Shoppers get up close with nearly 3,000 saltwater fish as they ride a glass elevator through the center of the world's largest conical aquarium.
Aquadream, the world's first conical aquarium designed and built for the luxurious Morocco Mall, gives shoppers a real-live look at nearly 3,000 saltwater fish, including sharks and rays.
The largest acrylic structure of its type, Aquadream is 9.3 meters tall by 13.4 meters across at its widest point and holds one million liters of saltwater. Opened in December 2011, the aquarium not only serves as the centerpiece of the massive Morocco Mall, which has more than 185,000-square meters of retail and leisure space, it also serves to educate millions of Mall visitors on the importance of preserving the world's oceans.
The unique design and large scale of Aquadream enables guests to totally immerse themselves in the ocean experience – and gain a greater appreciation of its inhabitants – by riding the glass elevator through the center of the aquarium as well as with an optional dive session to explore the tank further.
While the project is impressive, its scope, scale – and high Seismic Zone location – proved to be a challenge. Safety was paramount in the project's design and engineering so ICM designed the aquarium to be a freestanding structure on its own concrete slab in the mall, not connected to rest of the mall. This cushions the aquarium against seismic activity and isolates it from the rest of the movement created from the mall during a tremor. This approach has already proved successful when two small tremors rippled through the area during construction and not one component of Aquadream was damaged.
ICM was not only responsible the design, build, and final commission of the aquarium, but for the installation's project management as well including the design, sourcing and approval of all the rockwork and coral inserts in the tank. Aquadream contains more than 3,500 realistic looking corals on top of the concrete constructed rockwork. All items that go into the aquarium are non-toxic and safe for the species that live inside.
To further ensure these creatures receive the best care possible, the Aquadream filtration system completely filters 100% of the water in an hour. It also features a fail-safe system to keep the aquarium safe enough for the ecosystem in the event of a power failure as well as filtration system that recycles the dirty water so it can be re-used in the aquarium.
The result is an outstanding environment for the sea life within Aquadream and an outstanding entertaining and educational opportunity for the millions who experience it.
