This exploration of built and yet-to-be-realized aquatic habitats shows how water has become architecture’s next frontier. Whether they’re floating on top, hovering over, or submerged beneath the water, each of the more than fifty structures examined here demonstrates an innovative use of water resources.

Colorfully illustrated with photographs, drawings, and plans, this global and historic sampling includes Shanghai’s Bionic Tower, complete with its own lake; Biorock, an artificial reef in the Indian Ocean; an undersea hotel where scuba divers can spend a comfortable night; and Sweden’s Ice Hotel, where translucent frozen walls reveal the beauty of the Northern Lights. Each of these projects demonstrates man’s ability to live in the water without interfering with nature’s rhythms. Together they offer reassuring proof that today’s architects are finding workable and appealing solutions to the problems of shrinking resources and growing populations.