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Exhibit Openings

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June 17, 2011

Georgia Aquarium Opens “AT&T Dolphin Tales”

Posted by Stacey Tarpley under Articles, Exhibit Openings, profession
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The newest addition to the massive Georgia Aquarium is a $110 million PGAV Destinations-designed home for eleven dolphins called “Dolphin Tales“. Opened April 2, 2011, the dolphin mecca includes a spectacular new show, an 1800-seat theater, new holding pools, an exhibit area, and a spacious lobby for watching the dolphins before the show or during a special event.

We talked with architect Tom Marschner about his role in the massive project.

DZ: What was your official role?

TM: Construction Administrator for PGAV. [I] assisted the Client and Contractor during construction as questions and changes arose.

Rendering of dolphin addition at Georgia Aquarium

DZ: What was the goal of the project?

TM: Create a world-class indoor dolphin theater on a small 1 acre pie shaped site adjoining the existing Aquarium.

DZ: What was the most challenging aspect of your job?

TM: Figuring out all of the intricacies that come when you are connecting to an existing building. There are things [that] don’t show up on the existing drawings or that have changed in the years since the original building was built that [the] design needs to adjust to. Most of the time there is only a day to figure it out in order to not hold up the construction.

DZ: What was the most satisfying?

TM: When the first dolphin was placed in the exhibit, followed closely being at the opening and seeing guests enjoy the space.

Dolphins on their first day in their new home (T.Marschner)

The project, which began in late 2008, includes 1.3 million gallons of water between the five pools. The show pool is 29’ deep, and only one of the three holding pools is visible from the exhibit area. This allows the Aquarium to give the dolphins a break from ‘work’–giving them downtime from being watched by guests through a window or from the more strenuous activities of the show.

Exhibit window (AP/D. Goldman)

In addition to the show, the Aquarium showcases its efforts with dolphin and ocean conservation through several graphic panels and an oversized video screen.

Mural along corridor (T. Marschner)

Trainer with dolphin in exhibit (Georgia Aquarium)

The show.

Marschner is obviously proud to have been a part of the design and construction team on this project. Before this, he was also deeply involved with the Brookfield Zoo’s Great Bear Wilderness. But when asked if he now considers himself a zoo designer, he humbly responded, “I consider myself an architect with lots of zoological design knowledge.”

Thanks, Tom!

Trainer and dolphin at rehearsal (AP)

March 9, 2011

Preview: Louisville Zoo’s Glacier Run

Posted by Stacey Tarpley under Designs, Exhibit Openings
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Recently, the PGAV Zoo Design Specialty Development Team got to visit the nearing completion Glacier Run at Louisville Zoo. At the time, the sea lion exhibit and presentation was open to the public, as well as the spray park that has been open since 2007. Next month (April 2011), the entire exhibit including the anchor exhibit for polar bears and grizzly bears will be open to the public!

This is a PGAV project that I personally was involved in from day one–including the project interview! The project has taken quite a long time to reach completion, suffering from several halts from lack of funding. But, the Zoo has persevered and we are finally opening (after almost 7 years)!

The exhibit is based on the story of the Churchill, Canada–the Polar Bear capital of the world–where bears regularly migrate into the town in search of food (due to dwindling natural resources).

In Glacier Run, you never know where you’ll see a polar bear! The enrichment room is the local garage. The bear transfer chute is an overhead conveyor. Part of the exhibit is a street caved in by the movements of the impending glacier.

The exhibit originally included Steller’s Sea Eagles and Sea Otters, but due to budget constraints, have been delayed to a later, undefined phase.

Secondary entrance to Glacier Run

End of the road at the old school house building.

Inside the exhibit with dig pit and transfer walk.

Classroom window looking into the exhibit (we're in the exhibit).

Inside the classroom which is a viewing area when not in use.

In Glacier Run.

Still working on the town. The floor here is actually the roof of the holding building. See the overhead transfer chute, middle. Enrichment room on right.

Original artistic rendering of similar view. Not a bad likeness!

Enrichment room. Truck is on springs and guests can sit in cab for bear interaction.

Small underwater viewing window.

Big underwater viewing window. 22' feet and very impressive, even with no bears! Two level viewing. Will be quite the impressive rental space for special events!

Main money shot. From here, if the animals align, guests should be able to see both sea lions (in front) and polar bears (above).

Original artistic rendering. The view has changed, but the intent remains.

Sea Lion stadium.

Underwater views of sea lions.

So remember to go visit Louisville this spring or summer! Congratulations to the Zoo for a beautiful and innovative exhibit, and to the PGAV team for your creativity and stick-to-it-tiveness!

March 6, 2011

Honolulu Classes it Up!

Posted by Stacey Tarpley under Designs, Exhibit Openings
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Honolulu Zoo recently revealed the newest of their renovation work: a new Entry experience. The project has been ongoing since 2002, apparently falling victim to the ever-present issue of budget problems. The final cost of the new entry was just about $3 million.

