{"id":1806,"date":"2015-02-02T17:58:05","date_gmt":"2015-02-02T17:58:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.alucobondusa.com\/blog\/?p=1806"},"modified":"2025-09-05T14:19:59","modified_gmt":"2025-09-05T14:19:59","slug":"vancouver-aquarium-mimics-aquatic-world-with-colorful-alucobond","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alucobondusa.com\/blog\/vancouver-aquarium-mimics-aquatic-world-with-colorful-alucobond\/","title":{"rendered":"Vancouver Aquarium Mimics Aquatic World With Colorful ALUCOBOND"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"The<\/a>
\nPhoto by Ema Peter<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Project Name:<\/th>\nThe Vancouver Aquarium Expansion<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Project Location:<\/th>\nVancouver, British Columbia<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ALUCOBOND\u00ae Materials:<\/th>\nALUCOBOND\u00ae Spectra Sakura and Custom River Zinc Metallic<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Architect:<\/th>\nMusson Cattell Mackey Partnership (MCMP)<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Fabricator:<\/th>\nKeith Panel Systems Co. Ltd.<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
General Contractor:<\/th>\nPCL Constructors Westcoast, Inc.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Photography:<\/th>\nEma Peter and Keith Panel Systems Co. Ltd.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

The Vancouver Aquarium\u2019s $45-million renovation and expansion was unveiled in June 2014 in Vancouver, British Columbia\u2019s Stanley Park as the most significant expansion in the 58-year history of Canada\u2019s largest marine science center. Designed to evoke the flow of water and the wonder of aquatic life, the new two-story 55,000 square-foot aquarium building features a curvilinear architectural design that is clad in sophisticated color-changing aluminum composite material (ACM) mimicking fish scales in hues ranging from green to pink.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
\nPhoto by Keith Panel Systems<\/p>\n

A total of 12,000 square feet of ALUCOBOND\u00ae ACM in the Spectra Sakura color finish and 4mm thickness was installed on the Vancouver Aquarium building in an advanced pressure-equalized wall system. The ALUCOBOND\u00ae Spectra Colors finishing system was introduced by 3A Composites USA to allow architects to incorporate a unique, ever-changing color spectrum in building cladding. ALUCOBOND\u00ae Spectra Colors change colors as different wavelengths of light are reflected back to the audience, depending upon the viewing angle.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
\nPhoto by Ema Peter<\/p>\n

Mark Thompson, Architect AIBC, MRAIC, ANZIA, LEED AP BD+C, partner, Musson Cattell Mackey Partnership (MCMP) in Vancouver, British Columbia, incorporated a curvilinear building design and ALUCOBOND\u00ae Spectra Sakura cladding as architectural elements that would help establish a new identity and presence for the Vancouver Aquarium within the city\u2019s 1,000-acre Stanley Park.<\/p>\n

Since opening in 1956 in a 9,000-square-foot facility in the park, Canada\u2019s first public aquarium has grown \u201cpiece-by-piece,\u201d according to Thompson, to occupy more than 100,000 square feet.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Vancouver Aquarium is a much-loved institution that we all treasure,\u201d said Thompson. \u201cThis latest project gave us the opportunity to take an incongruous set of expansions and renovations and create a more unified image. We wanted to give the aquarium an identity and presence within Stanley Park that would increase its value to the city.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
\nPhoto by Ema Peter<\/p>\n

The new building provides a new signature-element entrance, ticketing\/admissions area, caf\u00e9\/coffee bar, gift shop, children\u2019s area and courtyard. The building houses a new upper-level connecting hub and gallery featuring a 360-degree overhead digital projection of the aquatic world and a 14-foot globe. The building\u2019s lower level features a public program presentation area with amphitheater-style seating and a changing exhibits gallery.<\/p>\n

The aquarium building\u2019s large curved walls are evocative of animal life and water \u2013 \u201ca curved, organic form,\u201d according to Thompson. The curvilinear design fits well with Stanley Park\u2019s large trees and pools of water and the aquarium\u2019s outdoor exhibits that wind in and out of fixed natural areas, he said.<\/p>\n

