Aquatrium
- New York

2016
Competition

Occupying a total area of approximately 40,000 sqm on the East River, the architectural concept includes a large water basin with the aquarium and a marine centre located on a submerged, two-level island. A boardwalk surrounds the basin like a floating ring, creating a pathway linking the city and a new beach-themed public park to the aquarium. 
The main attraction, the aquarium, has a retractable roof enabling it to become a living shell that opens up to the sky during the day to reveal the sea worlds and closes as darkness falls to take on a 'second life' as a planetarium. The aquarium itself would be formed of eight cylindrical transparent biodomes representing the four oceans and four seas, with the North and South Poles being expressed by an iceberg in the centre of the atrium. 
The main idea is to generate an environment whereby visitors feel that they themselves are entering the water to discover the beauty of the marine life on display; a living shell that opens to the sky during the day to reveal the sea worlds and which closes as darkness falls to take on a “second life” as a planetarium, protecting the arena and the biome domes within, like a shell protects the pearl. 

2016 - Winner Arch Out Loud
2017 - Second Prize WT SmartCity Award