Site: Antalya Aquarium

Project Start Date: October 2011

Completion Date: July 2012

Client: Antalya Aquarium Company

In early October 2011 we were contacted by Antalya Aquarium, who were in the early construction phase of a large Oceanarium located in Mediterranean port city of Antalya. We were given the task of designing, building, and installing all aquarium exhibits for the entire Oceanarium. This included a large main tank of 5 million liters and 27 other tanks totaling an additional 2 million liters. The project’s biggest challenge was the incredibly fast time schedule, since they had planned to open the site in time for the following summer season in July/August (just 8 months away).

We quickly got to work to develop an exhibit design plan. The primary objective was to design a range of cohesive exhibits which would be varied and diverse enough to entertain the visitors throughout the large 12.000 m² facility. We based our designs on various themes and concepts, including:
• A full scale World War II airplane wreck (the largest of its kind of any aquarium in the world)
• A full scale submarine wreck
• A Spanish Galleon Shipwreck
• An ancient sunken city
• Coral reefs representing four separate areas (Indian, Pacific, Atlantic Ocean and Red Sea)
• A submerged marine cave
• Freshwater habitats for three separate geographical areas (Asia, Africa. and Amazon)
• Marine habitats for four distinct Seas (Mediterranean, Aegean, Marmara, and Black Sea)
• A river system featuring a full scale submerged automobile
• An Easter Island themed shark tank

By the end of October we had completed all main designs and scale models for the project, which were inspected and approved by the client:

With all main designs and scale models approved, full scale construction commenced in our factory in early November 2011. Our large premises allowed us to lay-out and construct even the largest exhibits, including a full scale 30 meter long WWII bomber plane. Using only FRP and other non toxic materials, each exhibit was hand built to meticulously re-create every single detail that was present in the scale models.

Working at full speed, construction of all exhibits for the entire project was completely finished by April 2012, a remarkable feat which took less than six months to achieve. Having the exhibits completely finished in our factory allowed the client to travel to South Africa and inspect the final product in person, eliminating any unexpected surprises and giving complete peace of mind. The exhibits were approved by the client and disassembled for shipping and eventual re-assembly on site.

By early May 2012 the first shipments had arrived in Antalya and installation of the exhibits commenced. Our team of five South African technicians with basic help from two unskilled local workers assembled and installed all of the exhibits for entire project by mid July 2012, having taken less than three months to complete the task.

Due to the strength and lightness of our product, each section of exhibitry was positioned inside the tanks mostly by hand with minimal use of cranes and lifting equipment. The sections were assembled together and all joints were touched up to become completely seamless and invisible. Every single exhibit was bonded to the interior surface of the tank without penetrating the existing waterproofing in any way.

Thanks to the fact that our exhibits never release any unwanted chemicals when water is first introduced into the tanks, the client was able to fill the tanks and place livestock immediately after the installation. This allowed the oceanarium to open its doors to the public within its original summer season deadline.

Antalya Aquarium officially opened in August 2012 and received extremely good reviews from the local and international press. Today the aquarium consistently ranks among the top tourist attractions of the city and receives many hundreds of thousands of visitors per year.