Located on an island at the mouth of the Yangtze River, the Shanghai Yangtze River Estuary Chinese Sturgeon Nature Preserve will be a 427,000-sf facility comprising a dual-function aquarium and research facility. The project will help rescue critically endangered species and restore biodiversity to a habitat plagued by pollution.
The facility will include a series of interior and exterior pools for breeding and raising both Chinese sturgeon and finless porpoises. The pools will mimic the species’ natural migration into waters of varying size and salinity. There will also be dedicated facilities for research and to assist with reintegration to the animals’ natural habitat. The work being done will be visible to visitors through an immersive aquarium and exhibit experience.
The facility’s design will feature undulating forms inspired by the rippling surface of the adjacent river and the landscape of the Upper Yangtze. Curving wooden structural ribs surround a central spine that joins the building’s three wings. A lightweight enclosure system is clad in translucent PTFE to allow natural daylight into the interior.
Other sustainable design strategies include a cross-laminated timber structural system, geothermal heating and cooling loops, and constructed wetlands of local flora and waterborne plants for rapid carbon sequestration and a process of biofiltration for aquarium water.
See Also: Seoul’s Robot Science Museum will be built by robots
Suspended walkways and viewing areas will cross the campus and allow visitors to immerse themselves in the landscape design that reconstructs the shoreline system and the variety of ecoregions throughout the Yangtze River basin.
Click for larger image.
Click for larger image.
Related Stories
| Apr 2, 2014
8 tips for avoiding thermal bridges in window applications
Aligning thermal breaks and applying air barriers are among the top design and installation tricks recommended by building enclosure experts.
| Mar 26, 2014
Callison launches sustainable design tool with 84 proven strategies
Hybrid ventilation, nighttime cooling, and fuel cell technology are among the dozens of sustainable design techniques profiled by Callison on its new website, Matrix.Callison.com.
| Mar 20, 2014
Common EIFS failures, and how to prevent them
Poor workmanship, impact damage, building movement, and incompatible or unsound substrate are among the major culprits of EIFS problems.
| Mar 19, 2014
Frames: the biggest value engineering tip
In every aspect of a metal building, you can tweak the cost by adjusting the finish, panel thickness, and panel profile. These changes might make a few percentage points difference in the cost. Change the framing and you have the opportunity to affect 10-20 percent savings to the metal building portion of the project.
| Mar 17, 2014
Rem Koolhaas explains China's plans for its 'ghost cities'
China's goal, according to Koolhaas, is to de-incentivize migration into already overcrowded cities.
| Mar 12, 2014
14 new ideas for doors and door hardware
From a high-tech classroom lockdown system to an impact-resistant wide-stile door line, BD+C editors present a collection of door and door hardware innovations.
| Mar 7, 2014
Thom Mayne's high-tech Emerson College LA campus opens in Hollywood [slideshow]
The $85 million, 10-story vertical campus takes the shape of a massive, shimmering aircraft hangar, housing a sculptural, glass-and-aluminum base building.
| Mar 7, 2014
Chicago's 7 most threatened buildings: Guyon Hotel, Jeffrey Theater make the list
The 2014 edition of Preservation Chicago's annual Chicago's 7 list includes an L station house, public school, theater, manufacturing district, power house, and hotel.
| Mar 4, 2014
If there’s no ‘STEM crisis,’ why build more STEM schools?
Before you get your shorts in a knot, I have nothing against science, technology, engineering, or even mathematics; to the contrary, I love all four “STEM” disciplines (I’m lying about the math). But I question whether we need to be building K-12 schools that overly emphasize or are totally devoted to STEM.
| Feb 26, 2014
Adaptive reuse project brings school into historic paper mill
The project features nontraditional classrooms for collaborative learning, an arts and music wing, and a technologically sophisticated global resource center.
