Master Plan The New Bergen Aquarium
First Edition, 2021 BERGEN AQUARIUM © 2021 | Master Plan
Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6
ABOUT About this master plan Project process map Process activities Core Team Design Sprint participants The master plan in the wider process
2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5
BACKGROUND History of the Bergen Aquarium Status existing facilities Why a new aquarium? Site context - the Dokken district Support for the project
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3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3
STRATEGIC PLATFORM The Bergen Aquarium Foundation The New Bergen Aquarium’s Strategic DNA Strategic Partnerships
4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9
INSIGHTS Who are the target audiences? Research methods and organization Focus group participants Expert interview participants Key Insights - Families Key Insights - Education and Research Key Insights - Business Destination Norway Destination Bergen
5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5
CONCEPTS Introduction Meta Narrative Concepts - Families Concepts - Education and Research Concepts - Businesses
6.0 LOOKING AHEAD 6.1 Impact 6.2 Next steps 7.0 REFERENCES
Executive Summary As our climate reels from human impact, the need to better care for our natural world is more urgent than ever before. In the balance of this challenge, our oceans hold the answers to many of our most complex dilemmas, from rising temperatures, to growing demands for food and energy, and the need for improved medicines. This is why the New Bergen Aquarium is necessary as a catalyst for the future wellbeing of humanity. Unlocking the potential of the ocean begins with inspiring passion for the marine universe in all people. This is the aquarium’s main goal: to transform how we relate to the ocean and to foster future generations of ocean enthusiasts. To do this the New Bergen Aquarium will act on three fronts:
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1. Activating the curiosity and fascination of the general public. 2. Stimulating students, educators, and specialists to collaborate on ocean exploration. 3. Driving sustainable innovation in ocean businesses. Through a cycle of dissemination, collaborative research, and active learning, the organization will redefine what a modern aquarium is. More than a place for seeing, it will be a place for doing. A place where learning is experienced rather than professed. It will be a forum for exchange and collective innovation, bringing together education, science, industry and culture. More than a destination in itself, a starting-point for real-life adventures in the actual sea and in the world.
The New Bergen Aquarium’s impact is therefore immediate and infinite. It will bring jobs, prosperity, and renewed interest to Bergen as a city. With the advent of the UN Decade of Ocean Science, it will also support Norway’s role and participation in the global ocean community. Most importantly however, the New Bergen Aquarium will cultivate respect and curiosity for the ocean in future generations, fueling our ability to reinvent how we coexist with this immense portion of the planet we inhabit.
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1.
About 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6
About this master plan Project process map Process activities Core Team Design Sprint participants The master plan in the wider process
BERGEN AQUARIUM © 2021 | Master Plan
1. About 1.1 About the master plan
A master plan is a dynamic, and often long-term, strategic planning document commonly used in urban development processes. Its purpose is to provide an overview of the key components of a project and to give direction to its formal planning. The master plan also plays an important role in securing financing and long term involvement by key stakeholders.
The master plan is the result of a seven-month process involving the following broad steps:
This particular master plan builds on the vision put forward in the New Bergen Aquarium's strategic framework. A large part of the work carried out in this process has revolved around defining key audiences and understanding what the aquarium must deliver to engage those audiences successfully.
2. Insight Conducting focus groups with main target audiences. Conducting in-depth interviews with relevant specialists. Gathering and conducting secondary research.
The plan creates a structure for understanding the aquarium’s basis of existence and goals. It makes a case for why a new aquarium is necessary, describes the strategic foundation for the idea, and explores who the most important user groups will be and what they care about. The plan works as a guideline for inspiring architecture and content development, ultimately grounding the New Bergen Aquarium in a user-centric logic. Ultimately, it is a living document that will continue to evolve and throughout the course of the development process.
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More detailed descriptions of the activities involved can be found in subsequent sections and chapters.
1. Establishing the project Process to define the scope of the project. Process to define main target audiences. Establishing methodologies and process frameworks.
3. Concept development Establishing three multidisciplinary teams. Conducting three Design Sprints to develop content concepts and ideas. 4. Master Plan Production Refining key concepts developed in the workshops. Translating all content from Norwegian to English. Writing the Master Plan.
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1. About 1.2 Project process map Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
2021
PLANNING Defining scope Establishing process
INSIGHT Planning research
Recruitment
Focus groups and interviews
Conducting secondary research
CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT Onboarding workshop teams Planning and preparation for workshops
Creative workshops
Finalizing content concepts and illustrations
PRODUCTION Gathering existing background information Analysis, translation, writing, editing
Final text production Design production
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1. About 1.3 Process activities
1.
2.
3.
4.
Planning
Insight
Concept Development
Production
Establishing the foundations of the project, methodologies, and general organization.
Conducting user research to map out the needs and desires of key audiences that can inform content creation.
Facilitating Design Sprints (one per target group) to generate content ideas. Each Sprint involved the following steps:
Producing and finalizing the written and visual contents of the Master Plan document.
1. Framing the challenge and defining the scope of the Master Plan. 2. Establishing a content outline for the Master Plan. 3. Identifying most important user groups. 4. Establishing a core team for the Master Plan process. 5. Planning research, workshops, activities and dates. 6. Recruitment and onboarding of Design Sprint teams.
