and the marine life through the surrounding walls.
You might expect the Floating Seahorse villas to bob up and down like a boat and cause sea-sickness and rocking during the storm. You won’t believe that it is unexpectedly still. Gianfranco Rasile, the project architect, says that the architectural team grappled for months to achieve this neutral buoyancy. The work required careful calculations and dozens of trial runs in a simulated environment in Dubai Maritime City. As for the underwater windows, they are just 9.5 centimeters thick; it looks like there’s nothing between you and the fish.
Glass windows were not used as they are not durable and get affected by salt water easily. The construction team used teak and marble instead. The construction has crystal-clear views and remarkable durability to withstand years in salt water.
“You have to use materials that can resist the temperature and the salt in the atmosphere.” Says Rasile.
Around 50 floating abodes were ready by the end of 2016, with a total of 131 villas expected by the end of 2017. Who wouldn’t want to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city life to escape to the ocean? No, the windows won’t show you a usual pool or golf course there, but diverse marine life.
Dubai will not stop to attract us towards the grandeur of its giant buildings that are either touching the skies or going underwater!