The “8th Continent” Is Self-Sustainable AND Cleans the Ocean

A designer based in London, United Kingdom, developed a floating and self-sustainable station that not only has the capacity to clean the ocean but also to restore its health.

“I was looking into marine species, animals as well as plants. And I was studying how they really interact with water environments, how they can harvest energy and how they work with nutritions, for example,” says Lenka Petráková, Senior designer at Zaha Hadid Architects. Marine life became the inspiration for her floating station so it could be a “living organism that is fully self-sustainable.”

Aboard the station named “The 8th Continent”, there are research and education facilities, and a plastic recycle center that manages the plastic removed from the ocean. Plus, the station produces its own energy, has greenhouses, and desalinates water. This project earned Petráková the 2020 Grand Prix award for architecture and innovation of the sea at the competition launched by the Foundation Jacques Rougerie.