Freshwater Aquarium and River Museum
completed, Karlovac, 2016.

The Karlovac Freshwater Aquarium is located by the river Korana. The project goal was to form a new focal point of the city, to validate its promenade and create a new tourist attraction.
The center of the aquarium building defines a square area. The aquarium and the square are intercepted by three pedestrian routes dividing the building in three parts: exhibition space, reading room with a cafe bar and office spaces. All three parts can be entered from the square, with the facade of each one respectively oriented towards it. The back sides are oriented towards the edges of the plot and covered with earthen materials, acting as a part of the park, playgrounds and walkways.
The exhibition displays the flow of a karst river. It starts on the square with a water surface and continues inside the building with a system of ramps that wind down, underground, into the basement level. Passed the headwaters, sounds of the flowing river quiet down and visitors plunge into caves that feature endemic species. Further on, they arrive to an aquarium with larger specimens of rare species. Out of the cave, the river emerges from the underground back to the surface. As visitors walk into a tunnel that evokes immersion into the river, they can observe, from the sides and then from underneath, fish and aquatic plants living in warmer parts of the riverbed. After the tunnel a new series of aquariums with water lilies and rushes show marshy habitats. The exhibition ends with a system of cascading aquariums whose biotopes display waterfalls and the travertine barrier. Finally, a stairway and an elevator bring visitors passing through the gift shop, back to the entrance hall.
The space for analysis of the technological parameters of water, the scientific research center and the spaces for the acclimatization of the fish are located in the center of the layout.

ADDRESSGornje Mekušje CITY Karlovac STATE Croatia 45°29'7'' N, 15°33'44'' E

PROJECT NAME Karlovac Aquarium and River Museum

PROJECT NO 224

PROGRAM public, sport

STATUS completed

PROJECT 2013-2015

CONSTRUCTION 2015-2016

LOCATION Croatia, Karlovac, Gornje Mekušje

SITE AREA 8327 m²

GROSS FLOOR AREA 2780 m²

FOOTPRINT 1927 m²

ALTITUDE 111.80 m

CLIENT City of Karlovac

AUTHOR 3LHD

PROJECT TEAM Saša Begović, Marko Dabrović, Tatjana Grozdanić Begović, Silvije Novak, Irena Mažer Hranuelli, Vibor Granić, Deša Ucović, Ivana Šajn, Nevena Kuzmanić, Romana Ilić

STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING Palijan - Ivan Palijan , Siniša Lulić

PLUMBING, DRAINAGE AND AQUARIUM TECHNOLOGY Vodotehnika - Nenad Šutevski

PLUMBING AND DRAINAGE Vodotehnika - Tomislav Fujs

ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING Projekting 1970 - Erol Čičić, Antonio Praničević

MECHANICAL INSTALLATIONS Ured Tri T - Zlatko Jakoplić

ELEVATORS Lift Modus - Rok Pietri

BUILDING PHYSICS AKFZ studio - Mateo Biluš

LANDSCAPE DESIGN Uređenje krajobraza - Luka Brnić, Ines Hrdalo

FIRE SAFETY Ing. Labos - Nadan Kosanović

HEALTH&SAFETY PROJECT Ing. Labos - Nadan Kosanović

AQUARIUM TECHNOLOGY PROJECT Tehnoekspert - Franjo Jović

FISH PROTECTION PROJECT Croatian Veterinary Institute - Dražen Oraić