Receiving a Special Mention in Evolo’s 2010 Skyscraper Competition, this underwater skyscraper from Malaysian designer Sarly Ardre Bin Sarkum redefines what it means to be an impossibly large metal tube full of human beings. Decked out with swaying tentacles that collect kinetic energy from the current and its own private forest on top, it is designed not only to have zero environmental impact, but to actually contribute oxygen to the atmosphere at that. As if no one can tell that it’s a thinly-disguised temple for awakening Cthulhu. That is the only logical progression after the reign of George Bush, after all.

The winners of the competition created a design for a vertical prison, kind of a cross between Sing Sing and the Cloud City of Star Wars. They were also Malaysian, which should come as no great surprise to skyscraper fans, as their Petronas Towers were the tallest structures in the world for the fast half of the aughties (from 1998 – 2004).

This building, if it can be called that, generates 100% of its own energy through solar panels, wind farming and the kinetic tentacles, has its own waste-processing and stabilizes itself like a fish by means of water ballast. The designers explicitly point out the fact that water covers 71% of the globe and “even more if climate change has its way,” so if they can’t generate enough oxygen to turn the tide, their tenants will not have to move anyway.

VIA: Evolo