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ePaper created 2015-01-28, 14:04:45 | version 1.34.00
Education + Culture profile 14 schueco.com 47 in the shape of a gigantic whirlpool located directly next to Copenhagen Airport. Admittedly, the whirlpool shape is no lon- ger so easily recognisable from the perspective of a pedestrian. But this does nothing to dimi- nish the strength of the link between the images created in the minds of the visitors and the attractions on show inside the building. For example, the five organically shaped wings of the building initially trigger associations with a huge starfish while, viewed from close up, the façades, which are made from a total of 33,000 diamond-shaped aluminium shingles, are remi- niscent of the matt silver-grey scales of a carp. Here, the idea of the whirlpool does not just contribute to the visual appearance or recog- nisability of the building, which is situated direct- ly on the seashore, but also serves highly practi- cal functions. It allows the operator to enlarge the aquarium in a comparatively simple way by extending the »arms«, each of which has a steel framework construction, without affecting ongoing operation or ruining the basic form of the whirlpool. The main entrance of the aquarium, which opened in mid-2013, is located on the south side between two wings of the building as well as between two pools, which are also curved, that have been placed outside the entrance. The visitors arriving from the visitors car park feel as if they are descending into an underwater world. Accordingly, after negotiating the ticket sales area and a souvenir shop, first of all they reach the calm centre of the whirlpool, a round foyer, from which pathways curving towards all points of the compass provide access to the variety of fresh water and saltwater habitats from all over the world. Here, aquatic plants and animals can be seen in very large spaces with vast pools and walk-through underwater glass tunnels as well as in more familiar areas with wall-integrated aquaria. Altogether, »Den Blå Planet« features 53 aquaria which hold a total of approximately 7 million litres of water. For an atmospheric presentation of the under- water worlds, most of the rooms are immersed in a well-staged semi-darkness, which shows off the blue-glowing pools of swimming fish to even greater effect. The only exception to this is the Amazon area, which is flooded with light. This is located in the northeastern arm facing the sea and offers experiences both below and above the waterline. In order to supply the flora and fauna (butterflies and birds as well as piranhas and anacondas) there with sufficient daylight, a mullion/transom façade with silver-coloured anodised profiles (Schüco FW 50 + ) and doub- le-pane solar shading insulating glass were used Gebäudeschnitte M 1:500 Building cross section, scale 1:500 aa bb g Die Glaswand des »Ozeaneums« ist 70 Tonnen schwer, 16 Meter breit und acht Meter hoch. g The glass wall of the »Oceaneum« weighs 70 tonnes and is 16 metres wide and 8 metres high. d Ein besonderes Erlebnis ist der Gang durch den Glastunnel. Das Ozeaneum fasst insgesamt vier Millionen Liter Salzwasser. d Moving through the glass tunnel is a special experience. The Oceaneum holds a total of four million litres of saltwater.