Thought it was about time that we got some information about what in the not-too-distant future will be the biggest aquarium in Northern Europe. This new mega-structure will the called The Blue Planet and located by the beach just outside central Copenhagen. The Blue Planet aquarium is actually the reconstruction of the old Denmark's Aquarium. Denmark's Aquarium still exists but has not changed much since its opening in 1939 (except for an extension in 1974) and is completely out of date. The brand new aquarium The Blue Planet will be very interesting architecturally and shaped like a giant vortex. The plans of The Blue Planet have already been published and are at display in the foyer of Denmark’s Aquarium. I went there this week and have taken some photos as you can see below. The new thematic exhibitions in The Blue Planet will be as follows: The Ocean The largest tank in The Blue Planet will feature life from the tropical oceans. Large sharks and rays, sea turtles, barracudas, moray eels and groupers will be among the highlights. The tank will be 7 meters tall (23 ft.) and contain 3.6 million liters of water and feature a glass tunnel going through. The Coral Reefs The Coral Reefs section will feature many species of tropical fish as well as small sharks, moray eels, octopuses and sea horses. Mediterranean Single tank with smaller fish from the Mediterranean Sea. Shape, colour and function This section displays different species of fish with special adaptations or living in unusual environments. There will also be a section about evolution and how the first fish went on land and some live fish similar to those. Amazon The Amazon section consists of a large tropical rainforest house featuring “The flooded forest”. There will be several aquaria with highlights such as arapaimas, arowanas, pacus, red piranhas and several hundreds more. You will also be able to see green anacondas, several free-flying birds (such as toucans) and butterflies. The African Lakes A section telling the story of the three oldest lakes in Africa; Tanganyika, Malawi and Victoria. The theme here will be parallel evolution and how the fish in the different lakes have developed differently after being separated. The highlights in this section will be crocodiles, nile perches, many species of cichlids, various lizards and rock hyraxes. The Danish Lakes, Rivers and Oceans A series of thematic aquaria showing some of the aquatic life in Denmark. The main theme here will be the food chain featured in many different habitats. The many aquaria will be biotope-aquaria with both large and small fishes. The Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands are located out in the Atlantic Ocean and is a part of Denmark. This open exhibit will feature a cliff side on which Atlantic puffins and guillemots will have their nest. They will have access to the large pool in which also large fish from the Atlantic, such as cods, will live. The ceiling will be open with only a net across so it will have changing seasons. The Lake In the outdoor lake visitors will be able to see various Danish native freshwater fish as well as koi carps and goldfish. The idea is also to encourage wild waterfowl to use the lake. The Sea Otters One of the absolute highlights will be the new outdoor pool featuring sea otters. The sea otters will be viewable from both inside and outside. One of the great things about this project is that they have already planned the next couple of extensions to The Blue Planet. Phase two will feature penguins and a new Baltic Sea aquarium while phase three will feature themes housing animals from the mangroves and tropical lagoons. The Blue Planet will open in year 2013
I am incredibly interested in this project as I will only have to take a short train ride to get there when it is opened in 2013 - can´t wait for that! I have been thrilled by the brilliant architecture ever since the project was announced. So nice to finally also get some more detailed info on the planned exhibits! I downloded the picture of the "roof-less" model, enlarged it and studied it for a long time. Could you tell me a little bit more about it, Toddy? Where is each exhibit situated? I can find "The Ocean" and even read the word "tunnel". Perhaps the exhibit at the right upper corner is "The African Lakes"? But the rest? Also, what about phase two and phase three?!! "Extensions"?! Surely they are not going to add more buildings, are they?! I think I will have to go to Charlottenlund (the place for the current Denmark´s Aquarium) this weekend and check out the exhibition of these building plans!
@Dan: I had to size down the picture of the "roofless" model to make it fit on the forum. I have it in a much higher resolution where you can easily see all the exhibit labels. If you PM me your e-mail adress I will gladly send it to you But no, the section in the upper right corner is the "Amazon". "The African Lakes" is the area with green plants in the centre of the structure. Yes, the building has been designed so that it is possible to add on without ruining the structure. If you would like I can also send you a photo that shows where the extensions will go? PM me if your are interested
Those plans seems really interesting. Hope that they will come out well. What will happen to the current Denmark's Aquarium?
The current buildings in Charlottenlund are listed and will stay there but they will no longer house an aquarium. I don't know what the old buildings will be used for but the whole aquarium will move to The Blue Planet
Interesting question, what do do with a building built for this extremely specialized purpose when it will no longer be used for that? I received some very nice high resolution pictures from Toddy (thanks again!) and is all the more excited about this project!
hello, Toddy! I'm an architecture student from Brazil, and i'm also very interested in this project! would it be possible for you to send it to me too? I woul be very glad!! thanks!
For all you architecture fans: The Blue Planet, Conpenhagen Aquarium in 2013 by 3XN | Tuvie – Industrial Design and Future Technology http://www.worldarchitecturenews.com/index.php?fuseaction=wanappln.projectview&upload_id=10086
@Larissa: I have sent the pictures in a high resolution to your e-mail adress @jwer: No, botos was never the plan for The Blue Planet. Two other places in Scandinavia have anounced their plans to get botos: Kristiansand Aquarium in Norway and Tropebyen Slagelse (Tropical City Slagelse) in Denmark. Both are still in the planning phases.
hello ! new group copenhagen zoo the new danmarks aqvarium 2013 is very good for the aqvarium beacuse the aqvarium know is old and they cant build new thing but the new aqvarium can build more say the website to danmarks aqvarium
latest news: Among others, manta rays and hammerhead sharks have been confirmed for this exhibit. Building proceeds as expected and opening still scheduled for Spring 2013.
May i bump this thread to ask for more info on this aquarium? Are they really going to have giant hammerhead, manta ray, sea otter and whale shark?
So far I cannot give you any more detailed information than I have done in the first post in this thread. I have not heard the confirmation in hammerheads and manta rays (but maybe condor can help you there) but I have heard confirmation on sea otters (imported from North America). Whale sharks will not happen.
Sea otters, eh? If accurate, it would seem those in charge have somehow got the US department of fish and game to relax a bit on the subject, as nowhere else has managed to have any luck convincing the USA to let the species out of the country. If this aquarium is half as good as it sounds like it might be, it'll be a definite motivator to visit Denmark - I already want to see the Tassie devils at Copenhagen Zoo, but going abroad for a single collection is a bit less cost-effective than doing so for two!
Well, I don't know where they will be getting them from but might there be another country in North America that might be a bit more loose on the subject? *coughCanadacough* Mind you, this is just me guessing. They might just have good contacts in the USA.
definitely not. Alaska was the plan. The plans are still sea otters but it's been very difficult. If they can't get any for the opening, the enclosure will probably have sea lions (not sure what type) instead. At least until they -- hopefully -- get the otters. both have been ordered from Taiwan and at least the hammerheads are already in holding tanks. For obvious reasons nothing has been shipped yet -- the aquarium has to be finished first. I believe the mantas will be M. alfredi (M. alfredi vs. M. birostris). btw, 'Blå Planet' ('Blue Planet') was mainly a temporary name used to distinguish it from the old Danmarks Akavarium (Denmark's Aquarium). From what I can understand, now that the old facilities have been entirely closed, the main name for the soon-to-be-finished aquarium will be Danmarks Akvarium. If everything continues to go as planned, official opening will be on 22 March 2013.
Hope they get them, but I won't hold my breath. If they have to get sealions instead, I hope they go for one I haven't seen so it is still worthwhile - maybe Steller's
