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
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- © Henning Larsen Architects
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- © Henning Larsen Architects
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- © Henning Larsen Architects
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- © Henning Larsen Architects
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- © Henning Larsen Architects
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- © Henning Larsen Architects
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- © Henning Larsen Architects
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- © Henning Larsen Architects
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- © Henning Larsen Architects
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- © Henning Larsen Architects
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- © Henning Larsen Architects
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- © Henning Larsen Architects
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- © Henning Larsen Architects
what’s up with the pebbles… it looks like a rearranged version of that snohetta project. you know which one, dammit! xD
hasn’t this already been featured on archdaily?
So literal it makes me want to cry
cry
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.
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….
ohh noooooooooooooooooo……
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/
Disgusting
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
Awesome! Delightful to see architects working so far out of the box. I think it is fantastic. It takes my breath away with its originality.
specill
good concept! i like that