1. Organizing and conducting focus groups with lapsed users, active users, and youths. 2. Organizing and conducting in-depth interviews with educators, destination experts, business leaders, and relevant specialists. 3. Gathering and analyzing strategic documents, background information, as well as tourism and visitation reports. 4. Compiling key insights into evidence packs for use in the Design Sprints. 5. Extracting highlights from interviews and editing videos for use in the Design Sprints.
1. Understand. Reviewing and processing audience insight as a group. Defining a longterm goal. 2. Ideation. Conceptualizing and sketching multiple content ideas. 3. Selection. Identifying the strongest ideas. 4. Story. Exploring how the selected ideas fit into an overarching narrative.
1. Creating a general structure for the document. 2. Researching and producing background information. 3. Refining concept descriptions from Design Sprints. 4. Redrawing and improving all solution sketches from the Design Sprints. 5. Finalizing all written contents. 6. Finalizing the document design.
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The workshops have yielded 22 concept sketches. A decision was made not to test the ideas at this stage of the process.
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1. About 1.4 Core Team
ASLAK SVERDRUP BERGEN AQUARIUM
VELINE HØYLAND BERGEN AQUARIUM
ESPEN HANSEN BERGEN AQUARIUM
ANDY SCISCO BRANDITY
STINA CLARSEN BRANDITY
INA STØLEN BRANDITY
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CAMILLA LØKEN BRANDITY
TOM ASLE FLATHOLM APRIIL
SANDRA NESS TURNS / BAY ECOTARIUM
KARIN PITTMAN UIB / BAY ECOTARIUM
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1. About 1.5 Design Sprint participants
JOHN JACOBSEN WILLDER
FREDRIK BARTH VILL URBANISME
EIRIK JOHNSEN CREUNA
MAREN KNUDSEN EGGS
ELISABETH ELBOTH TRY PEARL
RØNNAUG NYMARK VISIT BERGEN
JONAS SØBSTAD HOLON ARKITEKTER
TANJA HOEL HATCH
KIM KRISTOFFERSEN BERGEN LIVE
TRULS BERGH CURE AS
ROBIN DALE OEN DALE OEN EXPERIENCE
TORDUR BRYNGEIRSSON MAD ARKITEKTER
KATJA ENBERG UIB
NINA ROGNE DANIELSEN
ANDERS WAAGE NILSEN NEW
PREBEN CARLSEN GO GOOD
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1. About 1.6 The master plan in the wider process
The process of developing the New Bergen Aquarium follows the Norwegian state's project model for large investments.
the aquarium to the Dokken area, and a specific location for the building is scheduled to be publicly announced by the Bergen Municipality early 2021. The land area strategy for the district of Dokken is also expected to be settled in 2021.
This step-by-step scheme is generally applied for large scale investments in Norway. The model clearly defines requirements for methodology and quality assurance during the development process, and has the following phases:
The Master Plan will be an important source of information throughout the remaining stages of the New Bergen Aquarium's development, and beyond. It will serve as an anchor for interactions with the government, developers, stakeholders, and partners, ensuring cohesion between the aquarium's strategic goals and the its physical embodiment and contents.
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
Idea phase Pre-study Preliminary project Detailed project Execution Deployment Operation
Development is currently in the Pre-study phase. Funding has been secured for the Pre-study, and a feasibility study looking at potential future options for the Bergen Aquarium has also been conducted. The Bergen Aquarium board has concluded to move
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1. About 1.6 The master plan in the wider process
Idea phase
Pre-study
DNA Master Plan Architect competition Project Planning Financing Regulation-planning
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Pre-Project
Detailed Project
Execution
Start-up
Operation
PHOTO BY FRANCISCO MUNOZ
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2.
Background 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5
History of the Bergen Aquarium Status existing facilities Why a new aquarium? Site context - the Dokken district Support for the project
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2. Background 2.1 History of the Bergen Aquarium
The predecessor to the current Bergen Aquarium was created in 1892 when a temporary display of fish and other sea creatures was created to showcase the local marine environment. The exhibit proved so popular with the public that it was made permanent. The site later expanded with an outdoor pond accommodating several seals, before closing down in 1916 due to pollution, traffic congestions and an unstable financial situation. Thirty-four years later, in 1950, the Director of the Institute of Marine Research at the time, Gunnar Rollefsen, brought forward the idea of a new aquarium. Rollefsen played a prominent role in international marine research organizations and was in many ways ahead of his time in terms of dissemination of research to the public. Gunnar Rollefsen had a vision to create an aquarium that could be a useful research tool, as well as a source of joy and enlightenment to the public - a leading aquarium in a European context. When the Bergen Aquarium was inaugurated in 1960, it was Northern Europe's largest and most modern aquarium. Architects Hans Christian Gaserud and Helge Simers earned the assignment of designing the aquarium after winning a competitive bid in 1952. Professor Gunnar Rollefsen was in charge of the exhibition displays at the new aquarium.
