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The Lego City 2 aquarium is one of the largest building in Lego City 2. It is also one of the most modern, integrating many of the latest parts available.
The building rises 9 stories into the skyline. The first two stories comprise a large tank filled with all manner of fish, sharks, and octopus. A special bulkhead is built into the front of the building, so that a staircase can descend to the entrance at street level. The next two stories make up the main observation deck. This allow viewers to get an up-close look right above the water-line. Divers are usually present to perform cleaning and other maintenance activities. The next two stories (starting where the lower blue domes are) make up the second observation deck. This deck provides a high viewing prospective as well as various other exhibits relating to aquatic life and the ocean. The next two stories (located in the upper dome) provide visitors an overall perspective of the facility as well as a wonderful view of the city outside. The upper stories consist of special observation towers, and a helipad. The crane on top is used occasionally when it is necessary to move a heavy load in or out of the main tank.
In the summer of 2000, the aquarium was enhanced dramatically and became the Marine Research Institute. You can see it here.
(Click on the picture to see a larger version)
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This is a larger version of the front view shown above. | |
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This shot shows the overall interior of the aquarium. All of the floors are visible. |
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This picture shows part of the tank and mid floor. |
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This is a detail shot of the main tank. Note the divers that periodically enter the take to perform cleaning and other maintenance activities. |
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The front facade is designed to look vaguely like a large sea predator. The entrance is where the creature's mouth would be. The two hemispherical observation windows represent the eyes.
The two gray 1/4 circle parts that adorn the top of the entrance required special construction. No parts with the desired shape and color could be located. In desperation, the builders purchased some metallic colored parts from a farmer. Supposedly, a UFO had crashed into his fields the year before, and he wanted to get rid of the junk pile the UFO had left. These parts were the correct size, shape, and color, but were covered with obnoxious orange and black "UFO" markings which would have been quite inappropriate for the aquarium. To address this problem, an industrial chemical known as "Brasso" was applied to the parts. This corrected the issue and the parts could now be used for the aquarium entrance. |
