Extraordinary Underwater Restaurant in Norway by Snøhetta

Yep, you read right. Today we’re talking about Europe’s first ever underwater restaurant in Norway, appropriately named Under, by Oslo-based firm Snøhetta. From an external vantage point, Under is a little stressful to look at, as if being pounded against the rocks amongst the relentless Norwegian sea, or a washed-up shipwrecked vessel. Below the surface, however, the structure is sound thanks to some impressive engineering and technical design.

In Norwegian, ‘under’ has a dual meaning of both ‘below’ and ‘wonder’, which definitely befits the monolith, submerged 5-and-a-half metres below the ocean’s surface. Measuring 34m in length, the 495sqm structure is equipped with some pretty hefty reinforcements, with half-metre thick concrete walls enabling it to stand unencumbered amongst the notoriously stormy patch of sea. The roughness of the concrete shell is designed to fully integrate into the marine environment over time, acting as an artificial reef on which limpets and kelp can inhabit.

Visitors are ushered through a hushed, oak-clad foyer, an immediate respite from the oft-unruly weather outdoors. The interiors evoke an overall metaphor for descending from land to sea across three levels, including the foyer, a champagne bar, and main dining room. Textile-clad ceiling and wall panels are finely woven with colours that reference a sunset dropping into the ocean, descending from light to dark down the oak staircase alongside diners.

Inspired by a sunken periscope, an 11 x 3.4m acrylic window allows diners to view a spectacle of the ever-changing seabed, with flourishing biodiversity thanks to the briny, brackish waters. Short of diving in, visitors are as fully immersed as can be with Norwegian marine life. To allow diners to see through the window at night, Snøhetta paired gentle lighting on the seabed with muted interior lighting. Despite stormy conditions outside, everything is designed to feel serene inside Under.

Local carpentry workshop Hamran designed custom furnishings, focusing specifically on a timber dining chair designed as one continuous form, mimicking the way in which branches grow in angled corners from a tree trunk. The marine window is visible from each level of the restaurant, with a vertical opening that extends from the champagne bar to the dining room enabling the view.

The restaurant also functions as a research centre for marine life, both a tribute to the wild fauna of the sea and to the rocky coastline of Norway’s southern tip. Cameras and other various measurement tools installed around the restaurant’s façade will aid interdisciplinary research teams in studying marine biology and fish behaviour, documenting the species that live around the restaurant. Data collected will ultimately go toward improving official marine resource management.