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The Georgia Aquarium

The Georgia Aquarium was one of our earliest aquarium jobs, and updating this iconic attraction to support its mission to entertain and educate has been a long-time passion. With millions of gallons of water home to hundreds of species, this aquarium was the largest worldwide at its construction. After completing it, we were tapped for a bottlenose dolphin expansion, with a sea lion show exhibit following soon after. A predator exhibit was next for this long-time client, boasting a massive immersive shark exhibit and the largest jellyfish exhibit of its kind.

Client

The Georgia Aquarium, Inc.

Project Stats

Georgia Aquarium, 2005
Three-story, 440,000 sq ft facility
8 million gallons of fresh and salt water

Bottlenose dolphin expansion, 2008
1.8 million gallon exhibit

Sea lion show exhibit, 2015
25,295 sq ft
585-seat theater

Predator exhibit, 2018
Four-story, 104,149 sq ft expansion tie-in to the iconic boat facade
1 million gallon shark exhibit


Recognition

AGC Build Georgia Award (Georgia Aquarium)
PRSA Phoenix Award (Georgia Aquarium)
ABC Pinnacle Award (Georgia Aquarium)

Southeast Construction Best Overall Project (Dolphin Expansion)
Honor Award Georgia Engineering Excellence Awards (Dolphin Expansion)
ABC National Commendation Award (Dolphin Expansion)
AGC Build Georgia Award (Dolphin Expansion)
Southeast Construction Judges Award - Best Overall Project (Dolphin Expansion)
Southeast Construction Best Cultural Project (Dolphin Expansion)

ENR Southeast Best Project in Sports/Entertainment (Sea Lion Exhibit)
ABC of Georgia Award of Excellence (Sea Lion Exhibit)
ABC National Excellence in Construction Pyramid Award - Other Construction - $2 to $100 million (Sea Lion Exhibit)
AGC Build Georgia First Place (Sea Lion Exhibit)

AGC Build Georgia Award, First Place (Predator Exhibit)
ENR Southeast Best Project - Sports/Entertainment (Predator Exhibit)

Featured Article

Georgia Aquarium's adds one of the world's largest shark exhibits

This exhibit showcases sharks within a 20-foot-deep, 185-foot-long enclosure and includes an immersion pool attached to the main habitat where visitors can be in the water with these majestic fish.

"I can’t imagine any group that would have been more committed to the success of this project. In the future, as people reflect on what has been accomplished here, they will learn of the major role that Brasfield & Gorrie played on the team that made my dream a reality for the people of Georgia."

The Marcus Foundation