The City of M?riens was designed by Jacques Rougerie and it?s a giant floating city designed to give scientists a place to live while they conduct research on the surrounding ocean.

It would have a LOA of 900m by 500m and would house up to 7,000 scientists and students from all over the world.

?Considering the dimension and size of the international scientific community - 7,000 people spread on the entire structure - I designed the City of M?riens in the form of a manta ray because it was the best design to accommodate such a community with regards [to] the best possible correlation between space and stability needs.?

As Tech Insider reports, when complete, the SeaOrbiter will have 12 floors - six of which will be below sea level - and will cost $50 million to make. The first one is expected to be operational by 2016.