Seaboost and XtreeE have combined their unique skills in ecological engineering and large-scale 3D printing to design, manufacture and immerse this next generation reef. In a global context of degradation of the marine environment, 3D concrete printing offers limitless prospects for future ecological restoration projects from Mediterranean waters to the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. Designed in collaboration with biologists, the cavity sizes, shapes and textures have been optimized to maximize the reproduction and population of the target underwater species. This first prototype was immersed in the Calanques natural park in France.

3D Printing benefits:
The concrete 3D printing technology developed by XtreeE has made it possible to recreate an unprecedented porous architectural complexity mimicking one of the richest natural habitats in the Mediterranean: the Coralligenous. 3D Printing allows this very complex geometry to be produced at low cost. In nature, this deep rocky ecosystem of biogenic origin can take several hundred years to form, then shelter a few thousand species (fish, crustaceans, corals, algae, molluscs, etc.).