The Oceanarium in Lisbon, Portugal (Portuguese: Oceanário de Lisboa, pronounced ]) is an oceanarium dedicated to the ocean. It is located in the Parque das Nações, which was the exhibition grounds for the Expo '98.
The building was completed in 1996 and is the work of the architectural firm Cambridge Seven Associates under the direction of Peter Chermayeff; it is said to resemble an Aircraft carrier, and is built into the pier on an internal sea. Chermayeff is also the designer of the Osaka Oceanarium, the world's largest aquarium. The Lisbon Oceanarium has a large collection of marine species — birds, mammals, fish, cnidaria, and other marine organisms. The building is a small ride from the heart of Lisbon and is a large tourist attraction. The architecture of this building is far from the ancient buildings of Lisbon though it is only a few minutes away.
In the centre of the building lies the key element of the exhibit: an impressive 1,000 m2 and 5,000 m3 tank with four massive 49 m2 acrylic windows on its sides. Smaller focus windows are strategically located around the tank, ensuring that the view to the Global Ocean is a constant component of the tour throughout the exhibit space. Its depth of seven meters also creates a perfect opportunity for pelagic swimmers to swim far above the bottom dwellers, unfolding the illusion of the open ocean. The central tank houses sharks, rays, and chimaeras. Vertebrate fish housed in the main tank include various tuna, barracudas, groupers, moray eels, and one of the main attractions – a large Sunfish. The Lisbon Oceanarium is one of the few aquariums in the world to house a sunfish due to their unique and demanding requirements for care.
Despite its intention of representing the open ocean, the Oceanarium has been criticised by several scientists for grouping together species that would never meet in nature. While it may not depict ecosystems as they would occur in nature, the Lisbon Oceanarium is home to over 16,000 animals and plants from over 450 distinct species. The four towers around the central tank of the building house four different habitats with their native flora and fauna: the North Atlantic rocky coast, the Antarctic coastal line, the Temperate Pacific kelp forests, and the Tropical Indian coral reefs. Throughout the first floor there are additional 25 thematic aquariums with each of the habitats' own characteristics.
Other interesting species include two large spider crabs and two sea otters named Eusébio and Amália, named after two Portuguese contemporary cultural references.
The Lisbon Oceanarium’s conceptual design, architecture, and exhibit design was led by Peter Chermayeff of Peter Chermayeff LLC while at Cambridge Seven Associates.
