The Blue Planet Copenhagen, Danmarks Akvarium building images, Kbh esign architecture pictures

The Blue Planet, Denmark

Blaa Planet København Akvarium: Danish Aquarium Building design by 3XN, Denmark

3 Oct 2013

Blue Planet

The Blue Planet wins World Architecture Festival Award

photo from 3XN

Blaa Planet

23 Apr 2012

Blaa Planet

The Blue Planet – Denmark’s New Aquarium

Location: Kastrup, Copenhagen

Architect: 3XN

photo from 3XN

Inspired by the shape of water in endless motion, Denmark’s new National Aquarium, The Blue Planet is shaped as a great whirlpool, and the building itself tells the story of what awaits inside.

Into Another World

The walls and roofs form a single, continuous flow and the longest of the whirlpool’s arms follows the shape of the landscape and the building, moving into the land inviting visitors inside. As soon as visitors arrive at The Blue Planet, the building will convey a sense of the special experience that awaits them inside. Here, the whirlpool has pulled you into another world – a world beneath the surface of the sea. If you tilt your head backwards, you understand that you are really a part of this aquarium because the roof above the foyer is made of glass, and at the same time it is the bottom of a pool.

photograph from 3XN

Flexible Flows Between Exhibitions

The Round Room is a centre of navigation in the aquarium, and this is where visitors choose which river, lake or ocean to explore. Each exhibition has its own face towards the Round Room, each with its own entrance, starting with a buffer zone – a platform where sound and images are used to introduce the atmosphere communicated in the ensuing exhibition room.

photo from 3XN

One with the Surrounding Landscape

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.

Complex Building Project

The Blue Planet is a building of great complexity, and 3XN has taken on the role as project manager for 15 sub-consultants – including Kvorning Exhibition Designers and the Australian aquarium experts AAT. Ambitions have been sky high from the outset, and the construction of the special double curved facade has been a development project in itself, which has proven a great challenge to all parties involved.

The Blue Planet is scheduled for completion in 2013.

The Blue Planet, Copenhagen, Denmark – building opening news
Architects: 3XN

photo from architect
The Blue Planet – 20 Mar 2013
Tomorrow, when The Blue Planet is inaugurated Denmark will have North Europe’s largest and most modern aquarium. Furthermore, Denmark has got an aquarium with a unique architecture, which is not to be seen anywhere else in the world.

23 Apr 2012

The Blue Planet Copenhagen

Blue Planet Aquarium – News Update

Architect: 3XN

New images:

renderings © 3XN

The Blue Planet will be Northern Europe’s largest and most modern aquarium. Architecturally, the aquarium is shaped like a whirlpool, giving associations to eddies of fish, birds and sea currents. The building site is in Copenhagen, at the island of Amager, right at the coast of Øresund, north of Kastrup Havn, close to the Copenhagen Airport, and viewed from a plane the whirlpool shape will be shown in full. Approaching on the ground, one will experience the building as floating in a circular reflection pool, and a walk through its interior is a travel through several organic worlds. The solution also takes into account that the aquarium can later be expanded. The building’s gross area is 9,000 m2 plus outdoor facilities of 2,000 m2 plus parking.

Construction started in October 2010 and when the tank is finished in spring 2013, it will be one of Denmark’s biggest tourist attractions with around 700,000 visitors on a yearly basis. Moreover, it will the only aquarium in Denmark, primarily focused on exotic animals and plants – and hence global biodiversity. The building is now so far that the shell is finished and the steel structure is erected. Currently the molding of the walls is taking place. In total there will be placed 27.000m2 metal furring, which after the casting will be removed. The installation of aquarium techniques has begun and is expected to be completed in October 2012.

model photos © Adam Mørk

Follow the construction via webcam (updated every 15 minutes): http://www.denblaaplanet.dk/Byggeriet/Pages/Webkamera.aspx

8 Oct 2008

Blaa Planet København

2008-

Architect: 3XN

The Blue Planet becomes a Whirlpool

Danish architects 3XN wins competition on the new Denmark’s Aquarium, ‘The Blue Planet’ planned to open 2013.

