From Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea to SeaOrbiter

Jacques Rougerie and Alexandrine Civard-Racinais – Editions democratic Books- 2010 - 256 p

Preface to Jean-Loup Chrétien, afterword by Joël de Rosnay.

"It is from the ocean that the destiny of future civilizations will be born". Such is the intimate conviction of the architect Jacques Rougerie, convinced that one day man will weave new links with the "Planet Sea", matrix of all life on Earth and guarantor of the future of future generations. Meridians" which, under water, will prepare our future in space.

This vision is embodied in Galathée - its first underwater home -, Aquaspace - an observation trimaran dedicated to celebrating the splendours of the ocean -, Nausicaa and Océanopolis, beacons of knowledge at the service of preserving the marine environment. Soon, SeaOrbiter - an exploration vessel with futuristic shapes - will sail on the largest river in the sea: the Gulf Stream.

Inspired by the living, these bionic architectural forms are as many bridges between the dreams of mankind, between earthlings and sea creatures, desire and reality, ocean and cosmos.

As Paul Valéry put it, "a look at the sea is a look at the possible". So when, under the dome of the Institut de France, the new member of the Academy of Fine Arts asserts before his peers: "I have looked at the sea and I have dreamt of the possible", the reader can only be tempted to dive in with him.

Following in Jacques Rougerie's footsteps, he will cross paths with astronaut-cosmonauts Jean-Loup Chrétien and Claudie Haigneré; explorer Jean-Louis Etienne; environmentalist Jean-Michel Cousteau; deep-sea explorers Henri-Germain Delauze and Jacques Piccard; and many others. With their unique experience, the twenty-one members of this Great Crew bring their own perspective to this extraordinary adventure.

Watch the Universcience TV show "On a aimé ce livre", dedicated to the book : 

{Jacuzzi on}