Al Marj Aquarium

Sana'a University

Project idea

The design idea is taken from (the isthmus), which is the separation between the different marine environments and also the separation between fresh water and salt water, and this explains that there is also an imaginary barrier between man and the exploration of marine life and the inability of the ordinary person to delve into the characteristics of the seas
And the presence of the separator works to prevent the transfer of characteristics between each environment and the other environment, fresh and salt water
And when searching in the formal references to the idea and trying to get rid of the common things in all countries and trying to have something that reflects the identity of the country, and thus found something common between water and land, which is the natural formation of the land, as whenever a part of the land is submerged, its characteristics change and adapt to the new environment and at the same time the line separating the two environments It is what prevents a person from delving into the experience of marine life

Project description

The project consists of two main parts (the presentation part is for aquatic organisms and the second part is a research studies center on living organisms)
First: The display part also consists of two main parts, the display of fresh water and the display of salt water, and the project is divided into two parts, an above-ground part and an underground part. The skeletons of marine life, and then the large aquarium, through which it is possible to pass through to the underground part, which is divided into two parts, the display of salt water and the display of fresh water, and the display sequence where each block occupies an environment, either a marine environment or an ocean environment, and finally moves to the entertainment part, which consists of screens Awareness and presentation for children, restaurants and cafés directly overlooking the sea, and the last activity of the boat trip that goes to the rest of the project, which is two islands in the sea, consisting of a show of dolphins and sea dogs, a display of the polar environment, a display of penguins and polar bears, and thus we completed the presentation part
Second: The research part consists of basins for the care and study of marine life, the educational part, the administrative part, and the residential part. The educational part consists of classrooms, educational terraces, an administrative part and rest areas, and the administrative part consists of offices for researchers, simulation and training rooms, and the residential part.

Technical information

Several technologies were used in the project
First: technologies for collecting renewable energy.
Solar collectors were used on the roof of the building and at the same time it was a covering for the building. The waterfalls in the Amazon forest were also used to generate energy by water-driven turbines.
Second: sustainability techniques.
The project was taken advantage of in collecting rainwater and using the technology of tanks located in Aden to filter the water and collect it in basins under the project to benefit from it in the regeneration of the water of the basins displaying the fresh water environment, as well as the use of afforestation and shading technology in the project part to reduce heat
Third: Climate technologies.
Shading technology was used in many parts of the project, in the corridors and car parks due to the high heat. And also the technology of solar chimneys to withdraw hot air and replace it with cold air through underfloor heating, as well as the technology of separate blocks to work on vacuuming the air in the parts of the project
Fourth: construction techniques.
Modern techniques were used in the construction and cladding of the building by using spec frame and covering using solar panels and heat insulation materials.