11,000 sq m aquarium by Danish practice 3XN to open in Copenhagen next week

A swirling mass of twinkling metal on the coast of Øresund, Copenhagen is due to open on 21 March. Designed by local firm 3XN, the inventive practice behind the Bella Sky Hotel and Middelfart Savings Bank, The Blue Planet is an 11,000 sq m complex that holds the title of the largest aquarium in Northern Europe.

With 9,000 sq m of interior space and outdoor facilities totalling 2,000 sq m, the aquarium combines elements of land and sea to provide an all-encompassing experience for its eager visitors. This experience begins at the entrance with the building’s metallic form curving inwards, welcoming visitors inside in a motion which mirrors that of a whirlpool, enfolding guests into its swirling depths.

3XN says of its concept: “Designing The Blue Planet we wanted to stage a totality of the experience one has visiting an aquarium. The starting point was this magnificent experience of actually watching fish in their element. We wanted to create that adventurous feeling, and we took inspiration in the natural phenomenon of the whirlpool or maelstrom drawing you into the deep.”

The design of The Blue Planet is such that visitors are encouraged to succumb to the full experience, imagining that they are fully submerged beneath the waves. A glassy roof to the main lobby acts as the surface of the sea, casting shimmering patterns of light across the floor of the entrance as if the sunlight has been refracted by the ocean above.

Once in The Round Room, visitors are greeted with a number of options. Each display space within the aquarium leads off this central volume and ‘visitors choose which river, lake or ocean to explore’.

This fluid motion is not confined to the interiors, with 3XN furthering: “In the landscape, the great whirlpool continues through the terrain, the pools and the sea surrounding the building. Like watery currents, the building is not static – the movement continues into the future by virtue of always allowing possible extensions to add more, simply by letting the lines of the whirlpool grow further out.”

The main contributors to The Blue Planet are Realdania, Knud Højgaard’s Fond, Tårnby Municipality as well as Her Majesty Queen Margrethe and His Royal Highness Prince Henrik’s Fund. The building will be inaugurated by Her Majesty Queen Margrethe on 21 March 2013.

Source: http://www.worldarchitecturenews.com/index.php?fuseaction=wanappln.projectview&upload_id=22227

Tea With An Architect

Gabrielle Omar, best known as the first architect to appear on BBC1’s hit TV show The Apprentice, is launching a new campaign, ‘Tea With An Architect’ to integrate communities with their local architect.

Director of architectural practice ‘Gabrielle Omar and Associates’, Gabrielle left The Apprentice hailing for a brand overhaul in the architecture profession. Following her increased interaction with the public after the show, Gabrielle has realised that the large, iconic buildings springing up in the City, and their association with ‘star architects’, overshadow the general public’s knowledge of what an architect’s role really involves. Her new campaign intends to integrate the community back with their local architect, spreading the word of the profession and the benefits it can bring to homeowners.

Tea with an Architect (TWAA), attempts to produce a platform where members of the public can find their local ‘tea session’ whether it be a ‘Tea With An Architect’ organised event or an existing running session that local architects have formed themselves. Within these ‘tea sessions’, people are invited to bring along ideas, designs and questions for a free consultation with a local architect on topics relating from anything to personal home renovation to desired community aspirations.

The RIBA and its members has backed Gabrielle with the launch of this campaign. Angela Brady, RIBA president commented: “I welcome schemes like “Tea with an Architect” and the RIBA’s “Architect in the House”, they are vital if we are to break down the initial barriers and encourage homeowners to meet casually with an architect. It is a great opportunity to meet architects often for the first time in a friendly setting over a cup of tea. Making ourselves more accessible as a profession is very important in helping the public understand what we do, and how we can help them have better designed homes.”

“Architects design all types of buildings and spaces, from a skyscraper right down to remodelling existing homes or doing a kitchen extension! We can help home owners achieve their aspirations as well as adding value through good design in creating better spaces and a more sustainable building.”

The TWAA website currently hosts small existing events such as the monthly ‘Saturday Architect Surgeries’ at the Bristol Architecture Centre, to larger existing events such as ‘Ask the Expert’ area at Grand Designs Live.

The first ‘Tea with an Architect’ organised event launches at ECOBUILD, at ExCeL London between 5th and 7th March 2013 and look out for us too!

www.teawithanarchitect.com

Source: http://www.architectnews.co.uk/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=417:tea-with-an-architect&Itemid=90