Studio Gang design North America's first dolphin sanctuary
by Tom Anstey | 14 Jun 2016
Baltimore is leading the pack when it comes to natural enclosures for its dolphins / Studio Gang
Baltimore’s National Aquarium has unveiled plans for North America’s first ever seaside dolphin sanctuary, which has been designed by architects Studio Gang.
The aquarium has formed a team of experts who will be tasked to find a site which ensures the health and welfare of the dolphins, following a criteria which includes an outdoor location with natural seawater and a tropical or sub-tropical climate.
The aquarium is aiming to transition its colony of dolphins into the new habitat by the end of 2020. The natural enclosure will be flexible to allow for different spatial configurations to keep the dolphins engaged and able to form social groupings that suit them. Additionally the setting will provide the dolphins with opportunities to express natural behaviours while exposing them to natural elements, such as fish and marine plants, with a full-time veterinarian and on-site clinical care facilities to tend to the captive cetaceans.
The plans were first touted in 2014 and have been developed in collaboration with marine experts.
"We now know more about dolphins and their care, and we believe that the National Aquarium is uniquely positioned to use that knowledge to implement positive change," said John Racanelli, chief executive officer of the National Aquarium. "This is the right time to move forward with the dolphin sanctuary."
Studio Gang are best known for their leisure projects – including a new performing arts centre in Chicago and an ongoing US$325m (€298.7m, £211.1m) cave-like expansion for New York’s American Museum of Natural History. The firm's founder, Jeanne Gang, was named Architect of the Year at the Women in Architecture awards in March.
Baltimore aquarium dolphin cetacean sea sanctuary01 Feb 2016
Aquarium leads urban waterfront regeneration project in Baltimore
12 Jun 2014
US National Aquarium considers retiring dolphins to one-of-a-kind sanctuary
Baltimore’s National Aquarium has unveiled plans for North America’s first ever seaside dolphin sanctuary, which has been designed by architects Studio Gang. The aquarium has formed a team of experts who will be tasked to find a site which ensures the health and welfare of the dolphins, following a criteria which includes an outdoor location with natural seawater and a tropical or sub-tropical climate. The aquarium is aiming to transition
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