This 7-Mile Underwater Sculpture Park is Combatting Climate Change

Source: oma.eu

Dutch architectural firm OMA is working on an innovative underwater sculpture park for Miami Beach. Entitled the ReefLine, the installation is intended to both raise awareness for and combat the effects of climate change all the while bolstering Miami’s already-thriving arts scene. 

Shohei Shigematsu, who heads OMA’s New York office, will lead the project in collaboration with a team of experts, including researchers, coastal engineers, architects, and biologists. 

Source: oma.eu

The sculpture park will include a series of geometric concrete modules placed approximately 20 feet under water and spanning seven miles, beginning from South Beach. The structures are made from materials approved for artificial reef deployment, including concrete and limestone, to promote the production and expansion of natural reefs. 

Argeintinian curator Ximena Caminos, who ideated the project, told Dezeen, "The ReefLine will provide structure for corals and sponges to naturally colonize, adding biodiversity to an area that is currently an underwater desert of sand. In the future, we are looking into the feasibility of transplanting nursery grown corals to the structure from University of Miami's Rescue-a-Reef program.”

Nestled among the park’s concrete framework will be a variety of 3D-printed artworks made from approved materials. According to Caminos, “This series of artist-designed and scientist-informed artificial reefs will demonstrate to the world how tourism, artistic expression, and the creation of critical habitat can be aligned.”

Source: oma.eu

OMA is among the artists contributing work, designing a spiral staircase leading to a circular opening overhead. Conceptual artist Leandro Erlich is another notable contributor, working on a sculpture of a traffic jam to raise awareness for the climate change crisis. Erlich already created an above-ground version of the sculpture composed of 66 sand-sculpted cars and trucks on Miami Beach. 

Source: leandroerlich.art

If you want to see the installation in all of its glory, you’ll need to put on your snorkeling gear as the park is being constructed about 900 feet off shore. 

The project will be completed in phases, with the first mile slated to finish in December of 2021. 

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