**Miami’s Reefline Project: An Underwater Coral Nursery and Art Installation Transforming the Atlantic Ocean**
In a warehouse near Miami Beach, Colin Foord diligently tends to a unique coral nursery. His charges are soft corals known as gorgonians, a fundamentally important part of the Caribbean and Floridian coral reef habitats. Foord nurtures over 2,000 tiny soft coral specimens, including sea fans and sea whips, housed in several large saltwater tanks. In each tank, snails and hermit crabs work alongside the corals, keeping algae at bay.
Some of these corals will eventually grow as tall as six feet once transplanted to a major new project taking shape in the Atlantic Ocean just off Miami Beach. When complete, the “Reefline” project will feature a seven-mile-long artificial reef within swimming distance of the shore. It is envisioned as an art installation, a restoration of the island’s coral habitat, and an underwater tourist attraction.
Reefline plans call for the reef to stretch the entire length of Miami Beach, constructed from a series of marine-grade concrete sculptures. These art installations will serve both as habitat and as a canvas for coral growth.
Foord’s passion for coral—colorful colonies of tiny animals responsible for building massive underwater reefs—blends science and art. As one of the founders of “Coral Morphologic,” an arts and science group dedicated to researching and documenting coral reefs, he collects and grows coral specimens in his lab to be transplanted onto Reefline.
“This reef will be in about 15 to 20 feet of water, roughly 700 feet off Miami Beach,” Foord explains. “Anyone with a mask and fins can swim out there and see it for themselves—no boat required.”
The Reefline project originated several years ago from a conversation between Foord and arts curator Ximena Caminos. Originally from Argentina, Caminos describes herself as a cultural placemaker, having overseen numerous projects that use art to revitalize neighborhoods in Buenos Aires and Miami Beach. Now, she is channeling that vision offshore to develop an ecotourism attraction she humorously calls “public housing for fish.”
“We’re giving them new homes for free—fabulous artistic penthouses underwater where they can thrive,” Caminos says. “At the end of the day, fish aren’t so different from us—they need a home too.”
Funding for Reefline partly comes from the City of Miami Beach, which approved a $5 million bond through a voter referendum. Caminos, the project’s artistic director, is leading a campaign to raise an additional $6 million for the first phase, which kicks off this month. This initial installation features 22 concrete “cars” arranged in an underwater traffic jam.
“The cars have the perfect shape to plant corals,” Caminos notes. “They’re like flowerpots for coral—ideal habitats.”
This intriguing element of Reefline is the work of internationally renowned artist Leandro Ehrlich. He envisions the corals colonizing the sculptures over time, slowly transforming the concrete cars into living, vibrant formations.
“I think the cars will eventually disappear under coral growth,” Ehrlich says. “And I think that’s fantastic.”
Reefline will actually restore a lost element of Miami Beach’s natural heritage. Until the 1970s, the island had an offshore coral reef that was gradually smothered by sand used to replenish the beach. Foord believes the project will “renew and recreate what used to be there.”
To build a resilient reef, Foord plans to use locally collected corals known to withstand disease and warming ocean temperatures. Caminos anticipates that completing the full seven-mile reef will take at least a decade.
The project also includes plans for an onshore marine learning center where visitors can learn about the planet’s endangered coral reefs. The underwater sculptures, once covered with living coral, are designed to be visible from the air for travelers flying into Miami.
Looking ahead, Caminos is hopeful that one of the next phases—a constellation of 57 giant sculpted starfish—will become a defining symbol for the city.
Miami’s Reefline project is poised to fuse art, science, and environmental restoration into a groundbreaking underwater ecosystem and cultural landmark, celebrating the natural beauty and resilience of coral reefs.
https://www.npr.org/2025/10/21/nx-s1-5558323/miami-beach-reefline-underwater-art-installation-coral