Half-sunken into the sea along the Norwegian coastline, Snøhetta’s submerged restaurant project looks like yet another cool rendering that will never actually be built – but a new series of images by architectural photographer Aldo Amoretti reveals promising progress. ‘Under’ is set to be Europe’s first underwater restaurant, with a monolithic form that appears to be sliding into the water from the rocky shore. It will double as a research facility for marine life, its design and name paying tribute to the culture of coastal Norway and the city of Lindesnes in particular.

The architects explain that the name has a double meaning, as ‘under’ can be translated into ‘wonder’ in Norwegian.

“More than an aquarium, the structure will become a part of its marine environment, coming to rest directly on the sea bed five meters below the water’s surface,” says Snøhetta. “With meter-thick concrete walls, the structure is built to withstand pressure and shock from the rugged sea conditions. Like a sunken periscope, the restaurant’s massive acrylic windows offer a view of the seabed as it changes throughout the seasons and varying weather conditions.”

“Through its architecture, menu and mission of informing the public about the biodiversity of the sea, Under will provide an underwater experience inspiring a sense of awe and delight, activating all the senses – both physical and intellectual.”

The website for Under, which was also designed by Snøhetta, promises a gastronomic excursion that “will be almost impossible to forget,” with a menu highlighting the delights to be found in the local seas. It’s set to open in Spring 2019.

Check out 7 more wonders of submerged architecture, including an abandoned underwater strip club in Israel and the completed Ithaa Undersea Restaurant at the Hilton Maldives Resort.

How eerie must it be to swim past submerged lamp posts, barbed wire and other remnants of an old Soviet prison while scuba diving in a former quarry? The setting is dangerous; visitors might brush up against sharp objects, and some have even died in diving accidents, but for avid explorers of abandoned places, the risks may seem worthwhile. After all, it’s hauntingly beautiful: the ruins of an old stone and concrete structure surrounded by turquoise waters, its underwater surfaces covered in algae and shellfish.

The ruins of this abandoned prison camp founded in 1938 are located in the small Estonian town of Rummu, within a limestone quarry where the inmates were once forced to labor. Its past is rather grim, as you might expect. The prison was well known for human rights violations, with frequent inmate deaths and hunger strikes demanding better treatment. Estonia regained its independence in 1991, and soon work at the quarry stopped. It quickly filled up with water, flooding any structures nearby. Other buildings that were part of the prison stayed dry and remained open as recently as 2012.

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Visitors often have to cut through fencing topped with barbed wire to gain access. It’s a popular spot for swimmers and divers alike, both local and those visiting from other countries. A Finnish group of urban explorers calling themselves Abandoned Nordic documented their dive at this ‘prison beneath the surface’ with stunning results, and wrote about the experience on their website.

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“We circled the largest building underwater, some sections of this particular building were above the waterline. The visibility in the water was fair but rays of midday sunlight revealed the walls and the shapes of the buildings in front of us. We swam inside from a large doorway inside the basement of a building with a partially collapsed roof. Some of the rooms were completely underwater. The rooms were full of concrete and darkness. Bars are still intact in the windows. Even though the buildings are grey, the penetrating greenness of the water brought warmth to the scenery. Nature has taken over this world a long time ago.”

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“The buildings rising from the green water form a bizarre sight. On a clear day, one can see the underwater structures, buildings and walls, easily from the sand hill next to the quarry lake. I’m not surprised why this place fascinates so many, including Tanja. Unfortunately, not much history remains from this odd place. Just like in Skrunda, documents of old photos are really hard to come by. I have never seen one photo from the active days of the Rummu prison camp. It seems like Rummu was born underwater, but still we can figure out that the place used to be very different.”

Read the whole account and see more photos at Abandoned Nordic.

Hidden at the bottom of Gulf of Naples in Italy for 1,700 years, the ancient Roman city of Baiae has been revealed to the world after divers were permitted to explore and photograph the site. Historians call Baiae “the ancient Roman version of Las Vegas,” a getaway for the rich and famous where hedonism ran wild. The fashionable resort was popular with the likes of Julius Caesar, Nero and Hadrian, and it was once filled with luxury vacation villas and party houses echoing with rumors of corruption.

Italian photographer Antonio Busiello captured these incredible images of the now-submerged city, whose mosaics, statues and cobblestone streets are now located many feet below the surface of the water where they’ve been taken over by marine life. Researchers studying Baiae have discovered that its villas were made with marble shipped from quarries in Turkey and Greece. Can you guess why it ended up this way? Just look to nearby Pompeii for clues.

That’s right, the very same volcanic activity that provided Baiae and other regional hotspots with natural hot springs for its spas and baths ultimately destroyed it. The city was once located right along the water’s edge, but was eventually claimed by the Gulf. It wasn’t found again until 2014, when heavy flooding south of Naples caused landslides that exposed portions of the city’s old walls.

Experts have been able to identify the individual villas of various Roman historical figures, including Pliny the Younger, who witnessed and documented the 79 C.E. eruption of Mount Vesuvius.