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A local fundraising campaign financed the build of the aquarium, where the Bergen Municipality joined forces with a number of local businesses and private donors to raise the amount required. The Bergen Aquarium and the Institute of Marine Research buildings were designed by the same architects and built side by side on the Nordnes peninsula, with a partly shared infrastructure. The Bergen Aquarium Foundation was established 1993. Up until this point, Akvarieselskapet i Bergen had been a privately owned company for several decades. The new form of entity allowed for a more flexible financial strategy, including the opportunity for public fundraising. A couple of years later, in 1995, the aquarium was further expanded with another building and doubled in size. Today, the Bergen Aquarium has cemented its important role in the community. For 60 years, it has been a source of inspiration and knowledge for scientists, for the Norwegian population and international guests. The current aquarium grounds accommodate more than 60 basins and three outdoor ponds, but further physical growth is no longer possible. The facilities are outdated and marked by the ravages of time, and the decision to create a new aquarium has been made.
2. Background 2.1 History of the Bergen Aquarium
1950
1960
1993
2017
Gunnar Rollefsen gives a lecture in the Bergen Trade Association. The aquarium committee is formed.
King Olav V is responsible for the official opening of the Aquarium in Bergen on the 27th of August.
The Bergen Aquarium Foundation is established.
The plans for the new aquarium are launched.
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
2010
2020
1952
1985
1995
2012
Architect competition launched and won by Hans Christian Gaaserund og Helge Simers fra Oslo.
An extension of 173 square meters is completed and taken into use. The extension was inaugurated in connection with the 25th anniversary.
A larger new building of 1150 square meters and three floors is inaugurated.
An assessment report by Statsbygg reveals that the aquarium’s technical facilities are in very poor condition.
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2. Background 2.2 Status existing facilities
The Bergen Aquarium and the Institute of Marine Research are closely connected. The two buildings are adjacent to each other on the Nordnes Peninsula and share certain infrastructures, such as electricity and water. The land is owned by the Norwegian Directorate of Public Construction & Property (Statsbygg) - a government agency that manages central parts of the real estate portfolio of the Government of Norway. The buildings are partly owned by the aquarium and partly by Statsbygg. An assessment report was carried out by Statsbygg in 2012 and revealed that the conditions of the technical facilities at the Bergen Aquarium and Institute of Marine Research are in a very poor condition. The report concluded that major interventions in the building stock were necessary by 2022. Further surveys carried out by Statsbygg and by an external contractor have confirmed that the building stock's life expectancy, around 50 years, has been exceeded. The buildings are severely marked by time and are rapidly degenerating. Ongoing maintenance demands are high, bordering on critical. BERGEN AQUARIUM © 2021 | Master Plan
Concrete and metal structures are eroding due to the extensive use of saltwater in the aquarium operations. Meanwhile, the Norwegian government has decided to re-locate the Institute of Marine Research together with the Directorate of Fisheries to another area of the city, Dokken, as soon as possible. Once the Institute of Marine Research moves, the Bergen Aquarium's shared infrastructure will be fundamentally affected. The circumstances surrounding the aquarium’s current site are therefore getting increasingly challenging. Additionally, the location on the very tip of the Nordnes peninsula, has its own challenges. Many people consider the distance from Bergen city centre too far to walk, public transport is limited, and the prospects of any future redevelopment are limited due to lack of space. In short, the existing facilities are not sustainable in the long or short term. A process looking into the alternative options has therefore been conducted.
2. Background 2.3 Why a new aquarium?
The history of Norway is in large parts a story about the ocean. Thanks to its ocean resources and connection to the sea, Norway has become a world leader in marine technology, fishery and aquaculture, shipping and offshore energy. The ocean has been a source for immense national value creation, giving rise to the Norwegian welfare state as we know it today, as well as one of the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world. With the current climate crisis however, all of the sectors which have made this growth possible are now under pressure to change. The industrial foundations upon which modern Norwegian society is built are being called into question. The world as a whole faces several existential dilemmas challenging everything from how we live, how we move and consume, to how we can sustain the growing global population.
© KARTVERKET
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Vastly unexplored and occupying over seventy percent of the planet’s surface, the ocean can provide solutions for many of these challenges. The need for generating and sharing ocean knowledge is therefore greater than ever. Making this happen will require
raising public awareness, inspiring future generations to participate in ocean learning, and investing in new approaches to scientific exploration, innovation, and resource management. With its know-how and history, Norway has both an exceptional opportunity and responsibility to contribute to this effort. Located at the heart of the Norwegian coastline, Bergen is home to a unique mix of exceptional ocean research and education institutions and marine businesses. Headed by Bergen’s city council, momentum is now building to solidify the nation’s strongest marine cluster and Norway’s position as a leading ocean authority. As a central part of this effort, a major urban development project is also under way to rejuvenate the waterfront district Dokken. The area will strengthen the city’s ‘marine axis' creating Europe's largest concentration of marine industry and research groups. The timing for a New Bergen Aquarium is therefore optimal. The nation’s leading ocean organizations are reorganizing and converging towards better cooperation and public outreach, aligning with the UN Ocean Panel’s call for better dissemination of ocean knowledge. Dokken is up for redevelopment, providing the city a unique opportunity to renew its storytelling and attractiveness as a travel destination and place to live. 18
2. Background 2.3 Why a new aquarium?
Owing to the state of the current aquarium’s facilities a feasibility study, funded by the Bergen Municipality and the Hordaland County, was carried out in spring 2019, to investigate options for the future of the Bergen Aquarium. The options that were brought forward and explored were the following: 1. To remain in its current location on Nordnes 2. To co-locate with the Institute of Marine Research and the Directorate of Fisheries in the Dokken district 3. To co-locate with an alternative partner in the Bergen City Centre 4. To create an independent aquarium in the centre of Bergen 5. To create an independent aquarium outside of the Bergen city centre. The Bergen Aquarium board, together with its advisory board, have decided to re-locate the Bergen Aquarium to the Dokken district, close to the Institute of Marine Research and the Directorate of Fisheries.
