Hollywood and theme parks have been walking arm in arm for years. But can they swim in sync?
Dubai, the second largest of the United Arab Emirates, is known for its gargantuan commercial building projects. The latest to be proposed is the world’s largest underwater theme park.
The creator of this five-acre aquatic experience is Los Angeles-based Reef Worlds, whose team includes film and television designers, dive-site developers, and marine biologists. CEO Patric Douglas notes that while scuba diving and snorkeling are a $3-billion-a-year business, most seaside venues don’t offer much in the way of special underwater experiences. “Many five-star resorts have one-star waterfronts,” says Douglas. Reef Worlds estimates there are 500,000 square miles of oceanfront at Caribbean and Asian hotels and resorts with limited appeal to adventurous tourists.
Douglas has been promoting the economic and ecological benefits of what he calls “habitat tourism,” which would give resort owners a way to monetize the waters off their beaches, while relieving some of the pressure from aquatic tourists on natural underwater reef systems that are endangered or dying.
Artificial reefs have been around for decades. Most were created with everything from sunken battleships to old tires—and most, says Douglas, are boring. “Who wants to look at a concrete triangle?” he asks. Reef Worlds intends to create “dynamic reefs” that would attract sea life, making them places people actually want to explore, he says. In Mexico, the company is developing an underwater art garden featuring 200 works of art that will take their cues from Mayan and Aztec iconography. Douglas calls this “Mayan Gods in 3D.”
Douglas says Reef Worlds will be able to bring in projects at 10-20% of the cost of a typical resort water theme park, which can run $70 million to build and $10 million a year to market and maintain.
Reef Worlds’ “Pearl of Dubai” project will be located in the waters around the World Islands development. Renderings suggest the park might be modeled after the mythic Lost City of Atlantis. Reef Worlds has five projects in varying stages of development in Dubai, Qatar, the Philippines, and Mexico.
Reef Worlds has had less success in the Caribbean: two years ago, Douglas found no takers when he offered $4.5 million to resorts in Jamaica to install underwater parks there. “It’s a vision thing,” he says, “and we’re playing the long game.”
Read about more innovations from BD+C's 2014 Great Solutions Report.
Related Stories
| Jul 16, 2014
Mergers and acquisitions of AE firms on track for strong year in 2014
Through the first six months of 2014, Morrissey Goodale tracked 101 sales of U.S.-based architecture and engineering firms, roughly the same amount as during the first six months of 2013.
| Jul 16, 2014
Ware Malcomb announces New Jersey office expansion
Architecture and design firm also honored for commercial real estate projects in New Jersey.
| Jul 16, 2014
Learning design fundamentals in the digital age – How to balance learning and technology
My colleague and I were once asked an insightful question by a Civil Engineering Professor that sparked an interesting conversation. He’d been told about our software by some of his students who had used it during their summer internship. SPONSORED CONTENT
| Jul 16, 2014
Check out this tree-like skyscraper concept for vertical farming
Aprilli Design Studio has stepped forward with a new idea for a vertical farm, which is intended to resemble a giant tree. It uses lightweight decks as outdoor growing space, adding up to about 25 acres of space.
| Jul 16, 2014
User input on aquatics center keeps students in the swim [2014 Building Team Awards]
Collaborative spirit abounds in the expansion and renovation of a high school pool facility in suburban Chicago.
| Jul 16, 2014
Nonresidential construction starts up 34% in June
Construction starts for nonresidential work saw a surge in June, rising more than a third compared with the previous month, according to Reed Construction Data.
| Jul 16, 2014
ASHRAE, IAQA team up to improve resources on indoor air quality
Indoor Air Quality Association will become part of the ASHRAE organization while maintaining its own brand and board; HQ will relocate to Atlanta.
| Jul 15, 2014
Michael Graves talks with Washington Post about new design eye from life in a wheelchair
Celebrated American architect Michael Graves sits with the Washington Post to talk about how being on a wheelchair changed the way he focuses on design.
| Jul 15, 2014
A look into the history of modular construction
Modular construction is more than a century old, and throughout its lifespan, the methods have been readapted to meet specific needs of different eras.
| Jul 15, 2014
AECOM to buy URS Corporation in $6 billion deal
Together, the firms will form a massive global giant with more than $19 billion in revenue and 95,000 employees in 150 countries.