The old entry dated back to the 1960′s, and while, in my opinion, seemed to visually represent Hawai’i quite well, it apparently had lived its life.

The old entrance showing its age.

The new entry is quite beautiful, drawing both from the vernacular architecture and the Hawaiian landscape for inspiration. It adds capacity and increases the gift shop to 2000sf. Unfortunately, from what I can see, they did not incorporate any animals immediately upon entrance, which seems to be the hot trend as of late.

The new entry

July 13, 2009

San Diego Zoo’s Elephant Odyssey

Posted by Stacey Tarpley under Exhibit Openings | Tags: elephants, entertainment, extinction, odyssey, san diego zoo, travel |
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logo_elephant_odyssey In May of this year, San Diego Zoo opened it’s complex Elephant Odyssey. Incorporating a plethora of animal species revolving around the idea of extinction in California, the new exhibit zone presents a unique organizing element rarely seen in zoos: an abstract idea rather than biogeographic or Linnean systematics. Animals as diverse as African lions, Californian condors, and South American capybaras find homes in the Elephant Odyssey, and although the cerebral organizing element is unique, it remains to be seen if it is successful.

Let me break it down for you: California used to have a wide range of animals living on her land, but over time these species have become extinct. However, sister species still exist elsewhere in the world, and here they are with graphic panels and sculptural representations of the now extinct counterpart. Its strangeness may actually work to help make the story more clear–perhaps this jumble of seemingly unrelated animals will make people curious enough to actually read the panels for more information, and finally, the guests may walk away understanding a complex storyline related to their zoo experience. But, maybe I’m overly optimistic.

eo elephant

From the photos I’ve seen, the Zoo decided to keep naturalism at a minimum, giving the place a clearly sterile, mechanized and utilitarian quality. Of course, the exhibit is brand new and thus vegetation has not had a chance to grow in, but the prominence and visibility of barriers and other steely cold elements leads me to believe no amount of vegetation will ever create a natural environment throughout the Odyssey exhibits. Perhaps the Zoo should’ve deleted a few species to subsidize a softer, more comfortable experience.

The Stats:

$45 million for entire exhibit area
7.5 acres total
35 species of animals
2.4 acres of elephant habitat (including 137,000 gallon pool with 7.5′ deep end)
7 elephants (1 African, 6 Asian, including one bull)
Brand new on-exhibit elephant care facility
Restaurant overlooking the elephants
Gift shop

Not sure if the $45 million also included their amazing exhibit website, but check it out here for more information.

elephant odyssey

December 29, 2008

Arizona’s New Aquarium

Posted by Stacey Tarpley under Exhibit Openings | Tags: aquarium, Arizona, entertainment, travel |
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Its gaining loads of publicity, but don’t be fooled. The new aquarium (click here for plan) is not the tourism powerhouse being touted by the press.

New Aquarium building

The aquarium is, in fact, the first for Arizona, but, at a mere 180,000 gallon capacity, its only a small and somewhat simple attraction by aquarium standards.

Simple viewing windows and lack of signage at the WWZ's new Aquarium Expansion.

The new aquarium is an expansion of the private Wildlife World Zoo in the West Valley, and is part of a larger 10-year plan for the Zoo. This expansion cost an extremely budget-friendly $7 million.

az-penguin-1

However, not to seem cynical, I must congratulate the Zoo on continuing its effort to bring education about wildlife to an area lacking quality facilities. The Zoo currently sees approximately 405,000 visitors annually, and will surely see an increase.

Exhibits at the Aquarium include what looks to be a nice black-footed penguin habitat, a small (30′ diameter) shark tank, and several touch zones. The Zoo also incorporates rides into exhibits, including a log flume through one of the Aquarium’s tanks, to make for a true Edutainment facility.

Black-footed penguins

More penguins

Viewing penguins

Shark tank from above.

Shark tank under construction

One touch tank

Sting ray touch

Check out the rest of the Wildlife World Zoo here.

December 16, 2008

Chiang Mai Zoo’s Aquarium Open At Last…

Posted by Stacey Tarpley under Exhibit Openings | Tags: acrylic tube, aquarium, Chiang Mai, entertainment, thailand, travel, world's largest |
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The Aquarium, the newest add to Thailand’s Chiang Mai Zoo, is finally open. In late October, the Aquarium shut down literally hours after its official opening gala, due to malfunctions in both the life support systems and the ticketing machines.

Apparently, sand had found its way past the filtration system entering the main tank, and creating water murky enough to delay the opening for about three weeks.

Saltwater Tank at Chiang Mai's Aquarium

However, the Aquarium is now up and running, and is touted as Southeast Asia’s largest with an expectation to gain 800,000 visitors annually. The Aquarium was built as a joint venture between the Zoological Park Organization (an apparently governmental body) and an undisclosed private investor for the sum of $17 million.

