Pros examine how marine museum marvel was built

Three-hundred construction industry professionals from across Guangdong Province came to the Chimelong Marine Science Museum on April 12 to study the complexities of building the huge structure that will integrate exhibition, entertainment, and leisure functions.

They entered and examined the world's largest (verified by four Guinness Records) basins of 55,000 m3 for killer whales, 2,365 m3 for corals, and 2,732 m3 for sharks, and checked out an unrivaled 46.2-by-8.3 m (50.5-by-9 yd) acrylic glass panel.

China Construction 3rd Bureau First Engineering personnel explained how they overcome technical difficulties concerning a number of accuracy requirements concerning installation of the acrylic glass and complex steel structures. The project has produced engineering breakthroughs involving the basin foundation and arch structure. 

Observation and study gathering [Photo courtesy Zhuhai Daily]

The aquarium at Chimelong International Ocean Tourist Resort covers a construction area of 368,600 sq m in Hengqin New Area. The inner roof is composed of a steel triangular tube truss structure and spatial reticulated shell forming a complex hyperboloid space. The whale-shaped structure uses nearly 10,000 tons of steel and more than 250,000 rods.

"We combined several small units into one truss unit, repeatedly optimized the hoisting station and lifting point selection, reduced the number of shifts and stations, greatly improved the construction efficiency and speeded up the roof transfer," Li Yuxuan, a technician from the project department said when the roof was topped earlier this year.

Worker wearing safety harness on complex Chimelong structure [Photo courtesy China Construction 3rd Bureau First Engineering]

Major construction was completed last month and interior decoration is underway. Upon completion this summer, the facility will integrate menagerie, entertainment, and popular science features with marine exhibitions and aquatic shows, among other attractions. Up to 5,000 spectators will be accommodated at aquatic shows.