We were approached by the Port Huron City Council with an exciting request. Our brief: to redevelop a portion of the Port Huron waterfront to create an aquarium.
The Great Lakes – Michigan, Superior, Huron, Erie, and Ontario – form the largest-surface freshwater system in the world, together holding nearly one-fifth of the Earth's surface freshwater.
Lake Huron is the second largest of the Great Lakes, and with a surface area of 59,590 square kilometers it is the third largest freshwater lake on Earth.
Its shoreline is the longest of all the Great Lakes, and provides an ample and varied fish habitat for populations of warm-water species such as walleye, lake sturgeon, yellow perch, smallmouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed and rock bass, as well as cold-water species including lake trout, salmon, cisco, whitefish, round whitefish and bloater.
Spread over 2 floors, Port Huron Aquarium’s six different thematic zones offer a comprehensive experience from rainforest to river delta to the abyssal depths. With differing environments accurately replicated, visitors can be transported between the likes of the Amazon rainforest, Mekong Delta, Great Lakes, and deep ocean.
An 85-meter-long underwater tunnel with panoramic views offers a fully immersive experience where guests can experience the ocean depths at first hand.
With 4.8 million litres of water, we designed many of the 40 exhibits in the 6 thematic zones to offer unique views of the animals – including a panorama room where barracuda, pufferfish, angelfish and sharks swim around you.
Port Huron Aquarium will serve as an important learning centre for the study of marine life and biology with aquaculture rehabilitation, a Great Lakes research program, ecology development program and local ecology education.
Currently seeking investment to proceed, this project now has a solid foundation for commercial success and can be replicated in any region or country.
