Columbus Zoo and Aquarium – Adventure Cove
- Apr 1, 2021
- 2 min read
Updated: May 24, 2024
Powell, OH
Award: Architectural
Project Team
Owner: Columbus Zoo and Aquarium
Contractor: George J. Igel & Co., Inc.
Architect: PJA Architects + Landscape Architects
Engineer: Jezerinac Geers & Associates
Concrete: Buckeye Ready-Mix, LLC
Slag Cement: St. Marys Cement
This project included three saltwater pools that hold 375,000 gal. (1,420,000 L) of saltwater along with multiple buildings for housing animals and equipment spanning a 4.1 acre (1.7 ha) area. The pools have acrylic glass for viewing underwater and also a one-of-a-kind tunnel that is 360-degrees acrylic for complete viewing of the animals swimming around the tunnel. The project had to maintain a natural environment that resembles the Pacific Northwest rocky coast while also being watertight and durable due to the saltwater. The buildings house animals from all around the world as part of a public interactive experience. The area will allow interaction with the animals, teaching of animal environment, and shows featuring the sea lions.
Slag cement was used for durability enhancement and potential sulfate and alkali silica reaction (ASR) mitigation. A polycarboxylate plasticizer was required for cement dispersion, strength enhancement, and desired placement slump. As a result of the polycarboxylate used and the low water-cementitious materials ratio (w/cm), concrete design strengths were achieved at 7 days.
The majority of the concrete furnished was a 5000 psi (35 MPa) design, which performed extraordinarily well. Approximately 1700 yd3 (1300 m3) of ready mixed concrete was placed, and there was not one 28-day break that failed to meet design strength requirements. Many times, the design strength was exceeded at the 7-day break. The strength of the ready mixed concrete provided was very consistent, which will lead to extended durability of these structures.
Xypex Admixture was used in lieu of waterproofing in order to create a watertight structure in the pools and building slabs. The interior of the buildings also houses holding pools for the animals that had to be watertight. The center pool has a 360-degree acrylic tunnel so that the sea lions can be seen as they swim all around the zoo visitors. The three pools hold 375,000 gal. of saltwater that has to be kept watertight in order to keep the saltwater mixture at optimum level
I like that this write-up isn’t just “cool zoo project,” it actually explains why the mix design choices mattered (saltwater durability, sulfate/ASR mitigation, etc.). The Pacific Northwest rocky-coast look is awesome, but it must have been a nightmare to detail all those rock-like surfaces and still keep everything truly watertight. Kind of reminds me of how “natural” aesthetics still take a ton of planning — in a totally different context I saw that idea come up on StyleLookLab too, where the effortless look is rarely effortless.
The part about hitting design strengths at 7 days with the polycarboxylate + low w/cm is interesting — especially on a complex, watertight build where schedule pressure is real. I’d love to know how they balanced early strength vs. thermal cracking risk in those big pool placements. It’s funny, this also made me think of how controlled “inputs” change outputs in other workflows, like on imgg where tiny parameter tweaks can swing results a lot.
Saltwater + acrylic viewing tunnels seems like a brutal combo for concrete long-term, so the slag cement choice makes sense. Curious if they had extra precautions around the acrylic interfaces to handle movement and keep it watertight (the 360° tunnel especially). Randomly, this durability/chemistry angle reminded me of something unrelated I was reading on CaesarCipher the other day — different topic, same “details matter” vibe.
The Columbus Zoo's Adventure Cove showcases impressive saltwater pools and a unique 360-degree acrylic tunnel for animal viewing. It's fascinating how they blend natural aesthetics with functional design, as seen in projects like cobb can move.
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