If you thought it would have never been possible for a multimillion-dollar project in Brazil to help create hundreds of jobs for Americans, think again, because it’s happening now.
The Acquario Ceará is a Brazilian public aquarium designed, engineered, financed, and currently under construction by multiple U.S. firms. The crustacean-shaped structure of steel and glass will stand along the Atlantic coast of the northeastern Brazilian city Fortaleza, designed with the hopes of being a new icon for South America.
The aquarium's intricate, exoskeleton-esque metalwork facade, designed by Imagic Brasil, the Latin American division of Cincinnati-based architect Jack Rouse Associates, will be fabricated by Kansas City, Mo.-based Zahner, whose portfolio includes two Gehry structures: the Pritzker Pavilion in Chicago and the Guggenheim Canopy in New York City.
According to The Atlantic’s CityLab, International Concept Management (ICM), a small business and custom aquarium maker in Grand Junction, Colorado, is overseeing construction of the project.
The aquarium, planned to be the third largest in the world after Georgia Aquarium and Dubai Mall aquarium, is set to open in 2015. According to the Kansas City Star, the aluminum support frame and aluminum skin plates that will cover it are currently being made in Zahner’s Midwestern fabrication shops, while the state of Ceará's governmental website indicates tubes and pipes are being made in Houston under ICM's supervision. Components will be shipped south to come together for the project.
But like many projects of its scale, the aquarium is not free of controversy. Brazilian critics say the aquarium is being built without transparency, CityLab reports. Moreover, the fact that such an expensive recreational facility is being built in one of Brazil’s poorest state’s is deemed as distasteful by some.
In the U.S., critics are aimed at the project’s financial backing, which includes a $105 million direct loan from the taxpayer-funded federal export credit agency Export-Import Bank of the United States.
Related Stories
Sports and Recreational Facilities | Dec 15, 2023
San Antonio Spurs’ new practice facility aims to help players win championships and maintain well-being
Designed by ZGF, the Victory Capital Performance Center uses biophilic design to promote better health and wellness on and off the court.
Affordable Housing | Dec 14, 2023
What's next for affordable housing in 2024?
As 2023 draws to a close, GBBN’s Mary Jo Minerich and Amanda Markovic, AIA sat down to talk about the future. What’s next in terms of trends, technology, and construction of affordable housing?
75 Top Building Products | Dec 13, 2023
75 top building products for 2023
From a bladeless rooftop wind energy system, to a troffer light fixture with built-in continuous visible light disinfection, innovation is plentiful in Building Design+Construction's annual 75 Top Products report.
Giants 400 | Dec 12, 2023
Top 35 Veterans Affairs Facility Architecture Firms for 2023
LEO A DALY, Page Southerland Page, Guidon, and HDR top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest Veterans Affairs facility architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Dec 12, 2023
Top 40 Military Facility Architecture Firms for 2023
Michael Baker International, HDR, Whitman, Requardt & Associates, and Stantec top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest military facility architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Office Buildings | Dec 12, 2023
Transforming workplaces for employee mental health
Lauren Elliott, Director of Interior Design, Design Collaborative, shares practical tips and strategies for workplace renovation that prioritizes employee mental health.
Giants 400 | Dec 11, 2023
Top 150 Local Government Building Architecture Firms for 2023
Gensler, HOK, Stantec, and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest local government building architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Dec 11, 2023
Top 90 State Government Building Architecture Firms for 2023
Page Southerland Page, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, Stantec, and NORR top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest state government building architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Codes and Standards | Dec 11, 2023
Washington state tries new approach to phase out fossil fuels in new construction
After pausing a heat pump mandate earlier this year after a federal court overturned Berkeley, Calif.’s ban on gas appliances in new buildings, Washington state enacted a new code provision that seems poised to achieve the same goal.
Green | Dec 11, 2023
U.S. has tools to meet commercial building sector decarbonization goals early
The U.S. has the tools to reduce commercial building-related emissions to reach target goals in 2029, earlier than what it committed to when it signed the Paris Agreement, according to a report by the U.S. Green Building Council.
