Main Architecture and Design Blue Planet: Immersion in Water World

Blue Planet: Immersion in Water World

The Blue Planet Denmark’s Aquarium (Danish: Den Blå Planet Danmarks Akvarium) is a new facility opened in March 2013 in Kastrup, a suburb of Copenhagen instead of the old aquarium located in Charlottenlund and closed in 2012. The main purpose of the aquarium is to disseminate marine information, help science projects, and help improve educational institutions. In the first year of existence, the aquarium received approximately 1.3 million visitors – twice as many as expected. The project, designed by Danish architectural firm 3XN , this year was selected among 12 other projects from Europe and awarded by the prestigious Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA European 2014 National Awards).

The starfish-like form is clad in millfinished aluminium shingles which respond to the climatic conditions of each day, whilst gently accommodating the curvilinear form of the aquarium. Glimpsed from the road leaving the airport Blue Planet appears to be large a shed, to be almost industrial. On arrival the wings of the aquarium appear much more curvaceous.

The project is an almost literal realization of the client’s brief with the four primary zones of the aquarium, combined with a bird cliff, rainforest, ticket office, gift shop, offices, restaurant, schools service, and a range of logistica functions behind the scenes. This is realized as a five fingered plan, which the 3XN describe as a whirlpool. Four of the wings have been designed to enable the aquarium to readily expand in the future. The section is intended to express the relationship between people on the shore and fish in the sea.

Passing by a reflecting pool the visitor enters into the circulation space at the centre of the plan. From here one easily navigates the zones from the familiar fish of the North Sea in the cold saltwater zone, journeying on to the exotic freshwater fish of the Amazon Rain Forest. This is set in an ETFE ‘mini- Eden’ complete with free flying butterflies.

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