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2. Background 2.4 Site context - the Dokken district
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2. Background 2.4 Site context - the Dokken district
Beyond planning pertaining to the New Bergen Aquarium, the municipality of Bergen has initiated a process for redeveloping the Dokken area, the waterfront facing the Puddefjord. Currently serving as the city’s freight port, Dokken is set to become a future-oriented, sustainable and vibrant district of the extended city center. The ambition is to develop Dokken into an inspiring community with a variety of housing, businesses, services, cultural and recreational offerings. The residential areas of the Dokken district are planned to be accessible, inclusive and appealing for families. They shall provide opportunities for low-income households and will be designed with key principles like generosity, flexibility and multipurpose in mind. Dokken will be a zero-emission district. The new area will also see the co-location of the Institute of Marine Research and the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries. The New Bergen Aquarium will be situated close by. The proximity between these institutions and several other ocean organizations offers significant opportunities for collaboration and future synergy, as stated by the Bergen Municiplaity: “The co-location of the Institute of Marine Research and the Directorate of Fisheries, together with the Bergen Aquarium, will create one of Europe's strongest marine clusters for education, research, and business innovation and strengthen Bergen's position as Norway's ocean capital. Establishing these actors prominently and early on, will make Dokken's identity as part of Ocean Capital Bergen evident. The location of these institutions provides opportunities for the whole world to come to Dokken, and will contribute to city life and diversity. This process is already underway.” BERGEN AQUARIUM © 2021 | Master Plan
2. Background 2.4 Site context - the Dokken district
The proposed development process of the new city district could potentially span over several decades. It will follow a step by step program led by the Bergen Municipality, ensuring a democratic process where all user-needs are taken into account. There are currently several processes in motion to clarify the area strategy for Dokken, and for mapping out the process ahead. The Institute of Marine Research, The Directorate of Fisheries and the New Bergen Aquarium are planned to be first off the starting block, pioneering the development process with a proposed completion by 2025. The land area allocation plan has been initiated and is expected to be concluded in 2021. © TEAM ASPLAN VIAK / MAD
© TEAM ADVANSIA / VILL
The New Bergen Aquarium will be the central engine for the development of the area. It has the opportunity to be a gathering point in Bergen connecting culture, science and academic circles and businesses with an ocean focus.
© TEAM TREDJE NATUR
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2. Background 2.5 Support for the project
The decision to create a new national aquarium in Bergen has received extensive support from the public, the municipality and from individuals in the government. Local, regional, and national government agencies are united in their decision to prioritize the project and to finance the PreStudy phase of the process. Further financial support is likely, as the project has been included in six National Budget mentions from the Parliament to the Government. Private businesses and research institutions have also expressed strong support by contributing to the Pre-Study phase financially. The Bergen Municipality and the local trade industries are unanimous in their support for the project. The Bergen City Council has given Statsbygg a priority to purchase land area in the Dokken district for The Directorate of Fisheries, the Institute of Marine research. Land area for the aquarium is currently being assessed and will be decided shortly.
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ROGER VALHAMMER HEAD OF THE BERGEN CITY COUNCIL
The City Council is in favor of the Aquarium's plans to move to Dokken together with the Institute of Marine Research and the Directorate of Fisheries.
DAG RUNE OLSEN HEAD MASTER UNIVERSITY OF BERGEN
UiB places great emphasis on disseminating knowledge of research. The aquarium has, therefore been a partner for many years. The marine sector is important for Norway's future. Bergen is an attractive student city. The "New Aquarium" will give us even more opportunities.
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2. Background 2.5 Support for the project
SISSEL ROGNE
MONICA MÆLAND
DIRECTOR THE INSTITUTE OF MARINE RESEARCH
MINISTER FOR THE NORWEGIAN GOVERNMENT
The Institute of Marine Research aims for a global reach when disseminating the results of our research. Solid knowledge of the Norwegian ocean areas and of ocean health is necessary to ensure a future for our children and grand children. We disseminate the results of the research in many different ways, including via websites, social media, at lectures and through exhibitions in public places. The Aquarium is a unique communication channel in this context. This is one of the reasons that the Institute of Marine Research values a close and great collaboration with the Aquarium.
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Norway is one of the world's leading port nations. Our coastline is one of the longest in the world, and we have an ocean area that is more than five times larger than our land area. Every single day, hundreds of thousands of Norwegians go to work in the ocean-based industries, which together account for about 70 per cent of our export revenues. Significant growth is expected in the marine industries globally, and in industries where Norway has important advantages. If Norway is to continue to be the best at sea, public authorities must facilitate continued growth and development for the maritime industries, as well as ensuring that sector-specific knowledge is utilised across the industries. This is the reason why the government presented the maritime strategy "New growth, proud history" in February (2017?). The main goal is to contribute to the greatest possible overall sustainable value creation and employment in the maritime industries. The strategy highlights the opportunities that exist for business activity connected to the ocean, and pays particular attention to strengthening the interaction as well as the transfer of knowledge and experience between the maritime industries. The report describes how the authorities facilitate further growth in the most sustainable and efficient way. Employment.
