AquaDom
{{Short description|Former aquarium in Berlin, Germany}}
{{Use American English|date=December 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2022}}
{{Infobox zoo
|zoo_name = AquaDom
|logo =
|logo_caption =
|image = AquaDom at the Radisson Blu in Berlin, Germany - Photo by Vxla.jpg
|image_caption = The AquaDom prior to its destruction as viewed from a room on the sixth floor of the Radisson Collection hotel.
|location = Berlin, Germany
|date_opened = 2 December 2003
|date_closed = 16 December 2022 (rupture and collapse)
|coordinates = {{coord|52|31|11|N|13|24|10|E|region:DE_type:landmark_source:dewiki|display=inline,title}}
|area =
|num_species = > 100
|num_animals = > 1,500
|largest_tank_vol =
|total_tank_vol = {{convert|980|m³|abbr=on}}
|annual_visitors =
|members =
|exhibits =
|website = {{URL|domaquaree.de}}
|owner = Union Investment}}
The AquaDom (mixed Latin and German: 'water dome', more formally 'water cathedral') was a {{convert|25|m|ft|adj=mid|-tall}} cylindrical acrylic glass aquarium with built-in transparent elevator inside the lobby of the Radisson Collection Hotel in the DomAquarée complex at Karl-Liebknecht-Straße in Berlin-Mitte, Germany.{{cite web|title=Radisson Collection Hotel, Berlin|url=https://www.radissonhotels.com/en-us/hotels/radisson-collection-berlin|website=Radisson Hotels|access-date=16 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221103190902/https://www.radissonhotels.com/en-us/hotels/radisson-collection-berlin|archive-date=3 November 2022}} The DomAquarée complex also contains offices, a museum, a restaurant, and the Berlin Sea Life Centre aquarium.
On 16 December 2022, the AquaDom aquarium ruptured and collapsed, propelling the 1,500 fish inside into nearby facilities and streets, causing considerable damage and killing the majority of the fish. A new indoor garden took its place in the hotel lobby, which reopened in February 2025.{{cite news |newspaper=Berliner Zeitung |url=https://www.berliner-zeitung.de/news/geplatzter-aquadom-wird-zum-living-tree-ein-vertikaler-garten-in-berlin-mitte-li.2205449 |title=Geplatzter Aquadom wird zum "Living Tree": Ein vertikaler Garten in Mitte |trans-title=Burst Aquadom to become 'living tree'; a vertical garden in the centre |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240415182208/https://www.berliner-zeitung.de/news/geplatzter-aquadom-wird-zum-living-tree-ein-vertikaler-garten-in-berlin-mitte-li.2205449 |archive-date=15 April 2024|lang=de |date=12 April 2024}}
Construction
The AquaDom opened on 2 December 2003{{cite news |last=Aulich|first=Uwe |date=2 December 2003 |title=Im Panoramalift durchs Fischbecken: Heute öffnet das Sea Life Berlin mit dem weltweit größten Aquarium: Fünf Minuten Karibik |trans-title=In the panoramic lift through the fish tank: Sea Life Berlin opens today with the world's largest aquarium: Five Minutes of the Caribbean |url=https://www.berliner-zeitung.de/im-panoramalift-durchs-fischbecken-heute-oeffnet-das-sea-life-berlin-mit-dem-weltweit-groessten-aquarium-fuenf-minuten-karibik-li.9270 |newspaper=Berliner Zeitung |language=de |access-date=16 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200918080652/https://www.berliner-zeitung.de/im-panoramalift-durchs-fischbecken-heute-oeffnet-das-sea-life-berlin-mit-dem-weltweit-groessten-aquarium-fuenf-minuten-karibik-li.9270|archive-date=18 September 2020|url-status=live}} at a cost of about 12.8 million euros.{{cite news |date=24 December 2003 |title=Hotel-Aquarium in Berlin |url=https://www.welt.de/print-welt/article282078/Hotel_Aquarium_in_Berlin.html |newspaper=Die Welt |language=de |access-date=16 December 2022 |archive-date=21 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221221120350/https://www.welt.de/print-welt/article282078/Hotel-Aquarium-in-Berlin.html |url-status=live }} The acrylic cylinder was manufactured by International Concept Management, Inc. using Reynolds Polymer Technology panels, with architecture drawings provided by Sergei Tchoban. It was located in the same building as the Berlin Sea Life attraction but was owned and operated by Union Investment.