Super Kello: Marble Designed for the Present and the Marine Future
In the harbour of the Finnish city of Oulu, architecture, contemporary art, and climate awareness come together in a pioneering project that highlights the limitless possibilities of natural stone. The project, titled Super Kello, was created not only for today’s harbour visitors, but also for the area’s future inhabitants: marine life.
Designed by the Copenhagen-based artist collective Superflex in collaboration with the architecture firm KWY.studio, Super Kello is a public intervention crafted from a solid block of reclaimed marble.
As highlighted by the architecture magazine Dezeen, the structure serves a dual purpose: to be experienced today by harbour visitors and, in a future marked by rising sea levels, to transform into a sanctuary for marine fauna.
Two Eras, One Structure
What sets Super Kello apart is its long-term temporal vision and the seamless way it integrates natural stone into the environment:
-
In the present: It functions as a gathering point, a landmark, and an aesthetic intervention in the urban harbour landscape.
-
In the future: As sea levels gradually rise over the coming decades, the sculpture will submerge, providing a new surface for marine organisms to settle and thrive.
Sustainability in Practice
The choice of material is deliberate. The use of reclaimed marble underlines the creators’ commitment to sustainable architecture, giving new life to natural stone without additional quarrying.
The project demonstrates that marble—as a durable, natural material—can transcend traditional structural and decorative applications to serve as an ecological tool for climate adaptation.