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2. Background 2.5 Support for the project
OLE-EIRIK LERØY
HARALD SCHJELDERUP
CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF MARINE HARVEST
FORMER HEAD OF THE BERGEN CITY COUNCIL
There are many myths about the aquaculture industry. A communication platform that explains how we actually work, and how we constantly develop concerning the environment, sustainability issues and animal welfare would be a great benefit to us. Also, we are constantly looking for future talents. I hope the "New Aquarium" can contribute in making us an even more attractive industry for future employees, and that "Nye Akvariet" can help build the Norwegian seafood industry's reputation nationally and internationally.
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For almost 60 years, the aquarium has helped to profile Bergen and make our city known both in Norway and in the rest of the world. The aquarium is one of our most important and most visited attractions. A new aquarium will make Bergen an even more attractive tourist destination. At least as important is that our city spreads knowledge about research, education and business. The marine industries will be vital for Bergen in the years to come. These industries will help finance our welfare in the future. Therefore, I hope the "New Aquarium" will help to create commitment and enthusiasm so that more people choose to train for jobs in the marine industries.
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3.
Strategic Platform 3.1 3.2 3.3
The Bergen Aquarium Foundation The New Bergen Aquarium’s Startegic DNA Strategic Partnerships
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3. Strategic Platform 3.1 The Bergen Aquarium Foundation
The Bergen Aquarium has been a privately-operating foundation since 1993, when the company structure was changed to its current form. Prior to this it was a private enterprise called Akvarieselskapet i Bergen. The main benefit of this change of structure, was that it allowed for a a more flexible financial strategy, including the opportunity for public fundraising. The Bergen Aquarium Foundation is led by an appointed board and by a managing director. The board reports to a superseding advisory board composed of twelve members. The foundation’s purpose is “to be of joy and benefit of both professionals and the general public, and to increase knowledge of and respect for life in the oceans”. The non-profit organization has made a vow to provide the public with a realistic presentation of the Norwegian marine fauna and to promote the knowledge about life under water. The foundation carries its own costs and the profits are used to further develop the aquarium facilities and to sustain conservation programs. The Bergen Aquarium aims to remain a private foundation after the transformation and move to the new site at Dokken. The development will be financed through a combination of public funding and private donations from key stakeholders. It intends to start the new operations with a clean slate and a self-sustaining financial model.
© ALEK PÈREZ PHOTOGRAPHY
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3. Strategic Platform 3.2 The New Bergen Aquarium’s Strategic DNA
Kicking-off the Pre-study phase, a strategic platform (DNA) was developed for the New Bergen Aquarium in winter 2020. The platform functions like a strategic anchor for the aquarium, summarizing its purpose, values and role. It provides a basic framework for strategic decisions in the development process and beyond.
VISION We aim to create a global community of “aquanauts” who will protect the Earth. MISSION To transform how we relate to the ocean, through immersive, sensory experiences and world-leading knowledge dissemination. VALUE PROPOSITIONS • We will provide an unprecedented immersive sensory experience of the ocean. • We will share knowledge that transforms people, their understanding of, and the way they experience the ocean. • We will spark the interest and desire in people to learn more about the ocean. CORE VALUES Global Community The New Aquarium will be part of a global community of world-leading institutions and will disseminate first-hand knowledge about ocean-related topics.
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Immersiveness The new aquarium will stimulate visitors' curiosity through immersive sensory experiences, creating love and passion for the ocean. Involvement The New Bergen Aquarium will involve and activate people in generating and sharing ocean knowledge. Responsibility The New Bergen Aquarium will contribute to the sustainable management of the ocean and its resources, through the dissemination of research and best- practice expertise. The building itself and its operation shall also be sustainable. ROLE The New Bergen Aquarium will function as a world-leading arena ocean knowledge dissemination, connecting academia, government authorities, business and the general public. It will be a driving force in establishing Norway as an ocean capital in the world.
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3. Strategic Platform 3.2 The New Bergen Aquarium’s Strategic DNA
MISSION To transform how we relate to the ocean, through immersive, sensory experiences and world-leading knowledge dissemination.
CORE VALUES Global Community Immersiveness Involvement Responsibility
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VISION DNA
We aim to create a global community of “aquanauts” who will protect the Earth.
An ocean temple, activating love for the marine world in all people.
ROLE
VALUE PROPOSITIONS
A world-leading arena for ocean knowledge dissemination, connecting academia, government authorities, business and the general public.
We will provide an unprecedented immersive sensory experience of the ocean. We will share knowledge that transforms people, their understanding, and the way they experience the ocean. We will spark the interest and desire in people to learn more about the ocean.
