The “Anthenea” allows people to experience the sea in a way never seen before. The floating eco-suite sits on top of the water like a lotus flower, completely independent from any land or apparatus.
French naval architect Jean-Michel Ducancelle got the idea for the suite’s design from James Bond’s floating pod in the 1977 film “The Spy Who Loved Me.” In creating the Anthenea, he wanted to offer an “immersive marine and submarine world” for humans to inhabit without harming our underwater ecosystems in any way.
Their website explains how the eco-pod addresses many of the environmental issues of our time – including rising sea levels, effects of climate change, and overcrowding of the seaboard due to tourism.
The Anthenea is completely self-sufficient. This means that it produces everything that it consumes, and only releases clean water back into the sea. The pod is powered entirely by solar energy, and has gray and black water treatment built in.
The floating hotel suite does zero damage to the underwater environment it floats over. It uses a type of “sand screw anchoring,” so that it does not touch the delicate ecosystems that exist below. The spherical shape of the pod is based on the principle of “surface tension.” Which, according to the website, is “the optimal form of resistance to extreme conditions on the water.”
The Anthenea company also contests that the suite is 100% recyclable.
The pods are equipped with a sun-roof seating area, king bed, luxury salt or freshwater bath, lounge, kitchenette, and underwater viewing area. Interested tourists can either experience the pod through a hotel that offers them, or by purchasing one to own.
