MAKING WAVES

摘要

Pacific Visions is the first major addition to the Aquarium of the Pacific since it opened in 1998. During the two-year construction period, the aquarium-which averages 2,000 visitors a day, and doubles as a research hub-stayed open with no closures, and the Building Team took great care to protect the facility's 11,000-plus animals, which include the oldest sea otter in captivity. The new wing holds an exhibition space, a state-of-the-art 300-seat theater with a 32-foot-tall, 180-degree arc, 130-foot-long projection wall; a 2,600-sf art gallery with a 12-foot-high LED display wall; and a 5,000-sf "culmination gallery" that offers visitors calls to action for the betterment of the planet via interactive games, displays, and animal exhibits. The highlight of this project is its glass fagade, consisting of 839 triple-laminated panels that were produced by Pulp Glass, Gardena, Calif. It took 54 weeks to design and fabricate the fagade, and 12 weeks to install it. The fagade is "biomorphic," in that it brings the natural world into its architecture. The fagade is designed to mimic the movement of water, both day and night. The outer surface of the glass is acid-etched to eliminate direct reflection of the trees and sky. Depending on the time of day, the glass takes on different hues, intended to inspire different feelings and emotions.