If the seas are rising, why not seek refuge below the surface?

That's the basic premise behind Ocean Spiral, an audacious construction project "dreamed" up by the Japanese construction firm Shimizu Corporation that aims to shelter humans from natural disasters, extreme weather and climate change, by housing them beneath Earth's vast oceans.

According to the plans, Ocean Spiral would consist of spherical structures, 1,600 feet in diameter, with long, spiraling extensions that dip miles beneath the ocean and down to the sea floor. It's there, at the sea floor, where the structure would connect with factories that would mine the sea for the resources necessary to power and sustain the micro-community, CNN reports.

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Part of that energy would come from using micro-organisms to convert the ocean's abundant carbon dioxide reserves into combustible methane gas. Another part would come from ocean thermal energy conversion, which would convert ocean temperature differences along the spiral into energy by generating steam that powers turbines.

The spheres nearest to the surface, along with the spire itself, would serve as a residential area, capable of housing up to 5,000 people. Each sphere could act like a submarine, capable of dipping above and beneath the surface along the length of the extension to avoid inclement weather at the surface, The Guardian notes.

Water would come from desalinated ocean water. Food would come from fish farms built around the structure, according to the Wall Street Journal.

All of this might sound unrealistic, but Shimizu says Ocean Spiral is a very real possibility, albeit in 15 or so years when the technology catches up with the company's ambitions.

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“This is a real goal, not a pipe dream,” Shimizu spokesman Hideo Imamura told the Guardian. “The Astro Boy cartoon character had a mobile phone long before they were actually invented – in the same way, the technology and know-how we need for this project will become available.”

When that technology finally does become available, the construction firm says it will take five years and more than $25 billion dollars to build each pod.

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