sajjad navidi's 'penguin protection system' controls the melting of polar ice

iranian architect, sajjad navidi, shares his design for an innovative system that proposes to help penguins breed while controlling the melting of polar ice in antarctica. the project has been conceived as part of a competition launched by french organization, fondation jacques rougerie. navidi’s ‘penguin protection system’ made it to the finals and was ranked 7th in the top 12 projects in the ‘innovation for the sea’ category.

images © sajjad navidi

‘as ice melts, emperor penguins march towards extinction,’ reports national geographic. this is because the presence of antarctica’s ice shelves are vital for the penguins to live and lay eggs. with this threat of extinction in mind, sajjad navidi proposes a protection system composed of two parts: the above water igloo and the underwater porous space. the igloo is inspired by penguins’ ‘huddle’, which is a behavioral strategy to conserve energy and protect themselves from the cold. the igloo, therefore, provides a safe place for groups of penguins as temperatures fall 50 degrees below zero fahrenheit (45 degrees below zero celsius).

under the water is a porous structure inspired by sea sponges. here is also a pendulum that is moved by waves to produce the electricity needed to operate the cooling system. this underwater part of the protection system is independent and, when needed, can smartly separate from the igloo above and move towards areas of melting ice.

project info:

project name: penguins protection system

competition: fondation jacques rougerie

category: innovation for the sea

architect: sajjad navidi

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: lynne myers | designboom