There’s an Underwater Restaurant in Europe That Resembles a Stranded Alien Spaceship
In the pristine coast of a fishing village in Norway, lies a work of art straight out of the ordinary offering candid glimpses of what is brewing underneath the surface of the North Sea. Acclaimed architecture firm, Snøhetta, based in Oslo and New York, takes the credit for the monolithic structure carved out of concrete which functions as both a chic dining spot and marine research center. Brought into existence in 2019, the restaurant named Under in the southern tip of Norway is a testament to the power of creativity combined with technology. At first glance though, the restaurant may appear to you no less strange than an alien spaceship parked where land meets sea, as per a report by FastCompany.
Located in Lindesnes Fyr, the unique semi-submerged architecture is run by Danish chef Nicolai Ellitsgaard offering a range of seafood options and other delicacies. The restaurant started construction back in 2018 and was open to the public the following year. Julie Skogheim, Snøhetta’s Marketing Communications Coordinator said in an email that Under “is financed by the owners, Under AS–a company where the company Lindesnes Havhotell will have a 65% ownership. The remaining percentages are owned by various local investors.” It also transforms into a research center for marine life at odd hours of the restaurant, to foster knowledge and conservation of the ocean.
According to an official report by the design studio, the building has a length of 34 meters that breaks into the surface of the water and touches the seabed up to five meters below. Its rough concrete walls will act as an artificial reef allowing limpets and kelp to thrive on it and eventually integrate the monolithic structure into the environment. Rightly named, “Under” also means “wonder” and “below” in Norwegian. The giant windows made of acrylic offer a breathtaking view of the undersea blue and marine life while eliminating any kind of perturbance.
BBC Travel Show (@BBCTravelShow) talked to the great minds behind the structure soon after construction wrapped in 2019. “The challenge was really to find a form and a shape and a location that could actually withstand these forces that we knew were coming. So the solution was a pipe, said Snøhetta architect Kjetl Traedal Thorsen in the YouTube video. He explained the precision and technique with which the restaurant was constructed and placed in the designated foundation points. However, they ensured that these activities would not “ruin” the ecology of the coast and marine life there. Simultaneously, Stig Ubosta, owner of Under, chimed in saying, “Most people don’t know what is under the water in the Nordics. It’s different from tropical fishes, with the colors, it’s different.”
Earlier, Skogheim mentioned in her email that the researchers will try to “optimize” the conditions to help fish and shellfish thrive on the seabed close to the restaurant. A great business strategy there. Besides that, fish will also be trained with sound signals and observed by experts throughout fleeting seasons and weather conditions. Typically, Lindesnes is vulnerable to varying weathers, changing from calm to raging storms in a day. However, the designs of Under are confident that its monolithic form will allow it to endure the shock of the rigged coastline and water pressure. If you look at it from a distance, the restaurant is barely distinguishable from a sunken structure that may have been uprooted during a storm.