Eco Factor: Conversion of oil rigs into luxury resorts instead of blowing them up, which threatens aquatic life. Sometimes looking at things from a different perspectives yields incredible outcomes. And this is what for the Houston, Texas-based Morris Architects won a grand prize of $10,000 in two entries to the Radical Innovation in Hospitality competition. The idea simply suggested turning oil rigs into luxury resorts instead of decommissioning them by explosion, which in itself poses a great hazard to aquatic life. According to calculations there are about 4,000 oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico having near about 80 million square feet of programmable space. 
The only way to remove these oil rigs is by an explosion that destroys a massive amount of aquatic life. However, the Morris project suggests the possibilities of creating a self-sufficient, eco-friendly high-end resort on each of such units. It will not only attract luxury travelers, but could also be used for manifold purposes, like to draw conferences, business retreats and to serve as a cruise ship’s main port of call en route to other locations in Mexico and the Caribbean. 
It’s obvious that fulfillment of energy requirements will depend on alternative sources, as these rigs are too far away from land to draw any energy from the grid system. Further, the project proposes pre-fabricated guest rooms designed to be transported out to the rig as a standard cargo container. 
The Dark Side: The project is flawless, rather beneficial both from environmental and economic perspectives. The only problem that can create hindrance is to fulfill the energy requirement only from alternative sources. Via: Bustler
