Offshore oil rigs, right? At least this honorable mention from the eVolo Skyscraper Competition wants to turn them from environmental hazards and eyesores into lush “vertical bio-habitats” that actually protect the surrounding marine life from detrimental oil spills. With separate short, medium, and long-term strategies in place, the team behind the pitch believes their design could curtail potential devastation to the oceanic ecosystem brought on by oil-drilling operations.
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Designers Ma Yidong, Zhu Zhonghui, Qin Zhengyu, Jiang Zhe explain that at the moment of an oil spill, floaters on the ends of pipes would absorb the sludge from the surface of the sea. Over time, the crude oil would be turned into plastic to be used as both a building material and a support for artificial reefs, creating habitats a habitat for birds and underwater creatures. The long-term goal, however, is foreboding: “Ultimately, when the sea level rises to a disastrous degree, the twiglike structure would continue to remain above the sea level. Then the oil rig will become the Noah Oasis.”Examine their innovative designs, below:
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