REEFLINE recently launched “Concrete Coral” by Leandro Erlich, the inaugural installation of Miami Beach’s pioneering underwater sculpture park and hybrid reef.
Installed 780 feet/238 meters from shore and submerged 20 feet/6 meters below the surface, REEFLINE transforms Erlich’s traffic jam into a poetic environmental warning. With over 90% of Florida’s coral cover lost over the past century, this new artificial reef answers an ecological emergency with creativity, engineering and civic imagination.
Erlich said:
“I’m thrilled that Concrete Coral has found its home beneath the waters of Miami Beach, and that the community can truly become part of its story. What once represented pollution and movement now becomes a shared space for reflection, regeneration, and enjoyment. Art reaches its fullest meaning when it’s experienced collectively, and I hope the people of Miami will take pride in watching this living sculpture evolve over time.”
Each car is built from a marine-grade, low-carbon concrete mix, and weighs up to 16 tons/14,515 kilos. In the coming months, “Concrete Coral” will be seeded with thousands of resilient Miami native coral’s grown at REEFLINE’s Miami Native Coral Lab using Coral Lok, an innovative technology for fast, secure and sustainable coral transplantation.
REEFLINE Founder Ximena Caminos said:
“REEFLINE transforms Miami’s coastline into an open-air classroom and living lab where art accelerates science and citizens become co-creators of change. A living blueprint for resilience, habitat creation, and ocean literacy, it celebrates the Florida Reef Tract as a vital ecosystem that sustains life and inspires stewardship. REEFLINE turns local innovation into a beacon for Florida’s blue economy and a symbol of a regenerative ocean future.”
A meditation buoy by artist Andrés Reisinger will mark the location of “Concrete Coral,”
visible from shore and accessible by swimming or aboard a custom-branded REEFLINE electric paddleboard (e-SUP), from a fleet co-developed by BMW and SipaBoards.
Electric paddleboards will be available for timed collection from REEFLINE’s headquarters, located on 9th Street in Miami.
Visitors can also board REEFLINE’s Floating Marine Learning Center, a dive boat and research platform, where they can meet the REEFLINE team, artists, scientists and divers, and learn about coral gardening and marine innovation.
Guests of honor included Erlich on December 2 and Dr. Sylvia Earle on December 5.
Two-hour excursions depart from the Miami Beach Marina.
REEFLINE Executive Director Brandi Reddick said:
“REEFLINE redefines how we experience and learn from the ocean. Through the convergence of art, science, and education, we’re building a living classroom that inspires creativity and deepens our collective responsibility to protect the marine world.”
