The Kansas City Zoo & Aquarium offers visitors the opportunity to experience the ocean’s depths, a realm that many have never encountered firsthand. This new space, known as the Sobela Ocean Aquarium, provides a fully immersive marine experience.
The design is inspired by marine currents, using this concept to narrate the journey through various ocean environments. The exhibits reflect the dynamic nature of these ecosystems and support the zoo’s mission in conservation and education.
Visitors begin their journey at a tropical shoreline, following a warm current into deeper waters, passing through underwater forests, and eventually arriving at a cooler Pacific coastline. Changes in lighting, spatial transitions, and physical descents through the space enhance the narrative, stimulating curiosity and fostering a connection with the ocean.
The lighting design recreates the sensation of traveling from sunlit shores to the mysterious deep sea by carefully modulating the intensity and quality of light. This approach evokes the vastness and wonder of the marine world, engaging visitors emotionally. The project has been recognized with several awards, including the Exhibit Award for Significant Achievement by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the Builder’s Association Building Excellence Award, and the V Ibero-American Lighting Design Biennial Award by Iluminet.
Project Name: Sobela Ocean Aquarium
Location: Kansas City Zoo
Lighting Designer: Lightchitects Studio
Architect: El Dorado Inc
Photographer: Michael Robinson
