Located in historic Pier 59, this complex tenant improvement brings the Aquarium’s educational mission to life: “Inspiring conservation of our marine environment.” Flexible and welcoming, the expansion provides a prominent, year round setting for visitors and events seeking a quintessential Pacific Northwest experience. A dramatic double-height Great Hall for daytime exhibits and evening events is anchored by a 140,000 gallon exhibit called Window on Washington Waters designed by BIOS, LLC, which highlights native aquatic species from the Northwest coast. The new space features natural ventilation, daylight harvesting, and a raised access floor for program flexibility.
The countertops and handrails in the new cafe are made from the old wood that was salvaged from the east end of Pier 59.
Just inside […] is the new Great Hall, a vast meeting place for lectures and social events. It lies beneath a tangle of heavy roof timbers — part of a disciplined redo of historic Pier 59 — and at one end offers a 20-by-40-foot, 120,000-gallon window into The Deep.
Bearing the felicitous acronym WoWW, the window highlights a mélange of local marine wildlife inside a gargantuan 20’ by 40’ showcase and fittingly augments the Aquarium’s “wow” factor.