First Place Winner
Pelagia
Design by
Ceren Gülşen
Juror’s Comment:
A highly compelling and immersive narrative-driven proposal that successfully reimagines Atlantis as a post-crisis regenerative underwater civilization. The integration with coral reef ecosystems and symbiotic design approach is particularly strong and forward-thinking.
Work on:
While the conceptual and environmental strategies are excellent, certain aspects of day-to-day functionality and circulation could be further refined for clarity, efficiency, and realistic habitation logistics.
Ceren Gülşen
Ceren Gülşen is a recent graduate of the Department of Architecture at Gazi University, Türkiye. She has a particular speculative architecture, conceptual design, and future-oriented spatial thinking, exploring how architecture can respond to emerging environmental and societal challenges.
Her design approach combines storytelling with architectural research, creating visionary proposals that question conventional boundaries between humanity, nature, and technology. She is especially interested in sustainable design, underwater architecture, and experimental architectural concepts that promote coexistence with natural ecosystems.
Her award-winning project Pelagia developed for The Lost Atlantis Design Competition, reinterprets the myth of Atlantis as a peaceful underwater civilization and reflects her passion for speculative architecture as a tool for imagining alternative futures.
As an emerging architect, she aims to develop innovative and thought-provoking projects that inspire new perspectives on the future of architecture and the relationship between people and the environment.
Celebrating Creativity & Vision
Winner’s Spotlight: An Exclusive Interview
Discover the story behind the victory — from concept to creation.
Concept & Reimagining Atlantis
What was the central idea behind your proposal, and how did you reinterpret the myth of Atlantis within the context of a contemporary underwater community?
Pelagia's core idea was to reinterpret the legend of Atlantis not as a lost civilization, but as a sustainable underwater life model for the future. The project proposes a life in harmony with nature by bringing together humans, technology, and the coral ecosystem. Thus, Atlantis transforms from a lost city of the past into an innovative and resilient underwater community seeking answers to the challenges of the future.
Designing for Underwater Living
Underwater architecture presents unique environmental and spatial conditions. How did your design respond to the technical, social, and ecological challenges of creating habitable spaces beneath the ocean’s surface?
Pelagia addresses the technical, social, and ecological challenges of underwater living through a holistic approach. The structure provides safe and resilient living spaces with its high-pressure-resistant support system and double-layered shell, while creating a self-sufficient community through vertical farming, sustainable fish production, and marine research facilities. Educational, healthcare, social, and shared public spaces foster a strong sense of community. Supported by four primary structural legs positioned adjacent to coral reefs, the settlement establishes a symbiotic relationship with the marine ecosystem, protecting and strengthening it rather than exploiting it and encouraging the natural regeneration of its surrounding environment. Furthermore, the system harnesses water pressure and ocean currents as renewable energy sources, enhancing the overall sustainability of the settlement.
Community & Cultural Revival
The competition emphasized cultural resurgence and social interaction. How did your proposal foster a sense of community, identity, and shared cultural experience among the inhabitants of your new Atlantis?
In my project, community and cultural identity emerge from a vision of rebuilding humanity after the devastation of global wars. More than a place of escape, Pelagia represents a peaceful and collective utopia built on cooperation, equality, and mutual responsibility. Common areas such as educational facilities, cultural museums, public gardens, workshops, and social spaces encourage daily interaction and strengthen social bonds. Inspired by Plato's depiction of Atlantis, Pelagia reinterprets this ideal as a contemporary and technologically advanced underwater society where culture, knowledge, and solidarity form the foundations of a new civilization.
Spatial Experience & Atmosphere
How did you approach the design of interior and exterior spaces to create immersive, emotionally engaging, and functional underwater environments for residents and visitors?