{{Cite web |last=Grantham-Philips |first=Wyatte |title=Giant aquarium 'completely destroyed': Tank with 1,500 fish bursts, floods Berlin street |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2022/12/16/giant-aquarium-berlin-aquadom-bursts/10908495002/ |access-date=2022-12-16 |website=USA Today |language=en-US |archive-date=20 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221220110604/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2022/12/16/giant-aquarium-berlin-aquadom-bursts/10908495002/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |date=2022-12-17 |title=Berlin AquaDom aquarium: Police not seeking suspects over explosion |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-64010677 |access-date=2022-12-17 |archive-date=17 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221217140309/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-64010677 |url-status=live }}
The aquarium was constructed from 41 acrylic panels – 26 panels for the outside cylinder and 15 panels for the inside cylinder for the elevator – which were bonded together on site.{{r|RPT}} With a diameter of about {{cvt|11|m|ft}} and a height of about {{cvt|16|m|ft}}, resting on a {{cvt|9|m|ft}} tall foundation, it held the Guinness World Record for the world's largest cylindrical aquarium.{{Cite web |title=Largest cylindrical aquarium |url=https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/85193-largest-cylindrical-aquarium |publisher=Guinness World Records |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221216083558/https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/85193-largest-cylindrical-aquarium |archive-date=16 December 2022}}
Operation
File:Diver in giant aquarium in the atrium of the SAS Radisson Berlin Germany.jpg at work in the tank]]
The water column was {{Cvt|14|m|ft}} high,{{cite web|title=Aquadom Custom Built Aquarium |url=http://www.reynoldspolymer.com/Portfolio/Aquariums/AquaDom.html |publisher=Reynolds Polymer Technology |access-date=6 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120518003743/http://www.reynoldspolymer.com/Portfolio/Aquariums/AquaDom.html |archive-date=18 May 2012 |url-status=dead}} held {{convert|1|e6L|usgal impgal}} of saltwater and accommodated about 1,500 tropical fish from over 100 species. A team of scuba divers conducted daily feedings, with {{cvt|8|kg|lb}} of feed-fish, and cleaned the tank daily.{{citation |url=https://www.reynoldspolymer.com/projects/aquadom/ |title=Aquadom |publisher=Reynolds Polymer Technology |access-date=16 December 2022 |archive-date=19 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221219123934/https://www.reynoldspolymer.com/projects/aquadom/ |url-status=live }} According to Union Investment, the owner of the complex,[https://www.stern.de/panorama/weltgeschehen/aquadom--welche-unternehmen-mit-dem-grossaquarium-verbunden-sind-33014898.html Diese Unternehmen stehen hinter dem Aquadom in Berlin], Thomas Krause, Stern, 17 December 2022 the wall thickness of the outer acrylic cylinder was {{convert|22|cm}} at the bottom and {{convert|18|cm}} at the top. The water temperature was kept at {{convert|26|-|27|C|F}}.[https://www.bz-berlin.de/berlin/mitte/aquarium-im-berliner-dom-aquaree-explodiert Aquadom geplatzt] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221217123540/https://www.bz-berlin.de/berlin/mitte/aquarium-im-berliner-dom-aquaree-explodiert |date=17 December 2022 }}, B.Z., 16 December 2022
In 2020, the aquarium was refurbished and upgraded, with all the water drained and the fish temporarily relocated to a breeding facility in the basement. According to the owner, seals were renewed at the base and an additional sealing level was fitted. The cylinder was repaired and polished in places. Maintenance work on the elevator was conducted.
