ART REEF VHILS UNDERWATER

How Amop Contributed to Vhils' Innovative Exhibition!

A NEW ARTIFICIAL REEF IS GROWING IN PORTUGAL.

It's the result of the union between art and biology, created by Vhils, with the support of Amop.

An exhibition with pieces by Vhils, occupying 1200m2, is submerged at a depth of 12 metres, one nautical mile off the coast of Albufeira, in the Algarve. The main goal is to make a positive contribution to the development of the marine ecosystem and to draw attention to the relationship between Man and the Sea. Created from reused parts from decommissioned EDP power stations, marine life will take over and fill these large structures, transforming them into a new coral reef.

Amop was a key and transversal partner in the various phases of the engineering, production and logistics project.

AMOP Technical Department, coordinated by Director and Administrator André Almeida, took on the project's development, one of the biggest challenges Amop has ever faced: the creation of large structures for Vhils' artistic pieces.

THE CORALS

5 CONCRETE BASES WEIGHTING 3 TONNES, WITH A SPECIALLY DESIGNED SURFACE FOR IMPLANTED CORALS.

In partnership with the project Plant a Coral at Marine Sciences Centre of Algarve's University, Amop developed the concrete bases - approved by the APA - with a special texture, so that Plant Coral could implant in them natural corals. Steel corals were placed on these same bases, with anonymous faces replicated in a diorama image. Once submerged, the marine flora invades and settles into the artistic pieces, creating a new natural eco-system.

THE DIORAMAS

30 TONNES OF AMOP CONCRETE

Pieces of great formal complexity, with an approximate dimension of 5 x 2.50 m, summing up 30 tonnes, hollow and with a special surface for life to be settled and develop both outside and inside these sculptures.

BASES FOR DECOMMISSIONED EDP STRUCTURES

60 TONNES OF AMOP CONCRETE

The bases developed by Amop were used to support artistic structures of great size and weight: 6 x 6 metre concrete bases, which supported works of art between 4m and 6m high and with a total weight of 60 tonnes. These structures were installed in a dry dock and transported in their entirety to the sinking site, remaining as the base of the elements where the marine fauna and flora will develop their habitat.

The contribution of the incredible Amop team, with the know-how, desire and curiosity to find the right solutions.

A year of engineering development to calculate and dimension the concrete structures in order to ensure that they would withstand the actions and stresses they would be subjected to, both during the installation phase and when the structures were in use.

From design, production, transport and all the logistics related to the sinking operation of the structures, Amop was always involved with the other teams, so that the techniques and processes were the right ones, to respond to the various problems raised.

We are proud of Amop team, of the work we have carried out and for having participated in such an emblematic project, which has put us to the test at every level.

We would like to thank all the teams we collaborated with and Vhils Studio for their trust placed in Amop.