“The beautiful mosaics, and the villas and temples that have reemerged or are still underwater show the opulance and wealth of this area,” says Busiello. “It was considered one of the most important Roman cities for centuries. Diving here is like a dive into history, looking at ancient Roman ruins underwater is something hard to describe, a beautiful experience indeed.”

Mildewed crosses, lonely spires, barely-visible stone foundations and rusting bed frames are all that’s left to show for these 10 intentionally submerged towns and structures from India to Massachusetts. When additional water and power is needed to provide for growing populations, small villages often have to be sacrificed, and while some were demolished before their remains were flooded, others can still be seen as ghostly visions wavering beneath the surface.

Potosi, Venezuela

Another town lost to the creation of a hydroelectric dam, Potosi was abandoned in 1985, its residents relocating and leaving their former homes to be filled with water. For 20 years, all that was visible of the Veneuzuelan town was a single mildewed cross topping a drowned church, but by the year 2010, the waters began to recede and the town slowly reappeared. The gothic church that was once submerged is visible again due to droughts and water shortages, erosion and water damage making it appear much older than it really is.

Steeple Tombstone: Curon Venosta, Italy

A single spire marks the location of an entire town lost beneath Lago di Resia. The alpine village of Curon Venosta was flooded soon after World War II when officials decided to merge three pre-existing lakes into one to create a hydroelectric dam. Before it was inundated, the town – which included 163 houses and nearly 1,300 acres of land planted with fruit – was filled with sand. The bell tower, which was built in the 14th century, was left intact as a memorial, and can be reached on foot in the winter when the lake freezes over.

Vilarinho da Furna, Portugal

In 1972, the creation of a new dam meant the ancient Vilarinho da Furna was lost beneath the water. The Portuguese village, which dates back to Roman times, was home to almost 300 people inhabiting 80 houses before it was submerged; the property still belongs to their descendants, and reappears every now and then when the reservoir levels fall. The community was unique in that it had a communitarian social system with a council called the Junta made up of a single member from each family, a practice dating back to the Visigoths. When the villagers left they took as much as they could, creating their own road to transport things like rocks and roof tiles to their new homes. Some of those rocks were used to build a museum commemorating Vilarinho da Furna, which contains a collection of clothing, agricultural tools, and paintings depicting daily life in the village.

Jal Mahal, Jaipur, India

The Water Palace of Jaipur, India sits in the center of Man Sagar Lake. No one knows exactly when it was built, but it’s believed that the red sandstone structure is at least 300 years old and was constructed before damming created the lake, submerging its lower four stories. When the lake is full, only the top level can be reached, and only by boa. At night, the place is illuminated with floodlights like some kind of hallucinatory ghost structure. The palace was recently restored and is now open to visitors.

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Drowned Towns 10 Underwater Ghost Cities Buildings

Enjoy a luxurious lunch, spend the night gazing at deep sea creatures, take in museum exhibits or even catch a glimpse at an underwater stripper pole in these seven wonders of submerged architecture. Located from 20 to 50 feet below the surface, these real-life submarine structures (including a couple concepts currently under construction) would make for a swinging town for mermaids and mermen if they were all located in the same place.

Abandoned Underwater Strip Club, Israel

Once, this barnacle-covered underwater building in Eilat,  Israel was the Red Sea Star restaurant, bar and observatory. But when that didn’t work out, it became perhaps one of the weirdest submerged businesses of all time: a strip club. The entrance is above water; visitors crossed a 230-foot bridge and descended a flight of stairs to gain access, so no scuba suits were necessary. Surprisingly, the Nymphas Show Bar wasn’t a big hit. Since its closure, it has been abandoned. Marine biologist Gil Koplovitz captured a series of shots that peer inside, which can be seen at The Huffington Post.

Water Discus Hotel, Dubai

If you’re skeptical that the Water Discus Underwater Hotel will ever really be built, you’re hardly alone – it seems like one of many fantastical structures in Dubai that get a lot of attention as concepts but never manage to become reality. However, the developer has announced that construction is about to begin. The hotel will consist of a series of discs, some underwater and some above the surface, with 21 two-guest rooms in the submarine space.

World’s Largest Underwater Museum, Mexico

It may not have walls, but the world’s largest underwater museum is impressive nonetheless, with a series of displays made of pH-neutral concrete that can only be seen by divers and tourists in glass-bottom boats. The sculptures were designed to attract algae and marine life, making them an ecosystem. A total of 400 structures are planned. The Cancun Underwater Museum is located off the coast of Isla de Mujeres, Mexico.

Ithaa Undersea Restaurant, Maldives

While many similar concepts have never gotten past the ‘impressive renderings’ phase, the Ithaa Undersea Restaurant at the Hilton Maldives Resort has been open since 2005. Made of acrylic with a 270-degree panoramic view, the restaurant seats only fourteen at a time, for an intimate and quiet underwater dining experience (that’ll cost you at least $120 per person – for lunch.)

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Submarine Structures 7 Wonders Of Underwater Architecture