The St. Louis Aquarium at Union Station, a 120,000-sf, attraction built inside the footprint of a 500,000-sf 19th century iron umbrella train shed, has recently opened. The aquarium is the centerpiece of a $160 million family entertainment complex developed for Union Station by Lodging Hospitality Management.
Designed by PGAV Destinations, the two-story project features exhibits and aquatic environments for approximately 13,000 aquatic animals from the world’s rivers and oceans housed in 1.3 million gallons of water. The 250,000-gallon shark exhibit includes a large acrylic panel weighing nearly 14,000-pounds that needed to be placed inside the footprint of the exhibit prior to the concrete structure being completed. Additionally, nearly three miles of pipe was installed to service multiple complex life support systems, each representing a different ecosystem ranging from riverside to oceanside and freshwater to saltwater.
Because the train shed was designated a National Historic Landmark, it was necessary to protect and preserve the original columns, footings, foundation, and underground piping. During construction, McCarthy Building Companies leveraged advanced construction technologies to promote a model based approach to managing the project’s unique construction coordination challenges, such as: using 3D Building Information Modeling (BIM) technologies to pre-coordinate all structure, building systems and theming elements prior to fabrication and installation; model-based field layout and subsurface utility location using robotic total stations; and reality capture with laser scanning of the entire Union Station structure to produce a 3D point cloud with 360-degree photography. In addition, augmented reality was used to compare the 3D models to field installation on site.
See Also: Henning Larsen designs all-timber neighborhood for Copenhagen
The completed St. Louis Aquarium at Union Station is expected to attract one million visitors per year and is operated and managed by ZoOceanarium.
Related Stories
| Jan 28, 2014
Big Ten Conference opens swanky HQ and museum [slideshow]
The new mixed-use headquarters includes a museum, broadcast studios, conference facilities, office spaces, and, oh yeah, a Brazilian steakhouse.
| Jan 13, 2014
Custom exterior fabricator A. Zahner unveils free façade design software for architects
The web-based tool uses the company's factory floor like "a massive rapid prototype machine,” allowing designers to manipulate designs on the fly based on cost and other factors, according to CEO/President Bill Zahner.
| Jan 11, 2014
Getting to net-zero energy with brick masonry construction [AIA course]
When targeting net-zero energy performance, AEC professionals are advised to tackle energy demand first. This AIA course covers brick masonry's role in reducing energy consumption in buildings.
| Dec 30, 2013
Calatrava facing legal action from his home town over crumbling cultural complex
Officials with the city of Valencia, Spain, are blaming Santiago Calatrava for the rapid deterioration of buildings within its City of Arts and Sciences complex.
| Dec 19, 2013
Mastering the art of crowd control and visitor flow in interpretive facilities
To say that visitor facility planning and design is challenging is an understatement. There are many factors that determine the success of a facility. Unfortunately, visitor flow, the way people move and how the facility accommodates those movements, isn’t always specifically considered.
| Dec 13, 2013
Safe and sound: 10 solutions for fire and life safety
From a dual fire-CO detector to an aspiration-sensing fire alarm, BD+C editors present a roundup of new fire and life safety products and technologies.
| Dec 10, 2013
16 great solutions for architects, engineers, and contractors
From a crowd-funded smart shovel to a why-didn’t-someone-do-this-sooner scheme for managing traffic in public restrooms, these ideas are noteworthy for creative problem-solving. Here are some of the most intriguing innovations the BD+C community has brought to our attention this year.
| Nov 27, 2013
BIG's 'oil and vinegar' design wins competition for the Museum of the Human Body [slideshow]
The winning submission by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) and A+ Architecture mixes urban pavement and parkland in a flowing, organic plan, like oil and vinegar, explains Bjarke Ingels.
| Nov 27, 2013
Wonder walls: 13 choices for the building envelope
BD+C editors present a roundup of the latest technologies and applications in exterior wall systems, from a tapered metal wall installation in Oklahoma to a textured precast concrete solution in North Carolina.
| Nov 26, 2013
Construction costs rise for 22nd straight month in November
Construction costs in North America rose for the 22nd consecutive month in November as labor costs continued to increase, amid growing industry concern over the tight availability of skilled workers.