Collapse and aftermath
The cylindrical tank burst at 5:43 am local time (4:43 am GMT) on 16 December 2022, sending approximately {{convert|1|e6L|usgal impgal}} of water together with the tank's 1,500 fish into the hotel lobby and adjacent street. Sandra Weeser, a member of Germany's Bundestag staying at the hotel at the time, described awakening to "a kind of shock wave".{{cite news |last1=McNamee |first1=Michael Sheils |last2=Hill |first2=Jenny |last3=Steininger |first3=Michael |title=Berlin's giant AquaDom hotel aquarium containing 1,500 fish explodes |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-63996982 |access-date=16 December 2022 |work=BBC News |date=16 December 2022 |archive-date=20 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221220213913/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-63996982 |url-status=live }}
Berlin's Technisches Hilfswerk (THW) rescue team mounted a full-scale deployment,{{cite news |last1=Solomon |first1=Erika |title=Berlin Hotel’s Huge Aquarium Bursts, With 1,500 Fish Inside |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/16/world/europe/germany-aquarium-aquadom.html |access-date=16 December 2022 |work=The New York Times |date=16 December 2022 |archive-date=20 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221220092439/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/16/world/europe/germany-aquarium-aquadom.html |url-status=live }} completing operations 12 hours later — with the hotel's lobby and atrium remaining devastated, described by onlookers as resembling a battlefield.{{r|rbb2}}
The majority of the 1,500 fish were killed{{Cite web |date=2022-12-16 |title=Huge Berlin aquarium bursts, unleashing flood of devastation |url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/huge-berlin-aquarium-bursts-unleashing-flood-of-devastation-1.6197491 |access-date=2022-12-16 |website=CTVNews |language=en |archive-date=16 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221216153516/https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/huge-berlin-aquarium-bursts-unleashing-flood-of-devastation-1.6197491 |url-status=live }} and two people were hospitalized with injuries. Officials noted the collapse could easily have taken several lives had it taken place during the hotel's busier operational hours.{{cite news|date=16 December 2022|title=Sea Life: Riesenaquarium am Berliner Dom geplatzt|url=https://www.zeit.de/news/2022-12/16/grossaquarium-mit-1000-tonnen-wasser-geplatzt-zwei-verletzte|newspaper=Die Zeit|language=de|agency=Deutsche Presse-Agentur|access-date=16 December 2022|archive-date=19 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221219221644/https://www.zeit.de/news/2022-12/16/grossaquarium-mit-1000-tonnen-wasser-geplatzt-zwei-verletzte|url-status=live}}{{cite news |last1=Ellrodt |first1=Oliver |last2=Schlie |first2=Tobias |title=Huge Berlin aquarium bursts, spilling 1,500 fish onto road |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/massive-aquarium-bursts-berlin-leisure-complex-emergency-services-2022-12-16/ |access-date=16 December 2022 |work=Reuters |date=16 December 2022 |language=en |archive-date=19 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221219082442/https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/massive-aquarium-bursts-berlin-leisure-complex-emergency-services-2022-12-16/ |url-status=live }}
Detected by local seismographs, the collapse sent the water out of the hotel lobby and into nearby storm drains, but not before damaging several nearby businesses, including a neighboring Lindt chocolate shop and the basement of the adjacent DDR Museum, the latter of which reopened three and a half months later.{{citation |url=https://www.rbb24.de/panorama/beitrag/2022/12/berlin-karl-liebknecht-strasse-aquarium-feuerwehr-polizei-einsatz.html |title=Groß-Aquarium geplatzt - Materialermüdung könnte Ursache sein |date=16 December 2022 |publisher=Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg |access-date=17 December 2022 |archive-date=16 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221216091200/https://www.rbb24.de/panorama/beitrag/2022/12/berlin-karl-liebknecht-strasse-aquarium-feuerwehr-polizei-einsatz.html |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=Valencia |first=Antonia |date=2023-04-01 |title=DDR-Museum öffnet wieder: Wie kommt das Salz auf die Erika-Schreibmaschine? |url=https://www.berliner-zeitung.de/mensch-metropole/wiedereroeffnung-von-ddr-museum-wie-kommt-das-salz-auf-die-erika-schreibmaschino-li.333995 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230402084214/https://www.berliner-zeitung.de/mensch-metropole/wiedereroeffnung-von-ddr-museum-wie-kommt-das-salz-auf-die-erika-schreibmaschino-li.333995 |archive-date=2023-04-02 |access-date=2024-04-10 |website=Berliner Zeitung |language=de}} An associated power loss threatened hundreds of smaller fish in the facility's breeding tanks, which were ultimately rescued.