H2OME: THE UNDERWATER HOME AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA

H2OME Is Your Own Underwater Home At The Bottom Of The Sea
By Wonderful Engineering, 13 September 2014.

What are your thoughts about living underwater? Well, it isn’t a new concept and we all know that already, however, the approach that US Submarine Structures took is definitely way better than the previous attempts. They have offered an underwater home, known as H2OME, with luxuries comparable to a 5-star hotel.

The H2OME comes with two completely submerged floors adding up to provide 3,600 sq. ft. of living space underwater. The house can be accessed from shore by means of a private pier, that will allow entry into the submersible resident via either spiral staircase or a central elevator. The top floor layout has two bedrooms that feature views of the ocean above, two bathrooms and an open lounge area. The lower floor has a master bedroom with en-suite bath, a kitchen with adjacent wine-cellar, library, lounge, dining area, office space and a number of ocean-viewing areas and last but not the least; a bar.

Acrylic panels have been employed for all the walls of the lower floor that face the sea. They will allow the residents to have panoramic views of patches of ocean. A firm based in Dubai has provided the furnishing whose speciality is outfitting 5-star hotels and interior of super yachts. That being said, the client will have full control over customizing this home as they see fit. It comes equipped with exterior lights and fish feeders in order to attract the marine life to the home.

The location for the home can either be selected by the client or given by the company. In any case, the H2OME must be built at a depth of 33-59 ft. This makes it suitable for shallow warm seas, lagoons or mountain lakes. For stability purposes, the structure is bolted to struts that are attached to the ocean floor. It can maintain the same air pressure as the surface above and hence, removing the need for a decompression process. US Submarine Structures is also extending sea-scaping services.

Umbilical pipes are used to provide water, sewage system and electricity from mainland to the structure. However, as per the information available on the company’s website, there is an option for more rather self-sustaining version of H2OME that is capable of tackling its need for fresh water and electricity on its own. The acrylic panels for viewing make use of an automated water jet cleaning system so with time the viewing quality won’t degrade.

Now that we have gone through the article and are actually looking forward to such homes; we must come back to reality for this mansion will cost US$10 million. Well, there goes our dream of living underwater!

[Source: Wonderful Engineering. Edited.]