Vancouver Aquarium
Vancouver
Project info
Opening its doors in 1956, today the Vancouver Aquarium is a world-renowned tourist attraction and marine life learning centre that supports marine research, conservation, and rehabilitation. In 2007, the Aquarium retained Musson Cattell Mackey Partnership Architects (MCMP) to create a master plan that would expand and improve the complex through five phases of construction.
We worked closely with MCMP to design the unique curvature of the exterior walls, which feature LED Lighting, natural zinc panels, and Alucobond panels in Spectra Sakura. This colour-shifting finish created a fish scale effect, while Alucobond was also used for the curved skylight surrounds in the entry canopy.
We also fabricated and installed the one-of-a-kind, aluminum-plate donor wall, custom CNC-milled to portray a fluid wave pattern. Installed over these panels are blue glass fish, inscribed with the donors’ names. With no detail overlooked, we even developed the custom mounting system for the glass fish using stainless steel stand-offs.
Year Complete
2014
Surfaces
Aluminum Composite Material (ACM)AluminumZincGlass Wall Panels
Systems
System A
Architect
MCMP
Contractor
PCL Constructors
What Our Clients Say
“We were looking for an architectural element that was uniquely evocative of the aquarium’s mission. We were quite familiar with Alucobond and looked at the Spectra Sakura finish to create the fish-scale coloration. It really produced the desired effect. [It] also had to be durable; we as a practice had some very good experience with this material. It was one of our first choices.”
Mark Thompson| Architect AIBC, MRAIC, ANZIA, LEED AP BD+C
Partner
MCMP
