As Associate Architect and Architect of Record, we worked closely with The Portico Group in Seattle on the new shark exhibit at the New York Aquarium on Coney Island. This new construction is an initial component of New York City’s revitalization plan for the historic seaside Coney Island neighborhood and houses over 115 marine species. One of the project’s many challenging features was the implementation of artist Ned Kahn’s ‘shimmer wall’ of more than 40,000 free-swinging aluminum flappers that wrap the building on a tension cable structure and move gently with the wind. A continuously curving ramp along the building’s perimeter leads to an observation point on the roof and a view of the Atlantic Ocean not previously available to aquarium visitors.

Client: Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).
Program: cultural, commercial.
Size: 58,0000 SF.
Team: Associate Architects: PG Architects, Structural: MLA Engineering, Mechanical: Kallen & Lemelson Consulting,
Civil: Strandberg & Associates,
Lighting: Focus Lighting,
General Contractor: Turner Construction.
Awards: Association of Zoos & Aquariums | Top Honors in Exhibits, 2019. NYCxDesign Awards | Architectural Installation/Pop-Up, 2019. NYC Public Design Commission | Excellence in Design, 2012.
Photography: David Sundberg / ESTO.