My primary goal in designing both the interior and exterior spaces was to integrate the tranquility and captivating visual atmosphere of underwater life into the user experience. However, the design also focused not only on aesthetics but also on creating social and personal living spaces where people could develop a sense of belonging. The central glass sphere and the voids that extend throughout the floors create strong visual connections between different levels, ensuring spatial continuity. Thus, users can experience the underwater ecosystem at every point of the structure and feel the unique beauty of the ocean and corals as an integral part of their daily lives.
Sustainability & Marine Ecosystems
Sustainability was a key aspect of the competition brief. What environmentally conscious strategies, renewable systems, or innovative technologies were integrated into your proposal to support ecological preservation and coexistence with marine ecosystems?
Sustainability was one of the fundamental principles of Pelagia. The project was positioned adjacent to coral reefs rather than on them, establishing a symbiotic relationship that protects and supports the marine ecosystem instead of damaging it. The structural legs also function as artificial reef surfaces, encouraging coral growth and enhancing biodiversity. The settlement integrates vertical farming, sustainable fish production, and marine research facilities to achieve self-sufficiency while minimizing environmental impact. In addition, the shell system harnesses water pressure and ocean currents to generate renewable energy, reducing external resource dependence and creating a resilient underwater community in harmony with its natural environment.
Architecture & Ocean Relationship
Your project explores the relationship between humanity and the sea. How did your design integrate with the underwater environment while respecting and enhancing the surrounding marine landscape?
Pelagia was conceived not as a structure imposed upon the ocean, but as a living organism that quietly belongs to it. Rather than dominating the underwater landscape, its organic form follows the rhythm of the sea, allowing architecture and nature to coexist in harmony. Resting on four primary supports beside the coral reefs, the city leaves the fragile ecosystem untouched while encouraging its regeneration through symbiotic design. Transparent spaces and the central glass sphere dissolve the boundary between interior and exterior, inviting the ever-changing light, water, and marine life into everyday experience. In Pelagia, the ocean is not merely a setting for architecture—it becomes its identity, its memory, and its most essential inhabitant, reminding humanity that true coexistence begins not by conquering nature, but by becoming part of it.
Challenges & Innovation
What were some of the most challenging aspects of designing an underwater city inspired by Atlantis, and what creative opportunities did this speculative architectural setting provide?
One of the most challenging aspects of the project was, metaphorically, searching for the ruins of a city that no longer exists. To understand Atlantis beyond its legend, I explored numerous historical and philosophical texts, particularly Plato's descriptions and contemporary reinterpretations of the myth. This research allowed me to grasp not only the imagined physical city but also the values and ideals it represented.
The real challenge was translating this ancient myth into a contemporary underwater architecture. I was inspired by the moral message at the heart of the Atlantis story—that greed, ambition, and the loss of collective values ultimately lead to destruction. By creating a deliberate contrast, I imagined a future in which the nations of the world become increasingly selfish and divided, while Atlantis is reborn as Pelagia: a peaceful, egalitarian, and technologically advanced underwater civilization founded on cooperation rather than competition. This speculative setting transformed mythology into a hopeful architectural vision for humanity's future.
Future of Underwater Architecture
How do you envision underwater architecture shaping the future of sustainable living and urban development? What role can visionary projects like yours play in redefining humanity’s relationship with the oceans?
I believe architecture needs to interpret every space correctly. Because while very good ideas and impressive projects can emerge, we must not ignore the possibility that, as a result of wrong approaches, seas and oceans could one day turn into concrete jungles. The task of architecture is not only to create new living spaces, but also to protect existing life.
For me, the most important point is that every structure produced should not only appeal to the human spirit but also respect the natural order of underwater life. Structures should guide human life by adapting to the ecosystem of these creatures without encroaching on their habitats. A relationship of coexistence, not a relationship of dominance, should be established between humans and nature.
Seas and oceans are unique gifts given to us, and we must appreciate their value. Every architectural work done underwater will offer humanity unique landscapes and experiences. However, I believe our most important task is first to protect these landscapes and this life. Only by protecting the ocean can we truly deserve to become part of it.
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