Sub Prime Mooring: Underwater Habitat of the Future
Written by John Mackey
If it’s true that man’s primordial ancestors crawled out of the sea hundreds of billions of years ago, it’s not a big leap to deduct that after we humans wrap up spoiling the rest of the earth and its atmosphere, we’re eventually going to crawl back in shame from whence we came. Considering water already covers around 70 percent of the earth’s surface, accelerated global warming has made the world’s rising oceans a “Growth Industry.” To forward-thinking “Water Realtors,” It’s only a matter of time before we run out of prime real estate, after which the sea will be the place to be as the oceans are parceled out and transformed into floating gated communities with security guards on Jet Skis.
Enter the Captain Nemo of our story, designer Giancarlo Zema and his futuristic Trilobis 65 floating home. The dashing Italian Navel Architect describes his creation as a semi-submerged dwelling environment, but oh, Giancarlo! That’s the under-water statement of the century. The Trilobis 65 takes the submerged part of a submarine, the luxury part of the yacht and the vibe of a swinging 60s bachelor pod complete with four separate levels, and connects them with a sexy spiral staircase leading down to the glass bottom make-out basement, where watching the submarine races will be a reality - not just a pickup line.
And just because the name sounds like an episode of Star Trek doesn’t mean the design of the Trilobis 65 is mere science fiction. In fact, back in November of 2002, the Trilobis 65 was featured on the cover of Popular Mechanics and its design was praised as “a nautical heritage that reaches back to the humble dugout while simultaneously embracing 21st century technologies that include high-strength composites and nonpolluting hydrogen fuels.”
The floating pod isn’t designed for high-sea adventure; it’s meant to moor offshore in quiet bays or atolls and can even connect with other Trilbobis 65s to create “Floating Villages.” The highlight of the design is the fully submerged “observation bulb,” with its 360-degree views of the sea via a ring of spotlights that illuminate your watery surroundings. Zema is still trying to secure funding to build the first Trilbobis 65, so if you have an extra $4 to $5 million just hanging around, contact Underwater Vehicles Inc. at Sub-find.com, because I think Giancarlo would love to float an idea by you.
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