3XNs winning proposal is called ‘Whirlpool’ inspired by the whirl streams of the sea, shoals of fish, and swirling starlings turning the sky black. The centre of the building is the hall, from which the different parts are ‘whirled’ in the slightly curved sequence of rooms, at the same time ensuring that the aquarium will be easy to extend.

renderings © 3XN

The Blue Planet building site is in Copenhagen, at the island of Amager, right at the coast of Øresund, north of Kastrup Havn, close to the Copenhagen Airport, and viewed from a plane the whirlpool shape will show in its full. Approaching on the ground, one will experience the building as floating in a circular reflection pool, and a walk through its interior is a travel through several organic worlds.

Designing The Blue Planet the architects team was indeed inspired by nature, says principal of 3XN, Kim Herforth Nielsen.
“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. A sculpture at the coast it unites the natural elements of water, air and earth.”

Bent Frank, Chairman of the consortium behind The Blue Planet has great hopes for the future of the new Denmark’s Aquarium, saying that

“the 3XN winning proposal is based on the clear idea and strikes one as a very convincing piece of architecture. It has the potential for making the new Denmark’s Aquarium a pivotal point for extraordinary experiences and new insights into the world of science. With this extraordinary design I believe The Blue Planet will become a true landmark for Copenhagen and Denmark and for all visitors, whether they arrive by plane, by boat or passing over the bridge from Sweden.”

The architectural competition on The Blue Planet was launched in December last year with six selected architectural firms competing. In March this year two proposals were selected for a last round, and out of these two 3XNs proposal Whirlpool is now appointed the winner of the competition.

Organized together with the Architect’s Association of Denmark, the consortium behind The Blue Planet is comprised by Denmark’s Aquarium, Realdania, Knud Højgaards Fond and Tårnby Kommune.

Inspired by the shape of water in endless motion, The Blue Planet is shaped as a great whirlpool. The new Denmark’s Aquarium is situated in the borderland between the worlds of Poseidon and Zeus. The walls and roofs form a single, continuous flow and are clad in a way which emphasises the wavy outline of the building, thereby telling a story of this union. The first and longest of the whirlpool’s arms follows the shape of the landscape and the building, moving into the land.

As soon as visitors arrive at The Blue Planet, the building will convey a sense of the special experience that awaits them inside. Here, the whirlpool has pulled you into another world – a world beneath the surface of the sea. If you tilt your head backwards, you understand that you are really a part of this aquarium because the roof above the foyer is made of glass, and at the same time it is the bottom of a pool. High above, through the pool water, you can see the sky with sunlight being reflected in the water and forming flickering, shimmering sunspots on the floor and walls of this light, welcoming and at the same time mysterious entrance area.

Raised a few metres above the terrain, The Blue Planet is a reflection of strong coherence; greatness in the smallest of things, all water in the world being inextricably linked, from the enormous forces of tsunamis to the infinitely tiny, spinning molecules. Overlooking the Øresund, the building connects land and sea, drawing both the great outdoors and visitors inside.

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. Any expansion would cause a minimum of inconvenience to the contemporary exhibitions and the existing parts of the building. The extensions can simply be added to an individual arm, solely closing this particular section down during the extension process and not re-opening it until completion. Secondly, the key element is that any new building volumes added will be extensions of the architecture, with any expansion of the aquarium simply taking place in a natural dialogue with the building itself.

Nature and culture can be mixed, controlled by topics and ideas, on the basis of the stories to be told or in interaction with the audience. The building is flexible enough to accommodate it all, and the dominant whirl, with its endless scope for variation, but also repetition and rhythm, holds it all together. The curves which define the absolutely unique and sculptural look of the building must be perceived as part of the backdrops to the sceneries of the exhibitions.

The Blue Planet Copenhagen – Building Information

Address: Kajakvej, 2770 Kastrup, DK
Client: Danish Enterprise and Construction Authority
Competition: 1st prize in invited competition
Project development: 2010-13
Size: 9.000 m2
Budget: € 25m

Blue Planet Copenhagen images from 3XN Architects

3XN

Location: Kajakvej, 2770 Kastrup, Copenhagen, Denmark