{"id":71095,"date":"2026-07-03T00:01:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T22:01:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/?p=71095"},"modified":"2026-06-29T18:06:30","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T16:06:30","slug":"rrreefs-3d-printed-clay-reefs-maldives-03072026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/rrreefs-3d-printed-clay-reefs-maldives-03072026\/","title":{"rendered":"rrreefs Installs 13 3D-Printed Coral Reefs in the Maldives to Fight Bleaching"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Anantara Dhigu resort in the Maldives has just installed 13 3D-printed clay structures in its lagoon, aiming to bring new life to an ecosystem that has been at risk for years due to coral bleaching. The project, called Theyra Maa, meaning “13 flowers” in Dhivehi, was developed in collaboration with rrreefs<\/strong>, a Swiss company specializing in reef restoration through large-scale additive manufacturing<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This isn’t the first time 3D-printed clay has been used underwater. Numerous projects around the world are already applying additive manufacturing to reef restoration<\/a>. Nor is this the first large-scale project for the Swiss company: since its founding in 2020, it has helped add more than 15,000 new corals to the reefs it has installed.<\/p>\n

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Installation of “Theyra Maa” in the Maldives (photo credit: rrreefs via LinkedIn).<\/p><\/div>\n

“The inspiration behind rrreefs stems from a deep passion for the ocean and a determination to act against the rapid decline of coral reefs, one of the first ecosystems to feel the effects of climate change,” says Josephine Graf, the company’s co-founder. For her, Theyra Maa also shows that collaboration between such different sectors can produce concrete results for ocean conservation<\/a>.<\/p>

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Microcavities Designed for Coral<\/h2>\n

Mauro Bischoff, Head of Production at rrreefs, explains that the layer-by-layer 3D printing process creates tiny microcavities between each layer of material. These small spaces provide shelter for coral larvae, protecting them from predators while they attach themselves to the substrate.<\/p>\n

The porosity of each structure is also carefully adjusted during printing to encourage the formation of biofilms, thin layers of microorganisms that create the ideal conditions for coral to settle and grow.<\/p>\n

Thirteen Underwater Flowers<\/h2>\n

The 13 structures installed underwater are shaped like flowers. The design is meant to create small eddies of water around each module, helping coral larvae settle more easily instead of being swept away by the current. Divers from rrreefs assembled the structures module by module directly in the lagoon of South Mal\u00e9 Atoll, anchoring them to the seafloor so they can withstand wave action over the long term.<\/p>\n

The project is supported by Edelweiss Air and the help alliance foundation, both part of the Lufthansa Group, which are funding the installation as part of their responsible tourism initiatives. It also marks the first time rrreefs has partnered directly with a hotel resort, building on similar reef restoration projects<\/a> in other vulnerable coastal regions.<\/p>\n

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One of the thirteen floral installations from “Theyra Maa” (photo credit: Minor Hotels).<\/p><\/div>\n

What do you think of this coral reef in the Maldives? Let us know in a comment below or on our\u00a0LinkedIn<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Facebook<\/a>\u00a0pages! Don\u2019t forget to sign up for our free weekly\u00a0Newsletter here<\/a>, the latest 3D printing news straight to your inbox! You can also find all our videos on our\u00a0YouTube<\/a>\u00a0channel.<\/p>\n

*All Photo Credits: <\/em>rrreefs via LinkedIn<\/em><\/p>\n

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The Anantara Dhigu resort in the Maldives has just installed 13 3D-printed clay structures in its lagoon, aiming to bring new life to an ecosystem that has been at risk for years due to coral bleaching. The project, called Theyra…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6123,"featured_media":71096,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-71095","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-architecture","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71095","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6123"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71095"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71095\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":71100,"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71095\/revisions\/71100"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/71096"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71095"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71095"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71095"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}