Amphibious 1000, Qatar

Qatar is going ahead with a $500 Million Mega Project that will even be more spectacular than Hydropolis, the underwater hotel that Dubai was supposed to build but never did. This innovative Mega Project has been designed by the Giancarlo Zema Design Group. It is the first semi-submerged hotel resort and will stretch out from the land into the sea and extend 1km parallel to the land with two arm-like land masses. The project is composed of a land section and a sea section. On the land area will be multiple residential buildings, office buildings and a marina with a modern and flexible harbor. All the structures are situated in a semi-circle around a central tower with a panoramic restaurant.

In the sea section there are four innovative semi-submerged hotels with underwater halls that give amazing views. The four hotels echo the soft lines of the super-yachts that will be anchored at the marina. Large diagonal glass windows make the hotels memorable, each with 75 luxury suites arranged around the perimeter of the building so each unit has a big terrace that overlooks the complex. The activities of the hotel take place in the underwater area that is surrounded by aquariums.

The hotels are situated around a central public welcome area that has an interactive museum on water life and water exhibition galleries, large perimetral aquariums and a glass tunnel that leads to the underwater observatory in the center of the whole marine park. Connected to the welcome area by the arm extensions are fitness areas, gardens and a special outdoor theatre with a moving stage that opens on the sea.

The smaller floating platforms will be anchored floating suites called Jelly Fish with underwater views within an artificial reef. At the end of each platform are lighthouses. It is possible to move everywhere thanks to electrical vehicles that respect the eco-system philosophy. Water transport is also provided by 20m aluminum yachts called Trilobis that are equipped with hydrogen engines and an underwater observatory globe. The bridge that connects the land and sea section is lined with plants that give the idea of projecting the land flora into the sea. The main structure is in steel complete with all the necessary lighting systems and teak flooring.

Amphibious 1000 has to be one of the most amazing Mega Projects under development. Qatar has the money to make it happen and it blends perfectly with the massive amounts of development going on there. Here is a link that will give you more details on the project and show you the unique architecture being used:

http://www.giancarlozema.com/A+D%20magazine.pdf