Kansas City’s new Sobela Ocean Aquarium is a world-class facility home to nearly 8,000 animals in 34 habitats ranging from small tanks to a giant 400,000-gallon shark tank.
The 65,000-sf facility takes visitors from a shallow tropical shore, following a “warm current into the melting pot of the deep ocean, and is carried via a cold current from the depths, through the ocean’s forests, emerging at a cool Pacific coast,” according to a news release.
Exhibit designs by Spacehaus integrate with architectural cues such as changing light quality, spatial variation, and physical descent. The experience augments unique exhibit designs “to engage visitor’s emotions, spark their curiosity, and build in them a passion for the ocean.”
“This project creates that opportunity for all, introducing visitors to our global ocean by using the concept of marine currents as an interpretive framework,” according to lead architect EHDD.
“Despite holding nearly 650,000 gallons of water in total, the aquarium has obtained a LEED silver certification,” says David Dowell, AIA, principal of El Dorado who led the support architecture team. “Some of the sustainability goals include capturing stormwater on site, significantly reducing water and energy use, and maximizing natural light while also bird-safing the structure through fritted glass.”
The aquarium is the first project in the Kansas City area to use CarbonCure technology, which introduces captured CO₂ into fresh concrete to reduce its carbon footprint by 22%.
The aquarium is now the largest building on the zoo campus. It opens to the zoo’s main pedestrian promenade with an image that is welcoming in scale, and warm in materiality. Located in Swope Park in Kansas City, Mo., the Kansas City Zoo & Aquarium, founded in 1909, spans 202 acres and receives about one million visitors per year.
Owner and/or developer: Sobela Ocean Aquarium at the Kansas City Zoo and Aquarium
Design architect: EHDD and El Dorado
MEP engineer: Antella
Structural engineer: Leigh & O'Kane
General contractor/construction manager: JE Dunn
Related Stories
| Jan 11, 2014
Getting to net-zero energy with brick masonry construction [AIA course]
When targeting net-zero energy performance, AEC professionals are advised to tackle energy demand first. This AIA course covers brick masonry's role in reducing energy consumption in buildings.
| Dec 30, 2013
Calatrava facing legal action from his home town over crumbling cultural complex
Officials with the city of Valencia, Spain, are blaming Santiago Calatrava for the rapid deterioration of buildings within its City of Arts and Sciences complex.
| Dec 19, 2013
Mastering the art of crowd control and visitor flow in interpretive facilities
To say that visitor facility planning and design is challenging is an understatement. There are many factors that determine the success of a facility. Unfortunately, visitor flow, the way people move and how the facility accommodates those movements, isn’t always specifically considered.
| Dec 13, 2013
Safe and sound: 10 solutions for fire and life safety
From a dual fire-CO detector to an aspiration-sensing fire alarm, BD+C editors present a roundup of new fire and life safety products and technologies.
| Dec 10, 2013
16 great solutions for architects, engineers, and contractors
From a crowd-funded smart shovel to a why-didn’t-someone-do-this-sooner scheme for managing traffic in public restrooms, these ideas are noteworthy for creative problem-solving. Here are some of the most intriguing innovations the BD+C community has brought to our attention this year.
| Dec 6, 2013
French concert hall includes integrated musical elements [VIDEO]
La Métaphone, a concert hall in Ognies, France, is a 1,980-sm facility with the unique characteristic of being a structural musical instrument. The solar-powered building incorporates musical elements in its walls, which can be played by musicians inside or outside the facility.
| Dec 4, 2013
First look: Dubai's winning bid for World Expo 2020 [slideshow]
Dubai has been chosen as the site of the 2020 World Expo. HOK led the design team that developed the master plan for the Expo, which is expected to draw more than 25 million visitors from October 2020 through April 2021.
| Nov 27, 2013
BIG's 'oil and vinegar' design wins competition for the Museum of the Human Body [slideshow]
The winning submission by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) and A+ Architecture mixes urban pavement and parkland in a flowing, organic plan, like oil and vinegar, explains Bjarke Ingels.
| Nov 27, 2013
Wonder walls: 13 choices for the building envelope
BD+C editors present a roundup of the latest technologies and applications in exterior wall systems, from a tapered metal wall installation in Oklahoma to a textured precast concrete solution in North Carolina.
| Nov 26, 2013
Construction costs rise for 22nd straight month in November
Construction costs in North America rose for the 22nd consecutive month in November as labor costs continued to increase, amid growing industry concern over the tight availability of skilled workers.
