the noah oasis transforms existing oil rigs into vertical bio-habitats

the noah oasis transforms existing oil rigs into vertical bio-habitats
all images by ma yidong, zhu zhonghui, qin zhengyu, jiang zhe (china) / courtesy of eVolo

‘with the increasing demand of energy resources and the exhaustion of inland petroleum, the exploitation of marine seems inevitable.’

created by designers from china- ma yidong, zhu zhonghui, qin zhengyu, jiang zhe, the ‘noah oasis’ imagines the transformation of oil rigs into vertical bio-habitats in the ocean landscape, aiming to exert instant response and restore damaged eco-system from oil spillage whilst offering shelter from future disasters. the imaginative proposal received an honorable mention as part of evolo‘s 2015 skyscraper competition where the original rig will become a reactor center and function also as a recreational and research facility. the towers would operate following three strategies:

the vertical bio-habitats will provide shelter for animals as well

1. short term strategy: absorption of spilled oil
when an oil spill incident happens, the floaters at the end of each pipe will immediately absorb the spilled oil covering the surface of the sea as an instant response.
2. medium term strategy: habitat for marine life and migrating birds
the collected oil will be transported through the root-like pipes underwater to the central processor attached to the original rig, where the crude oil will be converted into catalyst for coral reef and produce plastic as building material. the catalyst will be transported back to the pipe to booster the growth of coral reef on its surface and the plastic will become the building material of the plastic-twig structure with the help of 3d printing and the injector. in this way, the project will become a habitat for vertical bio-habitat and help revive the biodiversity.
3. long term strategy: shelter from future disasters
ultimately, when the sea level rises to a disastrous degree, the twig like structure would continue to remain above the sea level. then the oil rig will become the noah oasis.

renderings of the tower underwater

the structure underwater will be attached to pipes with a floater at the end