沉浸式水族館設計探秘

奧斯卡·霍蘭德

At the Tennessee Aquarium， visitors pass through a series of changing ecosystems inhabited by river otters， salamanders and brightly colored sunfish. The experience has been specifically designed to replicate the route taken by the neighboring Tennessee River， which flows from the Appalachian Mountains down to the Gulf of Mexico.

The attraction， located in Chattanooga， was once the world’s largest freshwater aquarium， though it now pales in comparison to the gargantuan oceanariums of China and the Middle East.

But the secret to good aquarium design is not all about size—it’s about telling a story， according to one of the architects behind the project.

“The Tennessee Aquarium is really the story of the Tennessee River，” said Peter Sollogub， associate principal at the architecture firm CambridgeSeven， in a phone interview.

“We look for stories that can take a collection of animals and orchestrate them into a larger experience. It’s like a film， a piece of music or a book—you progress through it and， when you leave， you feel as if you’ve gone on a comprehensible journey.”

Curating experiences

Having started out working on the New England Aquarium—a building now considered emblematic of Boston’s concrete architectural legacy—in the 1960s， Sollogub is a veteran in the aquarium world. He has since helped create public facilities across the US， as well as in Italy， Portugal and Japan.

The first priority is always， he said， the fish themselves. But when it comes to visitors’ experiences， the design process revolves around how—and where—people encounter them. Most aquariums are built in a “linear” way， meaning that visitors rarely deviate from a set path. So architects and designers instead see their role as curating a series of moments.

“Take the splendor of jellyfish or the wonder of penguins—things that are spectacular unto themselves，” Sollogub said. “What we try to do is enhance them by developing encounters in which you pass through them， or see them swimming over and under you， or at different levels.”

For architect James Hampton， whose firm James Hampton Design Partners specializes in public and private aquariums， a crucial element of design is what he calls the “wow factor.” This seems like an apt way to describe the walk-through tunnel at Dubai Mall’s 2.6-million-gallon aquarium—a project Hampton was involved in—a 157-foot-long passage with 270-degree views of fish in the surrounding water.

“I tend to start with a ‘wow，’” he said in a phone interview. “It’s the midpoint that normally has the biggest quantity of water， usually a predator tank. Then at the end you might have a meet-and-greet opportunity—with an otter， for instance.”

While Western countries have traditionally housed the largest and most elaborate aquariums， China and the Middle East are a growing force in the market， said Hampton， who has worked in both regions.

In 2014， Chimelong Ocean Kingdom in China’s Guangdong province became the world’s largest aquarium， its 12.87 million gallons equivalent to almost 20 Olympic-sized swimming pools. Meanwhile， the Grandview Mall Aquarium， also in Guangzhou， holds the current record for the world’s largest aquarium window， with its 134 feet by 27 feet acrylic panel.

But a “bigger is better” mentality， as Hampton puts it， is not necessarily conducive to good design.

“A large exhibit won’t necessarily have （a high density of） fish in it， because the tank is so big，” he said. “When a client says to me ‘I want it bigger than x or y’s tank，’ I tend to tell them that—rather than saying it has to be a certain size—they need to ask what they want to exhibit.

“You don’t need a tank that is too big， because （fish-like） sharks and gropers won’t necessarily be （visible） swimming in an exhibit that size.”

Total immersion

Creating naturalistic environments， whether through rocks or artificial coral， is central to the art of aquarium design. Keeping out sunlight is also a priority， as it can produce algae and unwanted reflections. These considerations not only provide marine life with more realistic habitats， but they encourage people to enter an all-important state of suspended disbelief.

But， in recent decades， it has been the advanced engineering capabilities of clear acrylic—a material strong enough to withstand the water pressure produced by millions of gallons of water—that has set designers on a quest for total immersion.

Since the first so-called “shark tunnel” was built in Auckland， New Zealand， in 1985， walk-throughs and large viewing screens have become an industry standard.

