Swiss designer Yves Behar has unveiled his design for French ocean conservationist Fabien Cousteau's underwater pressurised research station that will be "the ocean's equivalent to the International Space Station".
Behar designed the station, which is called Proteus, for the Fabien Cousteau Ocean Learning Center. It will have its own greenhouse to allow scientists to grow their own food 18 metres under the sea near Curaçao, an island in the Caribbean.
Up to 12 researchers and aquanauts ? scientists who remain underwater breathing pressurised air for over 24 hours ? will be able to live in Proteus at a time.

Like the International Space Station, Proteus will allow scientists to collaborate and make new discoveries in an inhospitable environment. "The research station will enable the discovery of new species of marine life, create a better understanding of how climate change affects the ocean, and allow for the testing of advanced technologies for green power, aquaculture, and robotic exploration," Behar told Dezeen.
Living underwater in a pressurised environment, rather than just diving in, allows scientists to spend far more time in the water and only decompress at the end of their assignment.

Proteus is the result of Behar's studio Fuseproject being commissioned by Cousteau, and his non-profit the Fabien Cousteau Ocean Learning Center (FCOLC).
"We needed to understand the constraints that come from building underwater and the challenges of ...