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Europe's first underwater restaurant is set to
open in southern Norway. At the moment, it
is still in the final stages of design but the
images released by the Swedish architectural
firm are intriguing. The restaurant is going
to be called ‘Under' and it will be found five
metres below the sea surface. Its structure
is half submerged, so you enter on dry land
and then descend to the underwater depths.
However, it will look like it's accidentally
underwater due to its angle, almost like
a huge block that has washed up on the
rocks. Or, if it were not so rectangular, it
might resemble a beached whale. It will
be spacious and able to host 100 diners
spread over three floors. There will be
large panoramic windows made of acrylic
that look out into the deep blue. The walls
and windows are going to be very thick to
prevent leakage or damage from rough seas
in bad weather. The rooms will be painted
with deep blues and greens to resemble the
colour of the sea outside.
It is hoped that, by using concrete on the
building's exterior, sea creatures will be
attracted to make the surface their home. In
addition, when the restaurant is not serving
guests, it will be a centre for scientific
oceanographic research. The plan is to use
it as a base from which scientists can take
measurements of sea conditions and monitor
sea creatures and their habitats.
However, when it comes to dining under the
sea, Europe is behind the rest of the world.
‘Ithaa' is found in the Maldives and offers
a very different underwater experience to
that which is expected in Norway. Here,
the waters are warm and clear, and the
restaurant is surrounded by coral reef and
tropical fish. Customers enjoy fresh seafood
of the highest quality while sitting in an
ingeniously designed transparent tube. In
actual fact, this is not the only restaurant
like this in the Maldives, there are many
more, similarly spectacular, underwater
restaurants to visit there.
There are also other places where it is
possible to eat in underwater environments.
Most of these are however artificial
aquariums or ponds that surround the dining
room. For example, in Dubai, there is a
restaurant with a huge fish tank at its centre
that makes customers feel as though they
are under the sea. It is filled with 990,000
cubic litres of seawater and lots and lots of
beautiful fish.
The design of these underwater marvels and
feats of modern engineering is varied. The
Norwegian addition is set to be modern and
minimalist. The restaurant in Dubai could
not contrast more as it is ostentatious and ornate. Those in the Maldives, are simplistic
and as such are of a style more similar to
Under. However, due to the nature of the
sea in which they are placed, they differ
greatly in atmosphere to that expected in
Norway. With temperatures that are cold
and sometimes subzero, and weather that
is far from mild, Under could make for a
very dramatic eating experience. As work
has not started on it yet, an opening date
has not been confirmed but it is likely to
have a long waiting list for a table. Let's
just hope that the food is as innovative as
the building design.
What does the word ‘ostentatious' mean in
final paragraph?
A Beautifully designed
B Enormously tall
C Very subtly decorated
D Over the top
Isn't it A?