By dining in the middle of the water, maybe you'll put more thought into sustainable fishing. That's the idea behind Salmon Eye. This floating sphere boasts a restaurant and exhibition.
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00:00 What is this strange metal sphere glistening brightly in a Norwegian fjord?
00:12 And why does it attract architecture fans as well as foodies?
00:23 The Salmon Eye is an art piece, an architectural marvel, and a dining experience all in one.
00:29 It's the brainchild of Sandre Eide, the CEO of his family's salmon farming company, Eide
00:34 Fjordbruk.
00:35 But what exactly is the idea behind such a construction?
00:40 The purpose of Salmon Eye is to motivate people, to inspire people to do more sustainable seafood.
00:48 We call it a mark for sustainable sea development.
00:53 How did it end up here in the middle of Norway's Hardingefjord?
00:56 So it's actually floating in the middle of the fjord and it's anchored to the bottom
01:01 of the fjord and it's up to almost 1000 meters deep.
01:06 The fish-eye shaped building was brought to life by the Danish firm Kvoning Design.
01:10 At 1000 square meters, it is engineered to withstand waves of up to 5 meters high.
01:18 It is covered in more than 9000 steel plates mimicking fish scales.
01:22 And of course, it resembles a salmon eye, also meant to represent the idea of seeing
01:26 things from a different point of view.
01:29 Its round design is also reflected inside.
01:35 So it's very important for us that we bring the inside out.
01:44 So if you have such a curve and such a special building, it was very important for us to
01:49 also bring all the elements inside.
01:52 So it's almost no straight line in the entire building.
01:55 An exhibition space is located 3 meters underwater.
02:01 The focus here is about how the global food industry can become more sustainable and the
02:05 role which aquaculture can play in this.
02:11 These issues are reflected in the menu at the Iris Restaurant, which opened in June
02:14 of 2023.
02:19 The mastermind behind the Iris Restaurant lives on the nearby island of Snølsveitø.
02:25 Meet Annika Madsen.
02:27 No, she's not a boat captain, but the head chef of Iris.
02:33 She fell in love with the concept of sustainable dining while working in her home country of
02:37 Denmark.
02:40 Just like for anybody else, the only way for Annika to reach the restaurant is by boat.
02:47 It would definitely be easier just to open in the nearby town, but I think it's the
02:52 beauty of this project and a part of the reason why I couldn't say no to it.
02:57 So it's really important that we bring out the story about us bringing the guests to
03:02 the ingredients rather than the other way around.
03:05 And for that, obviously we serve a lot of seafood.
03:10 The Iris Restaurant's mission revolves around sourcing food locally.
03:16 This way, Annika can craft a sustainable 18-course menu derived directly from the sea and surrounding
03:22 land.
03:25 One of the dishes that embodies this idea is called 500 meters.
03:30 Every ingredient, like blue mussels, wild juniper, crab bouillon and seaweed is sourced
03:35 within a 500-meter radius from here.
03:44 Annika wants people to appreciate the ingredients and resources that are available all around
03:48 them just as much as she does.
03:53 The mission with Iris is to showcase unique ingredients and maybe some less popular ingredients
04:01 that have not been in the spotlight so much.
04:04 Maybe some of those things can lead to a greener future.
04:08 A culinary experience in extraordinary surroundings, Iris offers food for thought and has just
04:14 been honored with a German Design Award for excellent architecture.
04:17 (upbeat music)