The choice of exterior wall material also took its cue from nature, according to Thompson, who said the design team wanted the cladding to mimic fish scales and started with a review of colored materials that could achieve this effect.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe material also had to be durable,\u201d said Thompson. \u201cIn a salt-water environment, the building\u2019s cladding had to be corrosive-resistant. Additionally, we needed a low-maintenance material because this is a major public building.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stanley Park borders downtown Vancouver and is surrounded on three sides by waters of the Pacific Ocean.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
\nPhoto by Ema Peter<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were quite familiar with ALUCOBOND\u00ae and looked at the Spectra Sakura finish to create the fish-scale coloration,\u201d said Thompson. \u201cThe green-to-pink combination fit in Stanley Park because it was subtle. As you move around the building, you see a change in coloration. And, as the sun moves across the building, it changes color as well. The curve looked good with the Sakura; it really produced the desired effect.\u201d<\/p>\n

To heighten the fish-scale effect, the ALUCOBOND\u00ae Spectra Sakura panels were installed on the walls with a staggered panel joint layout.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fish-scale look produced with the Spectra Sakura is definitely a feature of these walls,\u201d said Thompson. \u201cWe were looking for an architectural element that was uniquely evocative of the aquarium\u2019s mission.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre is a self-supporting, non-profit society dedicated to effecting the conservation of aquatic life through display, communication, public programming and education, research and direct action. The non-profit marine science center is a tenant of the City of Vancouver.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
\nPhoto by Keith Panel Systems<\/p>\n

Keith Panel Systems Co. Ltd., of Vancouver, British Columbia, fabricated and installed the ALUCOBOND\u00ae Spectra Sakura panels. PCL Constructors Westcoast, Inc., of Richmond, British, Columbia, served as general contractor for the project.<\/p>\n

Keith Panel Systems (KPS) introduced all of the ALUCOBOND\u00ae Spectra Colors options to MCMP in 2011 when it began working with the architectural firm in a design-assist capacity. KPS built two large building mock-ups \u2013 each on castor wheels \u2013 for convenient indoor\/outdoor viewing of the color changing panels during presentations to Vancouver Aquarium officials before the Spectra Sakura color was selected.<\/p>\n

\u201cSpectra Sakura was chosen because it provided the marine life aesthetic that the architect desired to achieve,\u201d according to Carlo Gatti, business development manager, KPS, who said the underwater effect was enhanced with horizontal LED light strips placed in a random pattern within the reveals of the KPS wall panel system.<\/p>\n

KPS fabricated 580 Spectra Sakura panels in five pre-determined typical sizes. All unique panels were field measured to ensure proper fit at all detail interfaces. KPS began panel fabrication in November 2013 and completed installation in June 2014. The panels were installed with KPS System \u201cA\u201d, a dry-joint compartmentalized and pressure-equalized rainscreen system.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe worked with the architect and the aid of CAD software to ensure that the building curve design was gentle enough so that the panels could be manufactured flat and \u2018walked-on\u2019 to the curve,\u201d according to Gatti, who said this design approach produced a cost savings for the client.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
\nPhoto by Ema Peter<\/p>\n

The Spectra Sakura ACM was installed primarily on the aquarium building\u2019s eastern and western elevations, which flank the main entrance. In addition to the ALUCOBOND\u00ae Spectra Sakura, 3,600 square feet of ALUCOBOND\u00ae in the custom River Zinc Metallic color and 4mm thickness was installed on the aquarium building at canopy fascia and within circular skylight wells.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reaction to this project from the architectural community has been very positive regarding the unique behavior of the Spectra Sakura, which is accentuated by the gentle curvature of the walls,\u201d said Gatti.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
\nPhoto by Keith Panel Systems<\/p>\n

Curved walls and Spectra Sakura ACM will be utilized as unifying architectural design elements in future aquarium building projects, according to Thompson, who currently is working on the next expansion and renovation phase for the marine science center. The new building was part of the aquarium\u2019s Phase 1 renovation and expansion, which also included extensive infrastructure updates designed to enhance the aquarium\u2019s long-standing commitment to sustainability. Design elements in this renovation and expansion were targeted to meet or exceed LEED Canada Green Building Design & Construction Silver rating requirements.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Vancouver Aquarium now has a place in the city where it previously had been almost buried in the park,\u201d said Thompson. \u201cWe are very happy with this project.\u201d<\/p>\n

Photography \u00a9 Ema Peter and Keith Panel Systems Co. Ltd.<\/p>\n