[Image: Ocean Builders]
On January 24, 2025, German aerospace engineer Rüdiger Koch emerged from his submerged capsule off Panama’s Caribbean coast, having spent 120 consecutive days living underwater – a Guinness World Record for the longest time spent living in an underwater fixed habitat without depressurisation.
Far from just a publicity stunt, Koch is also a full-time sea-dweller who lives in a rather unique home, a SeaPod designed by Ocean Builders and located 10 metres beneath the ocean near Linton Bay Marina in Panama.
While some tech millionaires go to space, some are heading for open water and for about six years now, Ocean Builders have been at the forefront of revolutionising ocean living. And judging by the popularity of their unique living spaces, the future of real estate is on water.
View this post on Instagram
Their SeaPods are described as “a unique blend of innovative marine technology, environmental responsibility, and wellness-focused design. SeaPods offer a luxurious yet eco-conscious lifestyle.”
The SeaPod is engineered with air-filled steel tubes, giving it buoyancy and keeping the structure about 3 metres above the water. This design not only offers panoramic ocean views but also creates a stable platform for living.
The interiors are equipped with smart home technology, including wireless charging, EMF shielding, and remote software upgrades, ensuring a modern and comfortable living experience. Additionally, SeaPods are designed to be water-autonomous and incorporate systems for desalination and water recycling to promote sustainability.
“There is a lot of technology built into the home. I like to think of it as, instead of having a phone as a digital assistant, your home actually becomes your assistant, and you can use it to optimise your life,” says Chief Executive Officer Grant Romundt.
“If Apple were to build a house, I think they would end up with the SeaPod, or the GreenPod, or the EcoPod.”
Described as the “world’s first eco-restorative homes,” the pods cost between about $295,000 and $1.5 million.
View this post on Instagram
With rising sea levels and environmental challenges reshaping real estate, these floating homes offer a sustainable solution. Floating cities present a forward-thinking approach to living in harmony with the ocean, and it’s not a new idea.
The pods are designed by Dutch architect Koen Olthuis and his team at Waterstudio, with Kock acting as Head of Engineering at Ocean Builders
Romundt hopes the design will challenge perceptions of homes and travel, and allow residents to live on the water without having to make sacrifices when it comes to the “luxuries of modern living.”
“Normally, when you live on the water, you need a boat, which is an unacceptable situation for most people, so we’ve designed a house that floats on water and gives you an experience of living on land, but more,”
By the 1960s, real attempts were already being made to colonise the ocean. Ernest Hemingway’s brother, Leicester, founded the Republic of New Atlantis, a bamboo raft anchored about six miles off the coast of Jamaica.
The idea of creating an island first came to Leicester, “as a wonderful book,” he told Philately and Numismatics in 1965. “The more I thought about it, the more I thought it would be more fun to carry it out than just to fictionalize it.”
It washed away, but the idea proved relatively sound – we just needed better technology.
Romundt reckon sea homesteading is better. “It is very quiet and beautiful. Most people spend the entire year dreaming of their two-week vacation where they go to a tropical island, hang out, relax, regenerate, and kick back. So why not live like this all year round?”
