Airlocks

* See also Construction
* See also Watertight_Doors_and_Bulkheads
* See also UnderWater_Construction
* See also Depth and Real Physics
* See also Securis
* See also TechnicalDrawings (Diagrams)
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Airlocks on Every Building - ( including redundant path Emergency access )
Local Maintenance access
Portal Door Redundancy ( see the airlocks in my level maps )
LARGER Airlocks for Submarines, Bathyspheres, and Trains (And Trolleys)
External Portals to Ocean ( ie- Maintenance Airlocks ) to have Triple Door sets for Safety redundancy
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Out In The Water :
All those seabed Airlocks and pathways, stairs, railings pipes, valves, conduits, signs, wreckage and machinery out there ...
In BS2 we were restricted to little patches of 'in the sea' to walk thru, and were prevented (blocked) from straying off a narrow path to the next bit of the Plot ( in BS1 we barely saw the Bathysphere transit past detailed seabed the initial Lighthouse to Welcome Center game scene ).
In the MMORPG Sea access would be completely open -- With all the external details created to allow you to go anywhere on the game's world map.
There will still be translucent, obscured windows, where you really can't see details/activities inside (at least for buildings that haven't had the auto-generation fill in all the details - yet ).
There would be similar Templates and prop building blocks to construct all the ranges/variations of possible Undersea Terrain ( with the Auto-Generation mechanism doing alot of 'heavy lifting' ) to create that big Sandbox world ( much uninteresting/unremarkable terrain you simply pass thru to get to the 'interesting' bits ).
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Airlock For The AE Trains
It is not just a Chamber with some doors. You have to pump water around and have the massive mechanisms to operate the doors.
That dip down was most likely so that the Trains could just dip down into the water ( freely to exit the Station ). Unfortunately, with Rapture's Depth, the water pressure differential outside would send a catastrophic surge of water instantly into the Interior. There had to be outer doors on the ocean end of those tunnels to act as a proper airlock.
A possible justification could be : that half as much water perhaps would need to be pumped - except that the length needed to have that slope adds to the Tunnel length, increasing the volume far more.
In any case, this diagram shows various complexities to these AE Airlocks.
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Redundancy :
The Maintenance Airlocks on my Level Maps ( most found in the Foundation level of my maps ), which enter directly into the Ocean, have Double Chambers and Three doors - all fail-safe interlocked to minimize possibilities of catastrophic failure ( interior being open to the sea ) and to allow maintenance.
These Maintenance Airlocks are used often, and so warrant the added expense for their extra Redundancy. Internal areas accessible by a Maintenance Airlock ( where Diving_Suits and equipment/tools are stored ) also have their own section doors as added protection.
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Within various larger buildings are Watertight sections, and there would be secondary airlocks not generally in constant use by people and goods ( Securis doors protect constantly/frequently accessed paths ). The less used airlocks employ manual Submarine-type doors ( which are far less expensive and require less maintenance ). Airlock doors are built interlocked (only one end open at a time) to preserve water integrity. 
You can see many Access hatch connections between floors on my Amended Maps which are used for maintenance ( often connecting to foundation utility spaces ).
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Game Level Transition Airlocks
We see then when we shift between some levels ( both BS1 and BS2 and Minervas Den ). They have windows to either side showing a rock wall and some pump machinery is visible. They do not allow direct passthru in the game ( to allow the level transition ).
I might have them be expansion joint connections between building clusters and able to adjust/adapt to seabed shiftings in multiple directions between more rigid adjacent constructions.
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We See Lots of Airlocks in Columbia - In the Angel Tower :
Nice strong Door Sealing within the Angel Siphon Tower.
Why it has to be that sturdy within the secret accessways of the Tower ??? ( which Elizabeth does not Traverse ) it is not clear.
Likewise, much of the Tower structure seem like it is built like a Submarine. Above water Structures dont need such massive construction ( which BTW Songbird has little effort tearing apart easily ).
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