It's dingy -- nothing to compare to the mega-aquariums in Monterey, Atlanta, Baltimore, etc. -- but better than no aquarium at all.Originally Posted by Scruffy88
It's dingy -- nothing to compare to the mega-aquariums in Monterey, Atlanta, Baltimore, etc. -- but better than no aquarium at all.
It's perfectly average and somewhat cramped. They keep trying upgrades, but the answer is to build a new jumungo aquarium on the Keysan parking lot, domolish this outdated dump, and use this lot area to expand the amusement zone.
The New York Times
From 3 Finalists in Aquarium’s Redesign, Swoops, Swirls and Great Water Views
By NICHOLAS CONFESSORE
Published: October 6, 2006
City officials yesterday unveiled three finalists in the competition to design a new exterior for the New York Aquarium, marking progress toward what would be its first significant renovation since it opened in Coney Island in 1957.
The three designs — by the firms WRT; Smith-Miller & Hawkinson Architects; and West 8 in collaboration with Weisz & Yoes Architecture — were winnowed from about 25 submitted since the city’s Economic Development Corporation and the Wildlife Conservation Society announced the competition in June.
The society owns and operates the aquarium, which is on city parkland.
“We also think the aquarium can be iconic,” said Joshua J. Sirefman, interim president of the development corporation. “We want to change it into a 21st-century institution.”
Originally housed in Lower Manhattan from 1896 to 1941, and since 1957 tucked into a 14-acre walled campus along Surf Avenue, the Aquarium for Wildlife Conservation gets about 750,000 visitors a year, mostly city residents.
But even fans have long complained that it is too isolated from the surrounding neighborhood, not to mention the ocean a few yards away.
“It’s built like a fortress. It’s surrounded by walls, and the only entrance is through the parking lot,” said Charles Denson, the author of “Coney Island: Lost and Found.” “And it’s below the level of the Boardwalk, so when you’re in the aquarium you can’t actually see the water.”
The new design, according to the competition guidelines, must be “visually porous, engaging and inviting.”
The Smith-Miller and Hawkinson design replaces the wall between the aquarium and the Boardwalk with an undulating wave fence that opens to the Boardwalk at several points.
The design by West 8 and Weisz & Yoes, by contrast, hides some parking lots under manmade sand dunes, cut through with looping pathways.
“It’s very important that people going to the aquarium have the experience of going to the beachfront again,” said Jerry van Eyck of West 8.
All of the designs are environmentally friendly, using phosphorescent paints or solar-powered lights to blend in with Coney Island’s neon cacophony.
The final design must also create a “beacon for Coney Island,” according to the guidelines.
To that end, one design incorporates a giant, glowing jellyfish resting on its tendrils.
The WRT design features an undulating enclosure, an interpretation of the nearby Cyclone roller coaster’s swoops and swirls.
It resembles an enormous whale, as though Moby Dick had lunged ashore and swallowed the aquarium whole.
Any of the models unveiled last night would make the aquarium much harder to miss.
City officials described a redesigned and more prominent aquarium as a key component of the broader Coney Island redevelopment plans that have gestated, mostly on paper, for several years.
With a new hotel, high-end retail stores, and an indoor water park, city officials and developers hope to convert Coney Island from a seasonal beach community to a year-round tourist destination.
“The aquarium is a critical anchor for Coney Island, especially if it’s that much more physically integrated into Coney Island,” Mr. Sirefman said. “People who come to a Cyclones game or to the amusements should be going to the aquarium.”
City development officials, in consultation with community leaders and the conservation society, expect to choose a final design this fall.
“This is the oldest aquarium in the country,” said Paul Boyle, its director. “The question is, how do we create a statement that the aquarium is here, and at the same time, support the expansion for major new features?”
“This will help us grow into our future,” Mr. Boyle said.
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/...arium_span.jpg
http://graphics10.nytimes.com/images...aquarium_2.jpg
http://graphics10.nytimes.com/images...aquarium_3.jpg
All three proposals ^^^ look very cool ...
Why not put them up then?
I vote for the first one.
It has potential to become iconic.
The others are for children.
I agree.
The hokiness of the others will grow tiring after a while. Even at Coney Island.
Has anyone considered that Coney Island may not be prospering due to past and present over-reliance on the hokey? The parachute jump, by contrast, is not hokey, and neither is the new transit station. The first aquarium design belongs with these, the other two don't.
BTW, with respect to visual #2, note that dogs are only allowed on the beach at Coney Island from October 1 through April 1.
They are going too far.
They have to keep it simple so when the funding is not there they do not have a safety issue when things are left unrepaired.
The back room was suffering from major leakage and salt water damage and it took them forever to get the funding they needed to repair it, I do not even know if they got it and made the repairs!!!!
As much as everyone says that an aquarium is a great idea, they rarely go. Most of the visitors are from the schools. They need $$ to run, and when most of that comes from the city, it does not get what it needs to survive...
The future may not look like the past. If Morgan Library and MoMA are any indication, new facilities give attendance a huge boost (quadruple or more), and its an opportunity to boost admission charges.
Coney Island Aquarium looked moribund. That accounts for low attendance; it just wasn't very thrilling.
In places where the Aquarium is state-of-the-art glitzy (Boston, Baltimore, Charleston, Monterey), attendance is very robust.
Time for privatization?
Last edited by antinimby; October 6th, 2006 at 02:27 PM. Reason: dumb typo
Admissions are a small part of funding, though a higher profile helps with fundraising - and even government grants.
Number 1 is the best!
But for number 2 and 3 proposals... is that the best they can come up with? They are so boring! I hope they don't choose any of those two! Please!
I like #2! Not for the jellyfish, but it sure looks like fun for school bus-riders
The first one is the best. But I could be wrong: None of those renderings give me any real sense of what the building will look like or how it will function.
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