The Dubai Aquarium houses 33,000 animals from over 85 different species. The facility includes a large acrylic viewing panel, a 270-degree walkthrough tunnel, and an underwater zoo.Most aquarium visitors underestimate how much space is dedicated to back-of-house facilities. These areas house a variety of equipment and facilities, including life support systems that keep the water clean, safe, and flowing; quarantine and veterinary facilities; breeding and storage tanks; and food preparation zones, to name a few.
The team at Dubai Aquarium realised that some of these back-of-house facilities and activities could provide visitors with interesting and educational experiences.As a result, we were ecstatic to be asked to assist in the design, manufacture, and supply of a ‘behind the scenes’ tour experience that included coral growing tanks, sea horse breeding, sea jelly tanks, a bamboo shark tank, and equipment for aquaponics presentation facilitation, as well as three skid-mounted life support systems.
The Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo are signature attractions at The Dubai Mall, the world’s second-largest shopping mall by land area and the most-visited shopping and leisure destination on the planet (84 million shoppers in 2019).The aquarium is spectacular, with 33,000 animals, world-record-breaking viewing panels, a 270-degree walkthrough tunnel, and an underwater zoo.
As part of our Restoration and Upgrade services, AAT frequently assists established aquariums in enhancing, renovating, and expanding their exhibits and customer experiences. If you wish to visit Dubai mall aquarium in Dubai, contact one of the best tour and travel agencies in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
UAE Behind-the-Scenes Tour of the Dubai Mall Aquarium
1. Viewing and Feeding Experience at Dubai Aquarium’s Main Tank, UAE.
How can aquariums make better use of the space directly above the main tank? This question was at the heart of an initiative to create a unique and memorable experience for visitors to The Dubai Mall’s Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo.
AAT assisted the Dubai Aquarium team in realising their vision of ‘floating’ a partially submerged fibre-reinforced plastic (FRP) platform with see-through walls and a central cylinder on the surface of the water in the main tank.
Visitors reach the platform by descending a flight of stairs. They can feed the animals and get up close and personal with the fish swimming all around the platform’s transparent walls and into the centre cylinder once they arrive.
There’s even a transparent floor that allows you to see everything directly below, including the occasional diver.
The acrylic cylinder, 5 viewing panels, and custom design work together to create an immersive fish feeding experience unlike any other.
Installing a new exhibit or upgrading facilities in an existing aquarium is rarely simple. AAT designed the 6 x 3.9-meter platform, which was built off-site at our global production hub, for delivery in five sections. Each section was designed to fit through the passageways and spaces that provided access to the space above the main tank. Because the access routes were so limited, each piece had to be floated across the surface of the water to the point of assembly.
The Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo are signature attractions at The Dubai Mall, the world’s second-largest shopping mall by land area and the most-visited shopping and leisure destination on the planet (84 million shoppers in 2019).The aquarium is spectacular, with 33,000 animals, world-record-breaking viewing panels, a 270-degree walkthrough tunnel, and an underwater zoo.
As part of our Restoration and Upgrade services, AAT regularly assists established aquariums in improving, renovating, and expanding their exhibits and customer experiences.
2. Life Support System for the Crocodile Exhibit at Dubai Aquarium (UAE)
The crocodile exhibit life support system for Dubai Aquarium’s star attraction, King Croc, is designed and manufactured by AAT.
A 5m-long Australian crocodile named King Croc is one of the main attractions at Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo. This enormous creature weighed an incredible 750kg at the time of our project and is expected to grow much larger. AAT designed and manufactured the crocodile exhibit life support system for King Croc’s home at the Dubai Aquarium in order to improve the visitor experience and capitalise on previously unused space by creating a mezzanine viewing floor.
The life support system was built with three pre-plumbed sand filters on a single skid and a separate skid containing the heat pumps, UV steriliser, and electrical distribution boards. Because plant room space was limited, a slower, more sequential installation would not have been possible. After the roof sections were removed, the skids were lifted directly from street level to the plant room, greatly reducing on-site time.
AAT also finished waterproofing the exhibit concrete shell, which was poured on top of an existing structural slab.
3. AAT LSS Skids are installed at Dubai Mall Aquarium
The Life Support System (LSS) skids recently delivered for the Dubai Mall Aquarium upgrade project have been installed and are ready for operation in the new live coral exhibit.
This image of the LSS Skid specifically designed for the upgrade exemplifies the benefits of installing pre-fabricated components, allowing for a simple installation and far fewer logistical resources required.
4. The AAT LSS Skids are ready for shipment to the Dubai Mall Aquarium.
A specially designed and manufactured aquarium life support system is contained within a frame that allows the life support system to be easily transported and efficiently fitted upon arrival to projects anywhere in the world. The Aquarium LSS SKIDS are an alternative to the traditional on-site construction process, in which parts are shipped individually and installed incrementally.
Furthermore, while civil site work is being completed, the Aquarium LSS SKIDS can be manufactured, allowing for a freight-and-install process.
