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
| Aug 21, 2012
Hong Kong’s first LEED Platinum pre-certified building opens
Environmentally-sensitive features have been incorporated, including reduced operational CO2 emissions, and providing occupiers with more choice in creating a suitable working environment.
| Aug 21, 2012
Stellar wins four ABC Excellence In Construction awards
ABC's Excellence In Construction program is the industry’s leading award competition, recognizing outstanding construction projects in a variety of categories.
| Aug 20, 2012
Protecting the artifacts at George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum
Roof leaks threatened to damage artifacts and disturb a delicately controlled indoor environment at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum.
| Aug 17, 2012
Ferreri joins PGAL as Principal
Ferreri will be responsible for business development, contract negotiation, project design through construction and staff management/mentoring.
| Aug 17, 2012
Centric Architecture and PLAD Studio merge
The new firm will retain Centric Architecture as its name.
| Aug 15, 2012
MBH Architects announces new appointments
MBH Architects continues to grow, take on new clients.
| Aug 15, 2012
Architects and designers challenged in Allsteel’s reality design competition
KITS mobile app offers flexibility in planning.
| Aug 14, 2012
Leo A Daly welcomes Carl Gentilcore
Gentilcore will be responsible for identifying, developing and managing client relations with key federal government agencies.
| Aug 14, 2012
SOM Foundation announces prize recipients for 2012
Submissions for the SOM Prize were received from students at 34 schools in the U.S.
| Aug 9, 2012
Slideshow: New renderings of 1 WTC
Upon its scheduled completion in early 2014, One World Trade Center will rise 1,776 feet to the top of its spire, making it the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere.