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
| May 23, 2012
MBI Modular Construction Campus Launched on BDCUniversity.com
White Papers, Case Studies, Industry Annual Reports, published articles and more are offered.
| May 23, 2012
Gifford joins Perkins Eastman as principal
Design and planning expertise in science, technology, education, and healthcare.
| May 23, 2012
McRitchie joins McCarthy Building as VP, commercial services in southern California
McRitchie brings more than 18 years of experience in the California construction marketplace.
| May 23, 2012
Arizona Army National Guard Readiness Center awarded LEED Silver
LEED certification of the AZ ARNG Readiness Center was based on a number of green design and construction features SAIC implemented that positively impacted the project and the broader community.
| May 23, 2012
New hospitals invest in data centers to manage growth in patient info
Silver Cross became one of the first hospitals to install patient tracking software so families know where a patient is at all times. New communication equipment supports wireless voice and data networks throughout the hospital, providing access to patients and their families while freeing clinicians to use phones and computers where needed instead of based on location.
| May 23, 2012
Summit Design+Build selected as GC for Chicago restaurant
Little Goat will truly be a multifunctional space. Construction plans include stripping the 10,000 sq. ft. building down to the bare structure everywhere, the installation of a new custom elevator and adding square footage at the second floor with an addition.
| May 22, 2012
Batson-Cook names Partin VP of Business Development
Partin joins general contractor from Georgia Hospital Association.
| May 22, 2012
Casaccio Architects and GYA Architects join to form Casaccio Yu Architects
Architects Lee A. Casaccio, AIA, LEED AP, and George Yu, AIA, share leadership of the new firm.
| May 22, 2012
O’Connell Robertson acquires Mitchell Design Consultancy
Mary Ann A. Mitchell, AIA, IIDA, MDC principal and founder, joins O’Connell Robertson as part of the acquisition.