Architect Tatiana Bilbao has revealed visuals of a major new aquarium she is building on the Mexican coastline, which is designed to look like a ruin or a shipwreck.
Construction of the Mazatlán Aquarium began in the Mexican city in 2017 and is due to complete in 2021. It is being built as part of a 30-hectare public park fronting the beach.
The building is planned as an open grid, which will loosely divide the aquarium's interior into different sections. Each area will be assigned to a different type of marine ecosystem: open sea, coast, land and forest.
The building is planned as an open grid
The building will have monumental concrete walls, draped with indigenous plants and vines. Some of these walls will extend beyond the building volume, which will reinforce the idea of the building as a ruin. "It's a place where the sea and terrestrial nature encounters architecture and human world," said Tatiana Bilbao Estudio.
"Nature lives and grows on the interior and exterior of the building, giving identity to the project, belonging to the place, and converting the experience into to something complete and unique," added the studio.
Each area will be assigned to a different type of marine ecosystem
The building will have three storeys. The main entrance will be on the first floor, alongside the majority of exhibition spaces. Conservation and education facilities will be located on the ground floor, while service areas will be located on the upper level.

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