Batumi Aquarium / Henning Larsen Architects

Aug 2010

By Sebastian J — Filed under: Cultural ,Featured ,Public Facilities , Batumi, Georgia, Henning Larsen Architects

▼

Add this to My Bookmarks:

share by email

share by email

Denmark-based Henning Larsen Architects have won first prize in an invited competition to design the Batumi Aquarium in Georgia. See more images and architect’s description after the break.

Batumi Aquarium is inspired by the characteristic pebbles of the Batumi beach – the residue of dynamic seas continually shaping the shorefront throughout millennia. The building will be situated in the Georgian port of Batumi and will stand out as an iconic rock formation – visible from both land and sea.

The formation constitutes four self-supporting exhibition areas where each of the four stones represents a unique marine biotype – the Aegean Sea & the Mediterranean Sea, the Indian Ocean, the Black Sea & the Red Sea and finally the more interactive exhibition.

The four dispersed aquarium exhibitions are connected by a central, multipurpose space including café, auditorium and retail functions with views of the black sea and Batumi beach as scenic backdrop. Visitors gather in the central space to convene, play, eat, shop and relax before continuing their adventures through the exhibitions.

Batumi Aquarium will become a modern, cultural aquarium offering visitors an educational, entertaining and visually stimulating journey through the different seas. Unfolding around the aquarium, a landscape of different sea archipelagos provides attractive opportunities for innovative outdoor research and learning, public space and meeting places along the beach.

The building’s significant expression inspired by nature will not only make Batumi Aquarium a spectacular new landmark in Georgia but also a state-of-the-art contribution to exploring life underneath the sea surface.

Architects: Henning Larsen Architects
Location: Batumi, Georgia
Project Team: Louis Becker (design director, partner) Anders Park (project manager), Viggo Haremst (design responsible), Michael Sørensen and Jaewoo Chun
Floor Area: 2,000 m2

: © Henning Larsen Architects

: © Henning Larsen Architects

: © Henning Larsen Architects

: © Henning Larsen Architects

: © Henning Larsen Architects

: © Henning Larsen Architects

: © Henning Larsen Architects

: © Henning Larsen Architects

: © Henning Larsen Architects

: © Henning Larsen Architects

: © Henning Larsen Architects

: © Henning Larsen Architects

: © Henning Larsen Architects

Cite:
Jordana , Sebastian . "Batumi Aquarium / Henning Larsen Architects" 12 Aug 2010. ArchDaily. Accessed 08 Feb 2012. <http://www.archdaily.com/73022>

Comments (10)
Tweets (51)
Links to this entry (7)

freq says:

what’s up with the pebbles… it looks like a rearranged version of that snohetta project. you know which one, dammit! xD

# August 12, 2010 at 17:23

joe says:

hasn’t this already been featured on archdaily?

# August 12, 2010 at 17:45

Random says:

So literal it makes me want to cry

# August 12, 2010 at 17:49

alberto says:

cry

# August 12, 2010 at 19:50

arnie says:

Re: fruity pebbles:

I can’t figure out whether to laugh or cry…
about
either the mellow design
or
this Abbot and Costello commentary…..

I thought the design was about water, not rocks.
This would make a great sedimentary lapidary museum.

# August 13, 2010 at 09:17

johnny says:

Strange current idea to always wanna bring the illusion of nature in the cities…
looks like a siteless object by Francois Blanciak, no ??
does not seem so easy to me to build this geometry of enveloppe for a reasonable price with other material than ETFE…
makes me wonder how the steel been from chigago was made….

# August 13, 2010 at 09:36

helen says:

ohh noooooooooooooooooo……

# August 16, 2010 at 04:46

Carl says:

This looks awfully similar to the King Abdulaziz Center for Knowledge and Culture in Saudi Arabia.

http://architecturelab.net/2008/06/03/king-abdulaziz-center-for-knowledge-and-culture-by-sn%C3%B8hetta/

# August 16, 2010 at 11:23

Rahim Blak says:

Disgusting

# September 9, 2010 at 04:15

eke says:

are you guys kidding :| what snohetta, what king abulaziz center of knowledge :| to follow your logic everything is similar to one another.. i think and hope it will be beautiful and will look great near the sea.. i hate haters. good job henning larsen

# November 28, 2010 at 07:10

5:14 PM Aug 12th

Mario Yañez

RT @archdaily: Batumi Aquarium / Henning Larsen Architects http://archdai.ly/bNDbes #architecture

