Hydropolis: It's a Whole New World Under the Sea!

I know it sounds familiar..like from a movie or something like that..but Hydropolis is an ongoing project beneath the waters of the Persian Gulf, and when it is completed, it will be the world's FIRST LUXURY UNDERWATER HOTEL! :D

Crazy right? But the engineers behind the construction of this surreal establishment don't think so..there have been numerous visions of colonizing the sea but no one (not even the Japanese) has ever come this far..

It was set to open during 2006 but has experienced delays..and rumors have it that it will open, finally, this year..2009.. :D

As with other architectural marvels such as this - the Burj Al-Arab, Jumeirah Beach Hotel, and others that are yet to be realized - Hydropolis is currently under construction in Dubai, 20m below the surface of the Persian Gulf, just off the Jumeirah Beach.

It will include three elements: the land station, where guests will be welcomed, the connecting tunnel, which will transport people by train to the main area of the hotel, and the 220 suites within the submarine leisure complex.

The land station above will also house several facilities like a cosmetic surgery clinic, a marine biological research laboratory, conference facilities, a restuarant and a high-tech cinema screening the evolution of life in the ocean..nice.. :)

I don't know about you but I'm amazed by the engineers behind this project! :D like..how they were able to figure out to design a system that would supply oxygen to a complex this big..how the materials for the underwater hotel would  stand the pressures underneath the sea!

Can't help but drool over something this BIG! this creative.. :)