New Jersey State Aquarium
Camden, New Jersey
Paulus, Sokolowski and Sartor (PS&S) provided structural engineering design services for the original New Jersey State Aquarium (Adventure Aquarium) in Camden, New Jersey. The project was constructed as an anchor project to spur the development of the Camden waterfront with its priceless view of the Philadelphia skyline.
The Aquarium is a three-story, 120,000 square foot aquatic exhibit facility sporting a huge 750,000 gallon, thirty-foot-deep shark tank as its focal point. Other features include a central rotunda, theaters, extensive exhibit space and all of the infrastructure required to maintain the aquatic environment in the exhibits. A two-acre outdoor exhibit area provides a unique entry to the facility.
The building is a pile-supported concrete framed building with fabric roof areas over the rotunda and main shark exhibit.
The project is the winner of the annual statewide Grand Award for excellence in concrete design and construction presented by the New Jersey Chapter of the American Concrete Institute. It also received the Honor Award for Engineering Excellence from the Consulting Engineers Council of New Jersey.
PS&S also provided all of the geotechnical investigation and design for the project at this difficult waterfront site. The building is founded on concrete filled steel piles. An extensive ground improvement program, involving surcharging, was implemented to provide support for the outdoor exhibit area.