Inspired by the shape of natural whirlpools, water streams, shoals of fish, and flocks of birds in the sky, Denmark’s new National Aquarium, The Blue Planet, is shaped as a great whirlpool. The shape of the building itself tells the story of what awaits inside. The Blue Planet is located on an elevated headland on the sea, north of Kastrup Harbor. The whirlpool shape connects building, sea, and landscape, and is clearly visible by travelers arriving by plane at the nearby Copenhagen Airport. The façade is covered with small diamond-shaped aluminum plates, known as shingles, which adapt to the building's organic form.
Like water, the aluminum reflects the colors and light of the sky, and the building's expression varies with the changes in its natural surroundings. Visitors reach the entrance by following the first and longest of the whirlpool’s whirls. Outdoor ponds foreshadow the unique experience that awaits the aquarium visitors as they enter The Blue Planet; the whirlpool has pulled them into another world—a world beneath the surface of the sea. The circular foyer is the central point of navigation in the aquarium.
Here, visitors choose which river, lake or ocean to explore. By enabling multiple routes, the risk of queues in front of individual aquariums is reduced. Each exhibition has its own theme and entrance from the foyer, where sound and images are used to introduce the atmosphere of the different exhibition areas. The restaurant enjoys a magnificent view of the sea, which begins just a few meters away.