Typically, if you find yourself being submerged in New York’s East River, you probably aren’t having the best of days. But Italian architecture firm Lissoni Architettura, as part of a speculative design competition hosted by Arch Out Loud that sought innovative designs meant to transform New York City’s waterfronts, wanted to remove some of the stigma associated with the East River.
Lissoni Architettura’s concept, NYC Aquatrium, took first place in the Arch Out Loud competition and proposed the idea of building a partially submerged “island” or "shell" aquarium in Long Island City’s 11th street basin that would extend out into the East River, inhabitat.com reports.
The design calls for two islands, connected by a surrounding boardwalk, that would exist in an excavated site turned into a water basin. The island that reaches farther out into the river would be the partially submerged aquarium and would include eight above ground biome domes housing marine life from around the world. Four of the domes would house sea life from the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, and Southern Oceans, while the remaining four would house life from the Caribbean, Mediterranean, Tasman, and Red Seas. An iceberg at the center of the island would represent the North and South poles.
“The main idea is to generate an environment whereby visitors feel that they themselves are entering the water to discover the beauty of the marine life on display,” the firm wrote in its project proposal.
The second island would act as a green space during the day and retract to cover the partially submerged island at night, creating a shell not only to protect the arena and the biome domes within, but also to take on a “second life” as a planetarium.
The design is nothing more than a concept with no intention of actually being built, but if the idea of the Arch Out Loud contest was to spark the imagination of what could become of New York’s waterfronts in the future, this design certainly accomplished that goal.
Rendering Courtesy of Lissoni Architettura and Arch Out Loud
Rendering Courtesy of Lissoni Architettura and Arch Out Loud
Rendering Courtesy of Lissoni Architettura and Arch Out Loud
Related Stories
Mixed-Use | Aug 16, 2016
Goettsch Partners completes mixed-use tower in R&F Yingkai Square
The 66-story building is now the 7th tallest completed building in Guangzhou.
| Aug 15, 2016
SPORTS FACILITY GIANTS: New and renovated college sports venues - designed to serve students and the community
Schools are renovating existing structures or building new sports facilities that can serve the student body and surrounding community.
| Aug 15, 2016
Top 50 Sports Facility Architecture Firms
Populous, HKS, and HOK top Building Design+Construction’s annual ranking of the nation’s largest sports facility sector architecture and A/E firms, as reported in the 2016 Giants 300 Report.
| Aug 15, 2016
MILITARY GIANTS: Cross-laminated timber construction gets a salute from the Army
By privatizing the construction, renovation, operation, maintenance, and ownership of its hotels the Army expects to cut a 20-year timetable for repairs and replacement of its lodging down to eight years.
| Aug 15, 2016
Top 30 Military Architecture Firms
HDR, Clark Nexsen, and Guernsey top Building Design+Construction’s annual ranking of the nation’s largest military sector architecture and A/E firms, as reported in the 2016 Giants 300 Report.
| Aug 12, 2016
SCIENCE + TECHNOLOGY GIANTS: Incubator model is reimagining research and lab design
Interdisciplinary interaction is a common theme among many new science and technology offices.
| Aug 12, 2016
Top 40 Science + Technology Architecture Firms
Perkins+Will, HDR, and HOK top Building Design+Construction’s annual ranking of the nation’s largest science + technology sector architecture and A/E firms, as reported in the 2016 Giants 300 Report.
| Aug 12, 2016
OFFICE GIANTS: Technology is giving office workers the chance to play musical chairs
Technology is redefining how offices function and is particularly salient in the growing trend of "hoteling" and "hot seating" or "free addressing."
| Aug 12, 2016
Top 100 Office Architecture Firms
Gensler, HOK, and Perkins+Will top Building Design+Construction’s annual ranking of the nation’s largest office sector architecture and A/E firms, as reported in the 2016 Giants 300 Report.
| Aug 11, 2016
RETAIL GIANTS: Retailers and developers mix it up to stay relevant with shoppers
Retail is becoming closely aligned with entertainment, and malls that can be repositioned as lifestyle centers will have enhanced value.