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3. Strategic Platform 3.3 Strategic partnerships
Partnership is inscribed at the very heart of the New Bergen Aquarium’s strategic plans. Becoming an arena for ocean knowledge means a fundamental part of the aquarium’s activity will involve cultivating and organizing collaboration across disciplines and interest groups for the greater good. The aquarium has a history of successful collaborations, most notably embodied by its co-location with the Institute of Marine Research at its current location in Nordnes. Dating back to 1960, the partnership was the result of a vision promoted by the Institute’s director at the time, Gunnar Rollefsen. His idea was to create an aquarium that could be an asset to researchers and the public alike. As both institutions now plan to relocate to Dokken, discussions are under way to formally renew their cooperation into the future. Together with the Directorate of Fisheries (also set to move to the same area) there is a unique opportunity to redefine how the three institutions work together and how they can embody Norway’s ocean strategy through their physical design and conceptual output.
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The aquarium was therefore born out of a partnership and in its new role it will also seek to stimulate cooperation for ocean sustainability going forward. One way it will do this is by collaborating with schools and higher education. The aquarium aims to partner with regional and national education agencies to co-develop learning programs that are fully integrated with academic curricula, ultimately becoming a resource that students and educators use on a daily basis, locally and remotely. This plan will also involve collaborating with aquariums and learning institutions around the world. The New Bergen Aquarium also envisages serving as a hub where research and innovation circles and future-oriented businesses can come together to work on solving ocean sustainability challenges. Being located at the heart of Bergen’s marine axis, means the aquarium will be surrounded by the world’s highest density of marine scientists, some of the world’s leading aquaculture companies, and several highly specialized innovation clusters - in other words, the epicenter of Norway’s marine competence. The aquarium will seek to become a gathering point for all of these interests and a force for synergetic cooperation.
One of the aquarium’s broadest goals is to stimulate the general public’s curiosity and passion for the ocean. The vision is that ocean science should not be a niche-specialization exclusively reserved for experts, but that everyone can be an explorer and contribute to increased marine knowledge. Making this idea a reality will mean galvanizing people to partake in a variety of initiatives for the sea. These may involve things like citizen science projects, clean-up expeditions, inspiring behavioral shifts, or even simply stimulating people to go out and experience the marine world first hand. The aquarium’s success therefore hinges largely on it’s ability to create strong partnerships: with the public, with education and research institutions, with ocean agencies, with the private sector, on site at Dokken and beyond.
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PHOTO BY FRANCISCO MUNOZ
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4.
Insights 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9
Who are the target audiences? Research methods and organization Focus group participants Expert interview participants Key Insights - Families Key Insights - Education and Research Key Insights - Business Destination Norway Destination Bergen
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4. Insights 4.1 Who are the target audiences?
The most important thing we have to know if we are going to create a place and an offering that people actually want, is what is valueable for the user. If we can understand what the intended users value (what their needs and motivations are) we can then use all the disciplines at our disposal to create content that meets and exceeds those expectations. Rather than imagining the aquarium building first, our approach has therefore been to begin by imagining who the New Bergen Aquarium will be for.
To define the New Bergen Aquarium’s target groups we have taken multiple considerations into account:
• How can the New Bergen Aquarium take a more important role in preserving the world’s oceans?
dissemination and joint collaboration. They do not represent the aquarium’s entire audience spectrum, but together they make up a very strong whole that best can create awareness, interest and engagement around the opportunities and threats the ocean is facing today.
• Who does the current-day aquarium serve successfully? How can we preserve this community?
• Are there any obvious segments the current-day aquarium • • •
can grow in? Who does the current-day aquarium not manage to engage and why? How might the New Bergen Aquarium’s strategic platform create opportunities for engaging entirely new visitor groups? Who will be the most likely repeat visitors of the New Aquarium?
To become a catalyst for ocean sustainability and increase public respect and love for the ocean, the New Bergen Aquarium has a key role to play for three central visitor groups: Families, Education and Research, and Businesses. These audiences are not regarded as disconnected segments, but as three interdependent parts in a cycle of content creation,
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4. Insights 4.1 Who are the target audiences?
1. Families
2. Education and Research
3. Business
The group we call Families includes both local and visiting families, from Norway and abroad, in all forms and age groups. These represent the core users of current-day aquarium, with whom the New Bergen Aquarium intends to create a much deeper, enduring relationship, spanning from childhood to older age.
Our vision to be a driving force for knowledge dissemination makes schools, educational institutions, and research institutions, obvious target audiences. More than passive spectators, we see learning institutions as partners in a collective effort to stimulate curiosity about marine life and to inspire transformational change over generations.
Our location on the Norwegian coastline is the home of some of the World’s most important ocean industries. Being located here, means the aquarium has an exceptional opportunity to be a forum for exchange, collaboration, and sustainable innovation for future ocean value creation.
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4. Insights 4.2 Research methods and organization
In view of identifying relevant opportunities that can inform content creation, we have conducted first hand, qualitative research exploring the needs and desires of each target group. This kind of insight allows us to tap into deeper audience motivations and to decode the role the aquarium needs to fulfill in order to become a place that people will use over and over again. The research has focused on a combination of served and underserved audiences. We’ve conducted focus groups with parents, youths, and teachers. We’ve interviewed managing directors of other family oriented destinations in Norway to learn from their experiences, best practices and accumulated knowledge. We’ve discussed teaching and learning with professors, education specialists, and school administrators. And we have also done in-depth interviews with a variety of people in the Bergen business community, including board members from leading seafood companies, to members from the Bergen Chamber of Commerce.
