Dive Brief:
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Japanese construction company Shimizu Corp. has designed a city to be built in the ocean, with a giant sphere that would would house 5,000 people and bobble just above the water’s surface but connect to the sea’s floor via a nine-mile-long spiral anchor.
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The transparent, watertight sphere would include homes, hotels, and commercial complexes. Other spheres could be built nearby.
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The structure would take advantage of sunlight but would protectively submerge during foul weather. At the base of the spiral anchor, a research center for scientists would harness energy and mine materials from the ocean floor, supplying oxygen to the inhabitants and making the “property” self-sufficient.
Dive Insight:
The modern-day Atlantis sounds farfetched, but a Shimizu Corp. official told London’s The Guardian the project “is a real goal, not a pipe dream.” He reminded the reporter that the Japanese “Astro Boy” cartoon series that began in 1952 featured a robot with a mobile phone decades before cell phones were invented. “In the same way,” the official said, “the technology and know-how we need for this project will become available.”
He predicted the $25 billion project could be built by 2030.