Melbourne Aquarium, Public aquarium in central Melbourne, Australia.
Melbourne Aquarium is a building on the Yarra River whose facade, with pale blue and white panels and four white sail-like canopies, was designed by Peddle Thorp to resemble a ship moored to the river. It extends 7 metres below street level and holds a 2,200,000-litre oceanarium in the round at its centre.
Designed by Peddle Thorp architects to resemble a ship, the building opened in 2000 after two years of construction on its riverside site. Its location along the Yarra River connects it to Melbourne's maritime heritage.
The building's ship-like form, designed by Peddle Thorp, is a nod to the river trade that once filled the Yarra beside it. Inside, the one-way route passes through named zones such as Seahorse Pier, Shipwreck Explorer and Coral Atoll, each staged as a distinct setting rather than a plain tank room.
The self-guided route runs one way across four levels, from the upper rainforest gallery down to the Ocean Discovery level, so allow time to descend rather than backtrack. The building extends 7 metres below street level and sits beside the Flinders Street Viaduct and King Street Bridge; the entrance added in 2008 is on the corner of Flinders and King Streets.
The central Mermaid Garden is a 2.2-million-litre oceanarium built in the round, so visitors stand at its centre and the marine life swims around them rather than past a window. It holds a grey nurse shark and sandbar whaler sharks among up to 2,000 creatures. The building itself extends 7 metres below street level.
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