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In a general sense, the insight uncovers that public interest, educational practice, and business needs, are converging towards a deeper connection with the oceans. We also see that a new aquarium has several other purposes it can fulfill, in the way it interacts with the city and services multiple interests. Across all groups interviewed, the most striking finding of all is perhaps this: in all conversations we’ve had around future aquarium contents, very few people choose to talk about biological species. The greatest enthusiasm and interest has always been around active visitor involvement, building features, the atmosphere, and the aquarium’s connection with the outdoors. It’s almost as if the aquarium’s distinctiveness may be defined by offerings that are secondary to traditional core business. The following sections of the Master Plan highlight key findings for each target audience we’ve investigated. Excerpts (in Norwegian) from selected interviews can also be viewed in the video links below.
• Excerpts from Families interiews • Excerpts from Education and Research interiews • Excerpts from Business interiews
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4. Insights 4.2 Research methods and organization
Families
Education and Research
Business
3 Focus groups • Lapsed users of current aquarium • Active users of current aquarium • Youths (16-19 years old)
1 Focus group • teachers in Bergen (lower, middle and high school)
6 Expert Interviews • Solveig Holm, Advisor, The Seafood Innovation Cluster • Anders Nyland, CEO, Visit Bergen • Anders Gjendemsjø, Marine Resource Group, Bergen Chamber of Commerce • Fredrik Hald, Head of Product Development, Lerøy Seafood, board member of Bergen Aquarium • Kathrine Trovik, Board Mmember, Grieg Seafood • Marit Warncke, Director, Bergen Chamber of Commerce
5 Expert Interviews
• Per Arnstein Aamot, CEO Kristiansand Dyrepark • Anita Nybø, CEO Fløyen • Yngve Kvinnsland, Board Member Handicaped Children’s Family Association
• Stein Ove Rolland, CEO Fjord Norway • Espen Thøgersen, CEO Urban Jungle
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10 Expert Interviews Nils Gunnar Kvamstø, Marine Dean, University of Bergen Torunn Myrva, Senior Curator, KODE Dayne Buddo, Director Bay Academy, Bay Ecotarium Monica Håkansson, Education Advisor, Bergen City Council Morten Fahlvik, Education Advisor, Bergen City Council Katja Enberg, Professor, University of Bergen Trond Wahl, Advisor, County of Vestland Siv Nyegaard, Headmaster, Haukeland School Mads Fjellbirkeland, Science Teacher, Haukeland School Kristian Ueland, Science Teacher, Vadmyra School
• • • • • • • • • •
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4. Insights 4.3 Focus group participants
Teachers Elementary - High School
Families 1 Active Visitors Youths 16 - 19 years
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Families 2 Lapsed Visitors
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4. Insights 4.4 Expert interview participants
NILS GUNNAR KVAMSTØ UIB
MONICA HÅKANSSON DEPT. EDUCATION, BERGEN
STEIN OVE ROLLAND FJORD NORWAY
TORUNN MYRVA KODE
DAYNE BUDDO BAY ECOTARIUM
KRISTIAN UELAND VADMYRA SCHOOL
MORTEN FAHLVIK DEPT. EDUCATION, BERGEN
TROND WAHL COUNTY OF VESTLAND
SIV NYEGAARD HAUKELAND SKOLE
MADS FJELLBIRKELAND HAUKELAND SKOLE
KATJA ENBERG UIB
ANDERS GJENDEMSJØ BERGEN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
ANDERS NYLAND VISIT BERGEN
ANITA NYBØ FLØYEN
SOLVEIG HOLM SEAFOOD INNOVATION CLUSTER
FREDRIK HALD LERØY SEAFOOD
YNGVE KVINNSLAND ASSOCIATION FOR PARENTS WITH DISABLED KIDS
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PER ARNSTEIN AAMOT DYREPARKEN KRISTIANSAND
MARIT WARNCKE BERGEN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
ESPEN THØGERSEN URBAN JUNGLE
KATRINE TROVIK BOARD GRIEG SEAFOOD
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4. Insights 4.5 Key Insights - Families
1. Wow-experiences. Families are looking for extraordinary experiences. Their reference points are global. They’ve been everywhere around the world and have seen everything on offer. Creating a reason-to-go destination means the New Aquarium must surpass all expectations and even redefine what an aquarium actually is. 2. Proximity. Families and Youths want experiences that draw them right in. Closeness to the animals, elements, and exhibit content is key to increasing engagement, and ultimately driving emotional connection with ocean life. 3. Active participation. The days of static displays where visitors are passive spectators are over. Families imagine a place where they can do things, rather than just see things. From creative workshops to exploratory activities, they are eager to be involved actively. 4. Adrenaline. From fear to excitement and momentary discomfort, this visitor group is also keen on emotional high-points. They are eager to be stimulated, for entertainment value and for lasting impressions. 5. From land to sea. This audience’s vision for what the New Aquarium can offer also extends beyond the walls of the aquarium itself. They imagine the aquarium can also offer real-life nature experiences, out at sea, potentially even in the water. 6. Strengthening family bonds. Beyond the thematic contents of the aquarium, parents are specifically interested in experiences that heighten family quality time. The aquarium therefore has an opportunity to become an anchor for meaningful family moments, and experiences also need to be designed to deepen how families connect with each other. BERGEN AQUARIUM © 2021 | Master Plan
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4. Insights 4.5 Key Insights - Families
7. A cornerstone but not the only offering. From informal zones to shops and recreational areas, the outside of the New Aquarium is as important as the inside. Attracting families requires providing an entire ecosystem of offerings beyond the aquarium itself, multiplying the reasons for visiting the area as a whole.
