Could this be the future of human
civilization, post climate catastrophe? London designer Phil Pauley envisions underwater
cities – or, more accurately, small communities – wherein everything that’s
needed to support roughly one hundred inhabitants is grown, created or
processed onboard. Sub-Biosphere 2 is the product of 20 years of research, and
though the designer is also a sci-fi writer, he sees the city as much more than
just a fantasy concept.
The 1,105-foot-wide structure consists of
eight smaller bio-domes encircling a central support biosphere. The pods would
hold dwellings, an observation center, and areas for producing energy, growing
food and processing water and waste. The idea is that there would be no need
for any kind of sustenance from the outside world, making the city almost
entirely self-sustainable (we’re assuming they would need things like building
materials from other locations.)
A video shows the spheres ascending and
descending from the surface of the sea to the ocean floor via a metal frame
structure. Pauley says the biosphere would “recreate Earth’s atmosphere – the
regions of the land, sea and air which hold life” and also act as a global seed
bank. The 100 people living onboard would be sufficient “to rebuild our species
in the event of a catastrophic natural disaster.”
“Land-based events have wreaked havoc on
life on Earth before, in the case of dinosaurs and in more localized events
such as supervolcanic eruptions and pandemics,” says the designer. “If we
cannot avoid a runaway greenhouse effect, it may be that we may be safer living
under the sea in the long-term.”