{{citation |url=https://www.rbb24.de/panorama/beitrag/2022/12/aqua-dom-aquarium-geplatzt-thw-einsatz-feuerwehr.html |title=Hotelgebäude nach "Aqua-Dom"-Havarie nicht einsturzgefährdet – THW beendet Einsatz |date=16 December 2022 |publisher=Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg}}
With no suspicion of foul play, and prior to a formal investigation, suspected causes included material fatigue,{{cite news |title=Sea Life Berlin: Großaquarium Aquadom zerstört – Wasser in benachbarte Keller geflossen – Ein Dutzend Fische gerettet |url=https://www.welt.de/vermischtes/article242714393/Sea-Life-Berlin-Grossaquarium-Aquadom-geplatzt-Alle-1500-Fische-tot-Ein-regelrechter-Tsunami.html |access-date=17 December 2022 |work=Die Welt |date=16 December 2022 |language=de |archive-date=16 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221216212114/https://www.welt.de/vermischtes/article242714393/Sea-Life-Berlin-Grossaquarium-Aquadom-geplatzt-Alle-1500-Fische-tot-Ein-regelrechter-Tsunami.html |url-status=live }} exacerbated by the difference between Berlin's very low air temperature ({{convert|-9|C|F}} that night), and the tank's water temperature ({{convert|26|C|F}}).RTL aktuell, 16 December 2022
On 24 October 2023, prosecutors closed the investigation into the rupture after experts failed to determine a conclusive cause.{{Cite news |date=24 October 2023 |title=Prosecutors close investigation of Berlin aquarium collapse as the cause remains unclear |language=en |work=AP News |url=https://apnews.com/article/germany-berlin-burst-aquarium-investigation-closed-aquadom-f94b95c889642f4b59896431ebc30157 |access-date=30 October 2023 |archive-date=8 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231108144152/https://apnews.com/article/germany-berlin-burst-aquarium-investigation-closed-aquadom-f94b95c889642f4b59896431ebc30157 |url-status=live }}
The hotel reopened after two years on 12 February 2025, with a {{Convert|24|m|ft|adj=on}} vertical garden consisting of about 2,000 plants replacing the aquarium.{{Cite web |date=2025-02-13 |title=News |url=https://www.airport-region.com/news/radisson-collection-hotel-reopening-with-spectacular-living-tree |access-date=2025-02-20 |website=www.airport-region.com |language=en}}
Similar events
Catastrophic failures and major leaks have occurred at numerous large acrylic tanks, including failures at the T-Rex Café at Disney Springs in Orlando; the Dubai Aquarium at the Dubai Mall; the Orient Shopping Center, Shanghai; the Gulfstream Casino, Hallandale Beach, Florida; at the Lotte Tower, Seoul, South Korea and at the Mazatlan, Mexico Aquarium.{{citation |url=https://www.plasticstoday.com/materials/when-acrylic-aquariums-fail |title=When acrylic aquariums fail |journal=Plastics Today |first=Paul J. |last=Gramann |date=13 July 2018 |access-date=16 December 2022 |archive-date=16 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221216192405/https://www.plasticstoday.com/materials/when-acrylic-aquariums-fail |url-status=live }}{{citation |url=https://madisongroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Investigating_Acrylic_Aquarium_Failures.pdf |title=Investigating Acrylic Aquarium Failures |first=Paul J.|last=Gramann |publisher=The Madison Group |date=9 July 2018}} [https://fdocuments.net/document/investigating-acrylic-aquarium-failures-madison-group-acrylic-investigating.html?page=1 Alternative URL]
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category inline|AquaDom}}
- [http://www.domaquaree.de/ CityQuartier "DomAquarée"]
{{Zoos of Germany}}
Category:Buildings and structures completed in 2003
Category:2003 establishments in Germany
Category:Building and structure collapses in 2022