Summer Island Maldives has installed the world's largest 3D printed reef aiming at a technology-driven method to help coral reefs survive a warming climate.
The artificial reef, assembled with hundreds of ceramic and concrete modules, was submerged at Summer Island's 'Blue Lagoon', a sandy part of the lagoon, where the resort hopes to create a new coral reef ecosystem. The project started in a lab in Melbourne, Australia, where industrial designer Alex Goad of Reef Design Lab used sophisticated computing modelling to design reef structures similar to the coral reefs found naturally in the Maldives, according to Summer Island.
Manager of Summer Island Mari Shareef stated projects like the 3D printed reef are popular among guests, who like to protect the environment.
The Maldives is one of the world's most climate-vulnerable nations. Rising sea temperatures pose a grave threat to the world's coral reefs and mass bleaching events are becoming more common and more severe.
Summer Island Maldives has implemented a number of recent environmental initiatives, including the adoption of solar energy, a ban on the use of plastic straws, phasing out imported drinking water and coral conservation projects.