Architecture

Huge new aquarium to form centerpiece of Miami's Museum of Science

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The Gulf Stream Tank aquarium will form the centerpiece of the new Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science
The Gulf Stream Tank aquarium will form the centerpiece of the new Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science
Visitors to the museum will be able to look down into the Gulf Stream Tank
The Gulf Stream Tank has a 30 ft oculus at its bottom that allows visitors to look up into the tank
Model of the Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science
The Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science will be completed in 2016
Pouring the concrete for the construction of the Gulf Stream Tank
The Gulf Stream Tank required 120 truckloads of concrete to be constructed
The Gulf Stream Tank has a surface area of 9,000 sq ft (836 sq m)
The Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science is due to open in 2016
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An impressive engineering operation has been carried out to create the centerpiece of the new Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science in Miami. Created in one continuous concrete pour that took 24 hours and 49 minutes, the 500,000 gal (1,900,000 l) Gulf Stream Tank aquarium will be home to a number of deep sea species which visitors will be able to view from both top and bottom.

The creation of the cone-shaped Gulf Stream Tank, which forms part of a larger aquarium, is one part of the Miami Science Museum redevelopment as it becomes the Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science. The new museum has been designed by Grimshaw Architects.

As well as being able to look down into the open surface of the tank that is 100 ft (30 m) in diameter, visitors to the completed venue will be able to look up into it through an oculus that is 30 ft diameter. The oculus is reminiscent of the dome at New York's Fulton Center, which is also designed by Grimshaw.

Pouring the concrete for the construction of the Gulf Stream Tank

To ensure the integrity of the tank once complete, the concrete had to be poured continuously. It took 120 truckloads to transport the 1,200 cu yd (920,000 l) of concrete required to form the structure. Crews then worked to spread the concrete over the 9,000 sq ft (836 sq m) surface area of the tank.

The tank walls vary between 28-in (71 cm) and 56-in (142 cm) of thickness and the structure also includes 370 tons (336 tonnes) of epoxy coated steel reinforcement and 700 high-strength post tensioning cables to prevent it from cracking.

Once completed, the Gulf Stream Tank will house hammerhead sharks, tuna, sea turtles and other deep sea species. The Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science is due to open in 2016.

The video below is a time-lapse of the concrete being poured to create the aquarium.

Source: Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science

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2 comments
kalqlate
Philip Frost and his wife are doing wonderful things for Miami. Here's an AMAZING animation of the entire museum project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxLmYEUC70o.
In case you don't know who Philip Frost is, a philanthropic billionaire who found success in pharmaceuticals: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phillip_Frost
A great gander at his home on Star Island, Florida: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8lv3e3br1U.
vcr
Well I think it might be smart to now STOP building anything expensive in Miami since it will all be drowned over the next 50 years (If the global warmed seas DO rise - Miami is going to be drowned !) - but humans are idiots and moneyed people have to get their names out there, it would be nice if the money were spent on getting the world sorted out instead ! Of course, once drowned all those creatures swimming in that pool will get their freedom, so that is nice ! I just hate to see humans doing nonsense !