“Under” Is The First Underwater Restaurant in Europe

Ryan Fredrick, Reporter

Europe’s first underwater restaurant, “Under,” sits five meters below the surface of the North Sea in Norway. The 110-foot long structure was submerged in July 2018 and had it’s first diners on March 20th, according to CNN.

“The thought of being able to eat underwater is so amazing. People just come up with more and more ways to create new and exciting things,” junior Abby Island said.

The Norwegian design company Snøhetta, known for the Oslo Opera House, National September 11th Memorial Pavilion, renovation of Times Square and the Bibliotheca Alexandrina in Egypt, designed Under, according to Rolling Stone.

“I would be scared to go in that place. I just hope that they made sure it’s not going to collapse at any given moment,” junior Maurice Weakly said.

Under seats up to 40 guests, surrounded by concrete walls half a meter thick, with a total internal area of about 500 square meters set over three levels. There are underwater views of the surrounding marine environment through a 36-foot panoramic window, according to the CNN article “Europe’s First Underwater Restaurant Opens.”

“I’m glad they made it secure with all of that concrete. It seems like a fun place to visit, and I wouldn’t want to be distracted thinking I was going to drown every five seconds,” junior Alyssa Woelfer said.

Under was built in a six month period. It was originally built near the coast, but then it was transported about 600 feet away. To submerge the structure, water-filled containers were put inside the building before securing it to the sea floor with 18 different anchoring points, according to NPR.

“Under is a natural progression of our experimentation with boundaries. As a new landmark for Southern Norway, Under proposes unexpected combinations of pronouns and prepositions, and challenges what determines a person’s physical placement in their environment,” The founder of Snøhetta, Kjetil Trædal Thorsen, said in an interview with CNN.

More than half of the structure is submerged, and guests gain access through a glass walkway that will bridge the gap between the coast and the entrance, which is at shore level. For more information, visit under.no online.