Project: “Sea” Underwater Restaurant
Date Completed: 2011
Location: Kihava Huravalhi, Baa Atoll, Maldives
Industry: Restaurant
Application: Aquarium
Products Used: R-Cast Sheet & Bonding
A restaurant at the luxury Anantara Kihavah Villas in the Maldives offers diners a chance to enjoy a meal where few ever have – at the bottom of the Indian Ocean. The restaurant “Sea” at the Anantara Kihavah Villas was inspired by the breathtaking views of the natural coral reef in the lagoon where it was placed. R-Cast acrylic windows designed and manufactured by RPT Asia, Ltd. provide diners with a unique view into the natural coral reef life while they enjoy their gourmet meal.
RPT Asia, Ltd. manufactured a total of eight windows for the restaurant. Six of the windows measure approximately eight feet wide (2.4 meters) and six feet tall (1.8 meters). These windows appear on six faces of the 27 foot wide (8.4 meters) octagonal underwater restaurant. Two smaller windows that measure roughly six feet tall (2 meters) by six feet wide (1.8 meters) are situated in the 62 foot long (19 meter) hallway entrance, which also contains one of the first underwater wine cellars.
Because the restaurant was fully assembled on another island, getting the structure into its final location proved to be no easy feat. Several engineering firms, including Poole & Associates, were responsible for moving the restaurant, while RPT monitored the progress and provided technical expertise about the windows.
Ultimately, the restaurant structure was welded to a barge and slowly floated to the lagoon where it would be placed. Gradually, sand was pushed into portions of the structure to help it sink onto the pylons that had already been driven into the seabed. All the meticulous engineering of this structure and its location in the lagoon ensures it is so secure to the seabed that even a violent monsoon won’t move it.
Once in place, the roof of the restaurant is anywhere from five feet (1.5 meters) to eight feet (2.5 meters) beneath the ocean surface, depending on the tide. All of the R-Cast acrylic windows were designed by RPT Asia, Ltd. and RPT to optimize the diners’ experience by sitting lower than the dining tables and extending outside the peripheral vision. The primary view windows are situated only three feet (1 meter) away from the 1,000 foot deep (305 meter) channel that teems with a variety of marine life.
