New Dubai villas allow owners to sleep with the fishes

With its mammoth skyscrapers and inventive hotels, Dubai’s building projects are renowned more for their vertical attributes. However, a new housing and apartment complex project is now moving that trend in the opposite direction; specifically, underwater.

The floating villas will be moored offshore from Kleindienst Group’s Heart of Europe development, a cluster of six islands in Dubai’s The World project. Encompassing a floor area of 1,700 square feet, each structure consists of three levels with floor-to-ceiling windows. The upper level features a jacuzzi, shower, semi-private kitchenette and a mini-bar; the middle level with living area, kitchen and a dining area and the lowest level, positioned underwater, houses the master bedroom and bathroom.

According to the developers, the structures are designed with high-quality, marine-approved materials and will support marine life using artificial coral reefs. Slated for completion in 2016, the first tenants are expected to move in by 2017. Of the 42 units that are being constructed, at least 35 have already been sold.

“We will create an artificial coral reef beneath the luxury retreats. [It] will be a protected area in which seahorses can safely live and breed,” said Kleindienst Group CEO Josef Kleindienst. However, having your own private aquarium doesn’t come cheap. The price tag: $2.7 million.