Cohabitation and technical failure

Berlin once had the biggest, cylindric aquarium in the world, the Auqua Dome. In fact it was a hotel lobby dome, a modern cathedral with a giant tank filled with over 1.500 fish in the middle. The architectural concept is a twist on the submarine city, as we can find them in countless sci-fi ilustrations. (Or Jacques Cousteaus Conshelf habitat)

In December 2022 the tank ripped open and 250.000 gallons (1.000 m3) of well tempered salt water burst out into the – luckily then empty – lobby and through the doors into the street. The hotel is located right next to one of Berlin’s many canals, so countless fish probably found their way into the cold sweet water of the canal before dying.

Very few press photos show any of the unfortunate inhabitants of the aquarium. Never the less it’s a rare moment of unexpected human-animal interaction on a massive scale, a na-tech-disaster that did not really involve nature as we know it, but a domesticated, high-tech fantasy of nature.

all pictures are from: https://www.rbb24.de/panorama/beitrag/2022/12/aquarium-berlin-zerplatzt-schaden-wasser-hotel.html

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