“With the ‘old-style’ aquariums， visitors would pay their 10 dollars， have an hour or so looking through these ‘picture frames’ at the exhibits， and then they’d walk out，” Hampton said. “Generally， they’ve had a good experience， but now it’s much more immersive.

“When you walk into a cinema， you want to be wowed by the big screen and intense color right there in your face—and that’s what we try and do， with as much acrylic as possible， so you really feel the environment that you’re in.”

Education through design

With physical immersion reaching its limits， virtual reality and augmented reality are playing a growing role in modern aquariums. As well as offering visitors information about different species as they travel through the exhibits， technology opens the possibility of digitally displaying animals that are difficult or unethical to keep in captivity.

“We’re using VR as well as augmentation on walls and projecting over panels，” Hampton said. “We can add 4K high-definition screens behind acrylic panels， so that when you first walk into a shark exhibit， it feels like there’s water in front of you （on the dry side）.

“When you look in the background， you see virtual sharks swimming. Push a button and it tells you how big， how much they eat， where they swim—it gives you detail about sharks that we can’t keep in captivity.”

Both Hampton and Sollogub see these tools as a means to an end. The ultimate goal is to create an emotional connection between humankind and nature. This in turn， Sollogub said， informs the educative approach that underpins aquarium design.

“The greatest part of working on aquariums is bringing guests to places they have never encountered before，” he said， recalling the satisfaction of seeing inner-city school children enraptured by a Baltimore aquarium he helped design. “They were as wide-eyed as you can imagine， and that’s really what it’s all about.

“I think aquariums are education at it’s purest. You’re not telling people what to think， you’re allowing them to feel it and experience it—to become part of it.”

田納西水族館內，游客們穿梭在各個變幻莫測的生態系統間，水獺、蠑螈和艷麗的太陽魚棲息其中。這是經過特殊設計的，仿照了旁邊田納西河從阿巴拉契亞山奔流而下、最終匯入墨西哥灣的流經路線。

該景點地處查塔努加，曾是全球最大的淡水水族館，盡管現在和中國、中東的巨型海洋館相比是小巫見大巫。

不過，按該館一位設計師的說法，設計好水族館，秘訣并不全在規模，而在講好一個故事。

“田納西水族館其實就是田納西河的故事。”劍橋七杰建筑公司副主管彼得·索洛古布接受電話采訪時這樣說。

“我們搜羅那些匯集各種動物的故事，把它們精心編排，打造出更豐富的游客體驗。就像一部電影、一首音樂，抑或一本書，讓人神隨景移，離開時，也會感到仿佛經歷了一段明明白白的旅程?！?/p>

規劃游客體驗

上世紀60年代，索洛古布就開始設計新英格蘭水族館，是水族館界的行家里手，如今該館也被視為波士頓標志性的現存混凝土建筑。在那之后，他又設計了美國、意大利、葡萄牙、日本等國的多處公共設施。

他說，水族館設計首先要考慮的總是魚本身。至于游客體驗，設計時則要考慮游客與魚相遇的方式和位置。多數水族館都依照“線性”方式建造，也就是說，游客一般不會偏離既定的游覽路線。因此，建筑師和設計師們將自己視為一系列邂逅瞬間的規劃者。

“就拿華麗的水母，或奇妙的企鵝來說吧，它們本身就很有看頭?！彼髀骞挪颊f道，“而我們所做的，就是創造邂逅的機會，從而增強游客體驗。游客們或與其擦身而過，或看著它們從自己頭頂或腳下游過，無論深水或淺水都能遇到?！?/p>

建筑師詹姆斯·漢普頓的公司詹姆斯·漢普頓設計伙伴專攻公共和私人水族館設計，他提到，設計中有一關鍵要素，叫作“讓人叫好的因素”。這恰好可以用來說明一個他曾參與的項目——迪拜購物中心內的水族館觀光廊，該水族館容積達260萬加侖，觀光廊長157英尺，游客可270度觀察四周水域里的魚類。

