Let’s lay a brain-shaped tiles on the bottom of the sea
ㆍCoral reefs aren’t blue anymore. They are turning white due to rising ocean temperatures caused by Super El Niño: ‘Coral bleaching’
ㆍ ‘ArchiREEF’ is experimenting with 3D printing to create artificial reefs and relocate coral species.
The Beginning of an Idea: Tiles on a Bathroom Floor
David Baker, who is a coral ecologist at the University of Hong Kong and co-founder of ArchiREEF, has been working on a coral restoration project at Hoi Ha Wan Marine Park since 2016. The area was previously a coral mining site for building materials, which resulted in the seabed being mined out, leaving only sand and rubble. This area is now a coastal reserve in northern Hong Kong. Baker founded ArchiREEF to reclaim this ‘lost coral paradise’ and began developing artificial reefs using 3D printers to create new floors for corals to grow on. One day, while looking at tiles on a bathroom floor, he had an idea: “What if we tiled the lower levels of the ocean so that corals could grow on them?”
Creating an ‘ocean brain’
In the summer of 2020, ArchiREEF installed over 130 tiles on the seabed of Hoi Ha Wan Marine Park. These tiles are the first 3D printed artificial reef tiles made of terracotta clay in the world. Terracotta has the advantage of being slightly acidic and having a similar chemical composition to real coral. Unlike most artificial reefs that use concrete, ArchiREEF’s innovation combines 3D printing technology with non-toxic natural clay. The artificial reef is about 60 centimeters in diameter and is shaped like a human brain, imitating the shape of a local coral called ‘platygyra’, also known as brain coral due to its unique appearance.
ArchiREEF’s artificial reef consists of three components: 3D printed legs that give the reef tiles stability when placed on the seabed, a base layer that prevents the reef tiles from sinking to the seabed, and a biomimicry layer that sticks to the platygyra tiles and allows real corals to thrive. The artificial reef is placed in the ocean, and pieces of coral are planted. The tiny corals are then attached to the tiles with a non-toxic adhesive, allowing them to grow in an upward direction. ArchiREEF monitored the survival rate of the terracotta artificial reef on the seabed of Hoi Ha Wan Marine Park and found that four times more corals survived compared to traditional artificial reefs.
ArchiREEF powers the reefs of the future
Artificial reefs have a significant impact on the preservation of ocean ecosystems. They not only increase coral populations but also attract marine life that make their homes on them. This provides a foundation for preserving ocean ecosystems in the long run. Artificial reefs can also help reconnect coral communities that have become disconnected and isolated due to mass extinctions caused by climate change. Recently, Earth Island Journal published an in-depth report on coral reefs, which featured the case of ArchiREEF. The company is helping to save certain coral species by growing them through their aquaculture system. Additionally, they propose to relocate coral reef species to other areas to protect future coral ecosystems and ensure marine biodiversity. According to Vriko Yu, a co-founder of ArchiREEF, the company plans to “help coral reefs migrate to deeper waters”. Up to 90% of the world’s coral reefs could be extinct by 2050 due to various issues. ArchiREEF is taking steps to restore them by working on reef restoration in the Arabian Gulf off the coast of Abu Dhabi. The company plans to install more than 4,000 artificial reefs across the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans by 2050.
