in detail
Into the deep
Working within the confines of a predetermined building footprint limits possibilities but does inspire creative thinking, as architects Kay Elliott found at the Venice Sea Life centre.
HOLDING more than 150,000 gallons of water and accommodating 5,000 sea creatures, the £7m Jesolo Sea Life centre in Venice is the 34th marine sanctuary project to be developed by the Merlin Entertainments Group. UK architects Kay Elliott was appointed
to design the attraction following work on a number of Sea Life schemes across the globe. Each attraction is designed to be unique to the area in which it is situated and the primary objective of the brief for the Jesolo Sea Life aquarium was to provide a family-friendly attraction within the existing shopping centre mall. An important element of the design was that it should reflect its Venetian location as well as providing exhibits which encourage both children and adults to want to learn and interact with the underwater world. The 2,030sq m attraction is arranged
over two storeys and the predetermined building footprint needed an internal layout which encouraged people to move from one exhibit to another. The design incorporates 14 rooms including include a temple of seahorses, a shipwreck area where tropical fish swim alongside the weathered timber hull of a sunken merchant ship, and many interactive areas where the visitors can experience an underwater journey without
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getting wet. The theming contractor hand carved all the feature mouldings to the walls and used a selection of real timber planks and moulded beams for the shipwreck. An element of fun was intrinsic to the final design and the aim was to create an interactive and immersive series of displays to intrigue, inform and delight visitors to the aquarium. Upon entering, visitors walk into an
introduction room in which a video highlights the ‘not to be missed’ creatures, which serves to whet their appetite for the exhibits they are set to discover. Species they will encounter include sharks, rays, octopi, seahorses and several species of freshwater fish which can be found in the Po and Piave rivers, the Venetian Lagoon and the Adriatic Sea. Every visitor’s journey begins in the
rivers of Northern Italy and Lake Garda. Kay Elliott took its inspiration from the local landscape and created a fresh-feeling outdoor ambience where guests can see local fish along the river beds and waterfalls. Using the area’s natural beauty as its inspiration, it depicts green rich valleys and deep blue lakes beneath lemon and olive trees with colourful foliage. As visitors move towards the Venetian Adriatic lagoon, the journey takes on a light coastal
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