When you were younger, did you ever dream of being able to live underwater? Yeah, me neither. But those magical murky depths hold a world just beyond our reach, one we long to understand but are also quite content to remain mysterious.

Now though it seems my dreams have (almost) been answered with the launch of Europe’s first and “the world’s largest” underwater restaurant. Under was built by architecture and design firm Snøhetta in Båly, a remote village on the coast of Norway. The building itself is half-sunken, with one side built into the coastline while the other lies submerged on the sea bed.

Designed to look like a “sunken periscope”, the firm constructed the building on a barge, ensuring it was weather proof and watertight before it was secured to the seafloor. The exterior has been left with a rough, exposed texture to encourage marine life and to, in time, create an artificial mussel reef that will help purify the water and attract further species.

Whilst it is primarily a restaurant, Under will also function as a marine research centre and lab. Teams will study the biodiversity of this part of the North Sea with the intention of building a machine learning tool that will regularly monitor the region and various marine species.

Visit Under’s website to find out more or book a table.