The $19.5-million interior renovation of the Georgia Aquarium’s existing café aimed to enhance the guest experience, increase food service capacity and update food service offerings. At the first of two levels, the café connects directly to the existing upper atrium and houses an entry, a 3,500-sq-ft kitchen, a food serving area and seating for 250 guests. The second level of approximately 6,700 sq ft connects to the lower café by an elevator and two newly constructed stairs. It houses seating for 275 guests, a warming kitchen and a large format projection surface.

The design replaced underutilized spaces and added contemporary technologies in food service equipment, audio visual elements, lighting systems and thematic finishes. As part of that effort, crews demolished an existing theater and aquarium office spaces.

In addition to the new and improved experience and efficient operational upgrades, the design added square footage that increased occupancy with the addition of a new mezzanine structure. The new dining area also offers guests a view of downtown Atlanta, which was not previously available within the building.

Photo by Rick Holliday

The project’s location within the aquarium proved particularly challenging for construction crews in terms of both logistics and access. The construction area was centrally located within the aquarium on the second floor of the building surrounded by occupied areas that are critical to the aquarium’s operations and the guest experience. The construction footprint was located directly above the main entrance, main exit, retail gift shop, jellyfish exhibit and shark exhibit. On the second level, the project’s boundaries extended into active facility areas, the main aquarium atrium, topside of the sharks exhibit and tropical diver exhibit as well as the aquarium’s executive office space. Any impact to those areas could have been detrimental to the aquarium’s operations.

In those areas, crews demolished existing spaces, systems and overhead elements located more than 68 ft in the air. Crews also erected a new third-level structure and installed kitchen, electrical and mechanical rooftop equipment that had to tie in with existing facility systems safely and without disruption to active aquarium operations.

Photo by Rick Holliday

Given that the new café is located within an aquarium, the team conducted noise and vibration testing to ensure marine life would not be disturbed in surrounding exhibits. Coordinated logistics plans were created for loading materials in and out of active areas in the building without interfering with the public.

Steel fabrication for the structure required scanning existing elements to coordinate against existing conditions. It also required preengineering members to sizes that would fit into the building and be spliced together once within the space. Without access to conventional means of concrete conveyance, the project required development of a lightweight concrete mix design to be pumped from a boom truck up to the roof and through roughly 200 ft of slick hose line along the roof and down into the building.

In the face of numerous challenges, the team was able to complete the project in December 2023 without affecting operations, delivering it on time and on budget.