The internationally celebrated Monterey Bay Aquarium is sited on the water’s edge of Monterey Bay on historic Cannery Row. With an annual attendance of 1.8 million visitors from across the globe, the Aquarium is a major attraction in California. A primary feature of this building is the largest exhibit in the Aquarium, the one-million-gallon sea water Open Sea tank.
Apeiro Design was contacted to update the original design (also designed by Apeiro Design) with contemporary light sources and added features. Through a series of on-site mock-ups, the final design was determined with a few changes to the original concept. The key modification was the change to a newly available very high color rendering metal halide lamp that dramatically improved the appearance of the animals. In addition, dramatic narrow beam “sunlight shafts” were increased in number and a directional fan was added to the top of the exhibit to move the water surface, increasing the ripple and bounce of beams of light traveling through the water.
Shafts of “sunlight” pierce the water. The “sunlight” is created by very narrow beam, high color rendering metal halide light fixtures. There is no natural daylight in the tank.
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Description
View of the tank and light fixtures above the water.
Project Details
Location
Monterey, California
Discipline
Architectural Lighting
Client
Monterey Bay Aquarium
Size
1 Million Gallons
Services
Exhibit/Tank Lighting Design
Awards
2013, Award of Excellence by the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America
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