AQUARIUM OF THE PACIFIC - RETAIL STORE
FIRM: ehdd
LOCATION: Long Beach, California
STATUS: construction completed 2013
POSITION: Project Manager and Designer
The first phase of an expansion to the Aquarium of the Pacific includes a complete reworking of the aquarium’s retail store. The expanded store will better serve the current visitors as well as future increases in number driven by the subsequent phases of the expansion. The main retail goal of the project is to increase the store’s capture of high-end shoppers without impacting the current very high sales per square foot from lower price point and children’s merchandise.
The footprint of the addition balances maximizing square footage with the increasing costs of square footage closer to the harbor due to coastal impacts and foundation issues. The new design is intended to draw shoppers deeper into the store through the expansion of space leading to a translucent graphic of a kelp forest integrated into the window wall. Daylighting is balanced by skylights cut into the existing ceiling and continued through the addition. Design studies supported by visual comfort and retail analyses examined how the glazed exterior wall could be successfully merchandised while still providing daylight and a view through to the facade.
