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Virginia Marine Science Museum
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Syska Hennessy Group provided HVAC, electrical, plumbing and fire
protection as well as aquatic life support design consulting services
for the recent $35 million expansion. The expansion, which triples
the size of the original facility, added more than 500,000 gallons
of aquariums. The expansion features are an open-ocean aquarium
replicating the Norfolk Canyon, an offshore submarine formation;
the Owls Creek Marsh Pavilion with a river otter habitat and outdoor
aviary; a salt marsh preserve with trails and boardwalks; a harbor
seal pool and a six-story-high, 300 seat, IMAX 3D theater.
Virginia Marine Museum's mission to increase the public's knowledge
and appreciation of Virginia's marine environment created unique
design challenges for Syska Hennessy Group. The diversity of the
exhibits and their unique ecosystems required multiple filtration
systems, sea water storage and mixing tanks, sea water heating and
cooling systems, an ozone system consisting of generators, injectors,
foam fractionation, contact towers and ozone destruct units, air
lifts and undergravel biological filters. Emergency back-up power
systems were also designed to ensure power to critical marine life
support systems as well as human life safety systems such as fire
alarm, smoke control and fire suppression systems.
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