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The Rugosa Project
2025
The Coral Triangle in the West Pacific is the global epicentre of marine biodiversity, but rising temperatures, acidificiation, human activity and storm damage mean that 85% of its reefs are currently endangered. Ecotourism provides one angle to support restoration efforts, supporting local livelihoods, trading volume for higher margin sustainable tourism and diverting tourists from natural reefs. The Rugosa Project is an immersive initiative designed to bring together dive ecotourism and local community involvement in the Coral Triangle to aid coral restoration. At its core is a three part system of a breakwater, anchor unit and stacking module. The breakwater adds redundancy and protection against wave damage during storms, while the base units and stacking modules combine into a flexible collection of substrate surfaces for coral regrowth.
Materials
Ceramic, seashells, eggshells, sargassum, green concrete
Credits
Product Design, Sustainability, Systems
The concept behind the system lies in using its design features and structure to utilise and redirect the wave forces it experiences as ways to keep the system tighter and more anchored. Its modularity allows adaptation into different formations and sizes for different coastal requirements, while also allowing replacement or repair in parts rather than the whole.
Ecotourists can enjoy the immersive experience of creating and deploying stacking modules after local operators place the initial breakwater and base units. A sample program would cover education, crafting and customising modules, deployment and coral propagation alongside daily dives.