電話采訪中，他講道：“我一般會一開始就來個‘讓人叫好’的設計，到了中間部分，水量往往最多，是捕食者的地盤，最后，游客也許有機會和水獺或其他動物來個親密互動?！?/p>

漢普頓在中國和中東都工作過，他表示，盡管西方國家歷來擁有世界上最大且最為精妙的水族館，但中國和中東的市場競爭力已愈發強勁。

2014年，中國廣東長隆海洋王國成為世界上最大的水族館，容積達1287萬加侖，相當于近20個奧運規格的泳池。無獨有偶，同樣位于廣州的正佳極地海洋世界也保持著世界最大水族展示窗的紀錄，該展示窗長134英尺，寬27英尺，由丙烯酸板制成。

但漢普頓指出，“越大越好”的想法未必有益于設計好作品。

“大型展館里不一定有（密集分布的）魚，因為展缸太大了。”他說道，“要是客戶跟我說，‘我要比某某水族館的展缸還大’，我一般會告訴他們，與其對具體尺寸提要求，不如問問自己，到底想展出什么。

“展缸用不著太大，因為不一定（能顯出）有（普通魚那般大小的）鯊魚和石斑魚在過大的展缸里游動?！?/p>

全沉浸感設計

無論用自然巖石還是人工珊瑚，營造仿自然的環境都是水族館設計藝術的核心所在。隔絕陽光也是重點，因為陽光會招致藻類滋生和多余的反射。這些考量不僅為海洋生物提供了更真實自然的生存環境，還有助于參觀者游覽時進入“寧信其真”的最佳狀態。

但近幾十年來，透明丙烯酸（一種十分堅固的材料，可承受數百萬加侖水產生的水壓）工程能力愈發先進，設計者便開始追求全浸入的設計。

自1985年新西蘭奧克蘭建成首個所謂“鯊魚隧道”以來，觀光廊和大型觀景屏就成了業界標配。

“就‘老式’水族館來說，游客花10美元，透過這些‘畫框’看看展品，然后就走了，前后不過1小時?！睗h普頓說道，“總的來說，這種體驗也不錯，但現今的體驗則更身臨其境。

“人們踏進電影院，總希望受到眼前的巨大屏幕和強烈色彩的震撼，而這就是我們試著做的，用盡可能多的丙烯酸材料，為游客營造身臨其境之感?！?/p>

教育貫穿設計

物理浸入程度達到極限后，虛擬現實和增強現實技術對現代水族館的作用就愈發重要。這種技術可以為參觀展館的游客提供不同生物品種的信息;另外，由于種種困難或道德規范的束縛，一些動物無法人工飼養，科學技術也使數字化動物展出成為可能。

漢普頓說：“如今，我們將虛擬現實和增強現實技術應用到墻上，在丙烯酸板上進行投影，還在其后加了4K分辨率的高清屏幕。這樣的話，人們一走進鯊魚館，就能感到有水襲面而來（但實際上是沒有水的）。

“人們看屏幕呈現的畫面時，會發現虛擬鯊魚游來游去。按個按鈕，就能知道鯊魚的大小、食量和活動范圍，這樣即便水族館內無法飼養，人們也能知道那些鯊魚的具體信息。”

在漢普頓和索洛古布看來，這些技術是為達成目標而采取的手段，而終極目標是創建人與自然間的情感紐帶。且正如索洛古布所說，這又反過來影響水族館設計所基于的教育理念。

索洛古布曾參與設計巴爾的摩的一家水族館，并親眼見到市中心學校的孩子們參觀時看得入迷，回想起當時那種心滿意足，他說道：“設計水族館最妙的，就是帶著參觀者去他們從沒去過的地方。”他進一步描述，“孩子們眼睛瞪得滾圓，生怕錯過一絲精彩，這才是最重要的。

“我覺得水族館本質上講就是一種教育方式，它不是告訴人們該如何思考，而是讓他們去感受，去體驗，與之融為一體?！?