More Touch and See in the Seattle Aquarium’s Proposed Expansion

People from far and wide flock to Seattle during our sunniest season to stroll through Pike Place Market, or head down to the waterfront to snap a selfie at Pier 59 or even visit our tank-escaping friend, the Giant Pacific Octopus at Seattle Aquarium.

Today, a trip to the aquarium comes with the unpleasant side effects of Alaskan Way Viaduct congestion and construction noise from work on the Elliott Bay Seawall replacement, a $330 million project to replace the 100-year-old seawall. (The construction caused 15 waterfront businesses to close their doors for nine months, but those businesses reopened on Wednesday, July 1.) The entire central waterfront–from Pioneer Square to Belltown–is also experiencing a facelift and will include 20 acres of new and improved public space, better connections between neighborhoods and Elliott Bay (think pedestrian-friendly and easier access) and a redesigned Waterfront Park, among others. According to Robert W. Davidson, Seattle Aquarium president and CEO, the amount of visitors to the new and improved waterfront (and in turn, to the Seattle Aquarium) are projected to double. 

In order to accommodate the rise in visitors to its facilities and match the visual quality of its waterfront neighbors, the Seattle Aquarium has embarked on an expansion, which is expected to be completed by 2020. Davidson emphasized not only an expansion, but a refresh that helps to “[provide] an experience that engages people in understanding the Puget Sound and the Pacific.” The aquarium has hired a star-studded architectural team including lead architect Marc L’Italien of San Francisco-based firm EHDD, who notes “to expect something bigger and better.”

“The aquarium sits at the heart of the [Seattle] waterfront and we see great potential for both the architecture and the exhibits to connect to the Sound, the new waterfront park and to the aquarium plaza,” L’Italien said during a public open house regarding the expansion master plans.

Tentative diagram of proposed changes to Seattle Aquarium, to be completed by 2020
DIAGRAM COURTESY OF SEATTLE AQUARIUM

L’Italien, who began his stint with the Seattle Aquarium about 14 months ago, has worked on a series of exhibits at Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium and more recently, the Exploratorium at Pier 15 in San Francisco among a multitude of other big-time gigs.

He and the architectural team have been working in concert with the Office of the Waterfront to harmonize the design of Aquarium Plaza with the new Seawall, Piers 59 and 60, and everything else around it. They hope to create more visibility of what goes on inside the aquarium by offering the general public “close and intimate” views of the Sound through the aquarium campus. If all goes as planned, L’Italien hopes to incorporate spectacular views of the cityscape from within the aquarium and increase the visual connection between land and sea to highlight “two ecosystems coming together at Aquarium Plaza.”

L’Italien emphasized that the aquarium expansion will be mindful of natural resources and continue to support sustainability in the industry and community. It’s proposed that by 2020, the aquarium will be a netzero waste institution (it will recycle and compost all waste) and there will be an overall reduction in the use of fresh water by increasing the efficiency of new fixtures and equipment. The team says that there will be no additional energy consumption above what is being used today. 

There will also be exhibits that create awareness about the interconnectedness of the world’s oceans. “The things you do here [in the Puget Sound] affect the South Pacific [ocean],” he says.

Other big changes to expect with the expansion include greater interactivity and sea animal touch pools, more deep water exhibits to experience animal behavior below the surface (things that only scuba divers see), exhibits showing the various animals and underwater environments of both the Puget Sound and Washington Outer Coast and a theatrical Tropical Reef exhibit that will feature open ocean sharks. 

“Right now, it’s all loose sketches and loose ideas,” L’Italien says. The city is set to approve the plans this fall, after which budgeting and schematic design will begin.