5:52 PM Aug 12th

moldingdesign

Batumi Aquarium / Henning Larsen Architects: Denmark-based Henning Larsen Architects have won first prize in an in… http://bit.ly/d9HZss

6:25 PM Aug 12th

marklamster

it's a happy day when the republic of georgia can afford goofball architecture. rt @archdaily http://archdai.ly/bNDbes

6:34 PM Aug 12th

malaspina arq

Batumi Aquarium / Henning Larsen #Architects http://archdai.ly/bNDbes e ainda tem gente q gosta de #zahahadid… #arquitectura #architecture

Ricardo Malaspina

Help save Remington Arms factory:
We found out through Archpaper’s Twitter (@archpaper), they are calling e… http://tinyurl.com/y2jy5pa

6:36 PM Aug 12th

dezign bot

Batumi Aquarium / Henning Larsen Architects: © Henning Larsen ArchitectsDenmark-based Henning Larsen Architects ha… http://bit.ly/bqp2I9

disagro

Batumi Aquarium / Henning Larsen Architects: © Henning Larsen ArchitectsDenmark-based Henning Larsen Architects ha… http://bit.ly/d9HZss

6:37 PM Aug 12th

tankoverflow

Batumi Aquarium / Henning Larsen Architects | ArchDaily: Denmark-based Henning Larsen Architects have won first pr… http://bit.ly/aAU116

7:47 PM Aug 12th

cubestudioviz

Batumi Aquarium / Henning Larsen Architects | ArchDaily: Denmark-based Henning Larsen Architect… http://bit.ly/92xLVq http://www.cubestudio.info

8:43 PM Aug 12th

plopesarq

e http://www.archdaily.com/73022/batumi-aquarium-henning-larsen-architects/

11:26 PM Aug 12th

harrytak

Batumi Aquarium / Henning Larsen Architects | ArchDaily http://bit.ly/bfjWJy

11:27 PM Aug 12th

hyun tak

바닷가 조약돌 같은 수족관 Batumi Aquarium / Henning Larsen Architects | ArchDaily http://bit.ly/bfjWJy

1:08 AM Aug 13th

takahiro watabe

1:46 AM Aug 13th

touchofsun

5:57 AM Aug 13th

konishigaffney

This project amazingly similar to an unbuilt project in Hereford that we worked on at Heatherwick Studio http://archdai.ly/bNDbes

7:59 AM Aug 13th

susancohan

This may be the coolest aquarium (the kind you visit) design ever. http://bit.ly/9eXlxr

3:06 PM Aug 13th

okanicus

1:41 PM Aug 14th

Alfonso Rodríguez

Reading: "Batumi Aquarium / Henning Larsen Architects | ArchDaily"( http://twitthis.com/sinjow )

3:38 PM Aug 14th

Chibi Ma

4:05 PM Aug 14th

Arjune Selvarajan

4:31 PM Aug 14th

Tommy Bruggink

Batumi Aquarium / Henning Larsen Architects | ArchDaily http://bit.ly/bsQBQL

8:35 PM Aug 14th

Luiz Pereira Barreto

12:31 AM Aug 15th

inhsin

Batumi Aquarium / Henning Larsen Architects http://is.gd/eiffc

8:32 AM Aug 15th

Craig Rozynski

Beautiful architecture. Winning submission for Georgia's Batummi Aquarium: http://bit.ly/cZ8j0G

5:57 PM Aug 15th

Suddi Raval

i tweeted this a few months ago.. proposal for Aquarium in Denmark.. well it's won and given the green light! http://tinyurl.com/2duonn7

5:58 PM Aug 15th

OJ Borg

RT @suddiraval: i tweeted this a few months ago.. proposal for Aquarium in Denmark.. well it's won and given the green light! http://tinyurl.com/2duonn7

8:46 PM Aug 15th

Tatsuya Ochiumi

超有機的建築　→　http://bit.ly/9blrmN

8:12 AM Aug 16th

Anthony Bibby

WOW! Denmarks new aquarium building drawings… http://is.gd/ek0Ra

8:33 AM Aug 16th

Scott Liddell

RT @AnthonyBibby: WOW! Denmarks new aquarium building drawings… http://is.gd/ek0Ra

8:49 AM Aug 16th

Casey McArdle

aquarium designed out of giant beach pebbles http://tinyurl.com/2duonn7 #architecture #art #aquarium