Saltwater Tank at Chiang Mai's Aquarium

Boasting the World’s Longest Acrylic Tunnel at 133 meters (436 feet–longer than a football field!), the Aquarium is over 13,000 sf in area divided into 9 zones. The tunnel itself not only allows visitors to gaze into the depths of a marine environment, but also takes visitors through a freshwater tank.

Freshwater Tank at Chiang Mai's Aquarium

I’ve not been able to find many pictures of the Aquarium online, so if you know of any, please let me know.

December 12, 2008

Dubai’s Record Setting Acrylic

Posted by Stacey Tarpley under Designs, Exhibit Openings | Tags: acrylic, aquarium, dubai, entertainment, Georgia Aquarium, L'Aquarium, travel, tunnel |
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duabi-aq-entry2 Recently opened Dubai Aquarium, inside the gargantuan Dubai Mall, set the new Guiness World Record for “World’s Largest Acrylic Panel” this November.

According to Emaar Malls, the Dubai Mall developer, the panel measures ”32.88 metres wide x 8.3 metres high x 750 mm thick…weighing 245,614 kg, the viewing panel at Dubai Aquarium surpasses the current Guinness World Record holder, Churaumi Aquarium in Okinawa, Japan, at 22.5 metres wide x 8.2 metres high and 600 mm thick.”

For those metric-impared Americans, that’s nearly 108′ wide x 27′ tall. This dwarfs the large and impressive Ocean Voyager acrylic panel at Georgia Aquarium, which is 61′ wide x 23′ tall.

Dubai Aquarium's "World's Largest Acrylic Panel"

The large tank also has a long tunnel, running about 160′ in length at a depth of 36′. Georgia Aquarium’s tunnel is only 100′ in length at a similar depth. However, both of these tunnels are tiny compared to L’Aquarium in Barcelona, Spain. This tunnel is reportedly over 260′ in length!

L'Aquarium's Massive Tunnel

The rest of the Dubai Aquarium includes three habitat centered thematic zones: Living Ocean (different from the large ocean tank), Rocky Shore, and Rainforest.

Living Ocean highlights unusual individual specimens such as Moray Eels, Jellies, and Sea Dragons. The Rocky Shore showcases Humboldt penguins, Harbour seals, and a touch tidal pool. The Rainforest focuses on interesting freshwater creatures like piranha, catfish, and otters.

December 4, 2008

Buffalo’s Newest Exhibit!

Posted by Stacey Tarpley under Exhibit Openings
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This summer, Buffalo Zoo implemented another portion of their 15 Year Master Plan, created in 2002. The Phase I addition is the South American portion of the geographically organized master plan.

The M&T Rainforest Falls is a two-story building housing a collection of animals representing the tropical rainforest. The exhibit “replicates the unique geology and ecology of Venezuela’s Canaima National Park, home to Angel Falls – the tallest waterfall in the world.” Featuring a 25′ waterfall, the exhibit incorporates lush vegetation and beautiful graphics into an immersive environment.

The subsequent phases of the Zoo’s master plan include a new entry plaza, an Asian river and highlands zone, an African savannah, and an Arctic zone. The overall plan organizes itself around the theme of water, and I’m especially interested to see how successfully the guests pick up on the message.

October 8, 2008

California Academy of Sciences Re-Opening

Posted by Stacey Tarpley under Exhibit Openings
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I have to apologize to everyone for my lack of updates lately. Busy, Busy, Busy!

I found this post on a guest’s blog about the new CAS. Its filled with beautiful photography and a little editorializing. I won’t spoil the story for you, but I definitely commend his dedication!

Here’s the link: http://shuttersounds.thedailynathan.com/2008/10/08/academy-of-sciences-reopening/

Enjoy!

September 19, 2008

Tying Living Classrooms to Schools

Posted by Stacey Tarpley under Exhibit Openings, How-Tos | Tags: aquarium, botanical garden, high school, science |
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I saw this brief article about a school which invested in creating an entirely new avenue for children to learn about the living world–a Botanical Garden and Aquarium on the school’s site. Despite the small scale of the aquarium (which is basically a bunch of store-bought tanks) and the raised planters that can hardly be called a ”Botanical Garden,” the high school in New York does illustrate an admirable dedication to enhancing the science curriculum.

With national cut-backs in education, and battles over what and how we teach science (especially in Texas!), I find this story to be inspiring. Not only will educators be able to show their students the abstract concepts they are studying, but kids will also get a taste of a few science-based professions, like horticulture and zookeeping.

As a parallel thought to the idea of evolving all science institutions (zoos, aquaria, botanical gardens, science centers, etc) into one all-encompassing Living Center, incorporating small gardens and animal exhibits into schools seems completely logical. Remember the connection you had to the classroom hamster? Imagine having raccoons or deer or even a monkey or two just outside your classroom! Inspiring children to learn about science shouldn’t just occur on field trips and the occasional family day to the zoo. Professional training in high school shouldn’t just mean shop class and drafting. We should encourage our schools to make these types of additions, despite the associated costs, since the benefits would surely outweigh the costs.

Good Job Gates-Chili High!

Designing Zoos