Is this Rapture in real life? Underwater city could be ready by 2030

Popular video game BioShock explored the concept of an underwater city called Rapture. Now a Japanese firm hopes to turn this idea into reality.

Construction firm Shimizu Corporation wants to corkscrew a huge spiral structure 4,000 metres deep into the ocean to create a real life Rapture, or Atlantis, that could house around 5,000 people.

The globe would float at the surface of the sea, but could be submerged during poor weather conditions, reports Business Insider. It would include homes, places of work and shopping areas.

The spiral would cost £16 billion to build and could be ready as early as 2030. It would form a 15km path to a factory on the ocean floor that could collect rare metals and earths, and to turn convert carbon dioxide captured at the surface into methane.

"The company in cooperation with many organisations has spent two years to design the project working with technologies we think will be plausible in the future," said a Shimizu spokesperson.

Shimizu has teamed up with Tokyo University and the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology to devise the plan.

Considering Rapture in BioShock descended into anarchy and chaos, we’re not sure we’d like to see a real life version created.

However, we wouldn’t worry – it’s worth bearing in mind Shimizu is the same company that wants to make a ‘pyramid city in the air’, a botanical city and a space hotel.