Ithaa, which means

mother-of-pearl Nacre ( , ), also known as mother of pearl, is an organicinorganic composite material produced by some molluscs as an inner shell layer; it is also the material of which pearls are composed. It is strong, resilient, and iridescent. Nacre is ...

in Dhivehi, is an undersea restaurant located below sea level at the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island in Alif Dhaal Atoll in the Republic of

Maldives Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, translit=Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, label=none, ), is an archipelag ...

Overview

The mostly acrylic structure has a capacity of 14 people and is encased in R-Cast acrylic with a

transparent Transparency, transparence or transparent most often refer to: * Transparency (optics), the physical property of allowing the transmission of light through a material They may also refer to: Literal uses * Transparency (photography), a still, ...

roof offering a 270° panoramic underwater view. The restaurant was designed and constructed by M.J. Murphy Ltd – a design

consultancy A consultant (from la, consultare "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice and other purposeful activities in an area of specialization. Consulting servic ...

based in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

– and was opened on in April 2005, describing itself as the world's first undersea restaurant. Food served in the restaurant has changed over the years and has more recently been described as contemporary

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

an with

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

n influences. Ithaa's entrance is a spiral staircase in a

thatch Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, water reed, sedge (''Cladium mariscus''), rushes, heather, or palm branches, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. Since the bulk of ...

pavilion In architecture, ''pavilion'' has several meanings: * It may be a subsidiary building that is either positioned separately or as an attachment to a main building. Often it is associated with pleasure. In palaces and traditional mansions of Asia ...

at the end of a

jetty A jetty is a structure that projects from land out into water. A jetty may serve as a breakwater, as a walkway, or both; or, in pairs, as a means of constricting a channel. The term derives from the French word ', "thrown", signifying some ...

. The

tsunami A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater exp ...

which followed the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake topped at below the staircase entrance, and caused no damage to the restaurant. The restaurant is also used for private parties and weddings. In April 2010, to celebrate Ithaa's 5th anniversary, the restaurant could be booked as an overnight residence. This "underwater suite" promotion continued until April 2011.

Conception

In February 2004, M.J. Murphy Ltd. was approached by Crown Company in the

to make a unique underwater restaurant. The Crown Company, owner of Rangali Island, leases the island to Conrad Maldives Rangali Island (previously known as Hilton Maldives Rangali Island Resort & Spa). Initially Crown envisioned the underwater restaurant with straight walls and

glass Glass is a non-crystalline, often transparent, amorphous solid that has widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in, for example, window panes, tableware, and optics. Glass is most often formed by rapid cooling ( quenching ...

windows. Later they came to favor Mike Murphy's (of M.J. Murphy Ltd.) R-Cast acrylic tunnel, manufactured by Reynolds Polymer Technology, Inc. in the United States. This tunnel was also designed for the

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...

National Science Centre, the world's largest aquarium tunnel."Undersea Restaurants"
M.J. Murphy Ltd. Retrieved on 2012-04-02. Work on technical

design A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb ''to design' ...

s and drawings for Ithaa started in March 2004. Murphy initially planned to build the structure on the

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc sh ...

of Rangali. Once constructed, Ithaa would be winched into the water. Technical challenges, limited resources, and quality control problems in building a structure of 175 tonnes in the Maldives were foreseen. Hence, a decision was made to build Ithaa in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

instead.

Construction

In May 2004, Ithaa's construction began in

. In October 2004, the construction work was completed including the installation of wide acrylic arches,

air conditioning Air conditioning, often abbreviated as A/C or AC, is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space to achieve a more comfortable interior environment (sometimes referred to as 'comfort cooling') and in some cases also strictly controlling ...

and electrical ducts. On November 1, 2004, Ithaa was lifted onto an ocean-going barge to be transported to the Maldives, which took 16 days to arrive. At this point, Ithaa weighed 175 tonnes. On November 19, 2004 Ithaa was "sunk" with the help of 85 tonnes of sand ballast loaded into its belly. It was precisely maneuvered onto four steel piles which had been vibro-hammered into the seabed. It was then secured to the steel piles with concrete. The estimated life span of the restaurant is 20 years.

The hotel

The hotel (which at the time Ithaa was built was still called ''Hilton Maldives Resort & Spa'') occupies two private islands,

Rangali Rangali is an island in Alif Dhaal Atoll, Maldives. It is the location for the 151 room ''Conrad Hotels, Conrad Maldives Rangali Island'' resort, which has twice been voted the best hotel in the world. It is known for its underwater restauran ...

and Rangalifinolhu joined by a jetty."Destination Guide"
Conrad Maldives Rangali island. Retrieved on 2012-04-02. It has seven restaurants including the Ithaa Undersea Restaurant."Restaurants and Lounges"
. Conrad Maldives Rangali Island. Retrieved on 2012-04-02.

References

{{reflist

External links

from Fun Distraction
Restaurant Review And PhotosNews on hospitalitynet.orgIthaa MenuMJ Murphy Ltd
– architect and engineer of the restaurant
Hilton Maldives Resort
– ITHAA, The Undersea Restaurant 2004 establishments in the Maldives Buildings and structures completed in 2004 Restaurants in the Maldives Undersea buildings and structures Restaurants established in 2004