A new building is coming to town, although at first glance it may actually look more like a towering ship.
At 110,000 square feet, the Mote Science Education Aquarium at Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota, Florida, will be nearly twice as large as the existing Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium and serve as a hub for marine science education and outreach.
Working closely with general contractors Willis A. Smith Construction, Inc. and Whiting-Turner, architecture firm TVS Design has conceived the building to evoke the surrounding landscape and draw eyes from nearby roadways. Inside the four-story aquarium, exhibits totaling more than one million gallons of water will feature sharks, sea turtles and manatees, among other aquatic species.
Construction on the new building is slated to be complete by early 2023.