12. Free activities. Like their parents, teens also express interest in doing rather than only seeing. From kayaking, to skateboarding, swimming, art, simulators, and outdoor concerts, they think very freely about what the New Aquarium and the district as a whole can offer. Most importantly for this group, activities must be freely accessible, or at least very affordable.
8. Good food. Banal as it may seem, quality food can go a long way in elevating the Family experience. This is in part because Families expect food in places like aquariums to be of poor quality. The approach to food however also has much deeper significance, because it can serve as a mirror for the aquarium’s sustainability narrative and tap into some fundamental values relating to what it means to be a family.
13. Beyond fish in a tank. Everyone agrees that a Nordic aquarium should feature local species prominently and that good animal welfare makes it easier to accept animals in captivity. Generally speaking however, Families are most eager to discuss ancillary services rather than core aquarium offerings (like collections, exhibits, species, etc.). It’s as if the main contents are hygiene factors and all the extras are what will make the aquarium unique.
9. More than a Family Destination. In the minds of teenagers “a family destination” is code for “boring,” “childish,” and “not for me.” Succeeding with Youths begins with understanding that teens neither associate to the family segment, nor the adult segment. To connect with teens therefore, aquarium offerings and messaging must be designed specifically for youths, and perhaps even by youths. 11. A place to be together. Teens underline that they are weary of social media and screen-based interaction. They want real connection with their friends, even if informal. They lament the general lack of places for hanging out and find places like youth clubs (and anything associated with the city council) totally uninspiring.
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4. Insights 4.6 Key Insights - Education and Research
1. Curriculum integration. If we want schools and learning institutions to use the aquarium actively, a program that integrates with school curricula and learning objectives (at various grade levels) is essential. This is the backbone of working with schools successfully. 2. Interdisciplinary learning. The core curriculum for Norwegian education takes a holistic approach to learning, with an increasing focus on interconnected themes rather than individual subjects. The New Aquarium must think about how it can go beyond marine biology and increase its relevance through adjacent themes and subjects like food, health, mathematics, social studies, climate change, and more. 3. Active learning. A big part of the allure of places like aquariums and museums for schools is to engage students in ways that are not possible in the classroom. Static displays however, are no longer sufficient for achieving this. Teachers and students want practical hands-on activities, curated tasks, science projects, immersive presentations, and so on. 4. Outdoor activities. Tapping into the Norwegian mindset means also catering to the love of the outdoors. This is also highly relevant for engaging schools, which see big benefits in taking students outside, exposing them to the real ocean, the shoreline, animals in nature, the elements, on and even in the water. 5. Adrenaline-rush. Keeping student engagement high also requires provoking a sense of excitement. Teachers are keen on experiences that provoke big emotions and make learning fun and exciting.
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4. Insights 4.6 Key Insights - Education and Research
6. A guided experience. Many teachers feel ill-equipped to lead students through exhibits successfully. Ideally they would prefer if visits were facilitated by trained educational specialists that can maximize the value schools can get out of their time at the aquarium. 7. Mixed media environments. To keep learning fresh and dynamic, educators rely on frequently varying learning mediums and contexts. The aquarium must provide a multitude of learning environments, ranging from (for example) traditional classroom space, to hands-on labs, to physical outdoor experiences, to high tech contexts. 8. Learning over time. Supporting deep learning also means designing programs that span over longer periods of time. If our aim is to make aquarium visits part of student daily life we have to consider how singular learning activities connect into an extended educational arc, and how this ties into course-work at school, university, and elsewhere.
10. Credibility. The proliferation of corporate sponsored exhibits raises several questions that can be a challenge for the integrity of learning programs. Are there vested interests behind exhibit messaging? Who’s world-view does the exhibit represent? What strings may be attached to being associated to any given sponsor? Learning institutions in Norway are very uncomfortable with corporate involvement in learning programs. 11. Practicality. Beyond core learning experiences, schools need a whole range of practical amenities without which aquarium visits just become too complicated to carry out. These include very basic things like subsidized admission, digital booking systems, transportation solutions, ample space and good flow design, lunch rooms, enough bathrooms, lockers, and so on. These can seem obvious, but they are fundamental.
9. Student-driven. Educators at all levels relate how much more effective learning becomes when students are given the chance to influence their own learning goals and methods. This concept is supported by the revised Norwegian national curriculum and should also be reflected in aquarium learning programs.
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4. Insights 4.7 Key Insights - Business
1. Ocean sustainability is mission critical. Increased climate focus and a renewed view of how ocean resources are managed, is now the most important driver for development across ocean industries. This affects how businesses operate and communicate, and how they are perceived. 2. Attracting new talent. As ocean industries come under pressure to become more sustainable, the need for new talent that can drive innovation is also increasing. This is particularly challenging as younger generations are more climate-conscious and purpose driven than previous generations. This means companies have to work extra hard to prove what they stand for and remain attractive as workplaces and brands. 3. Potential for improved collaboration. Businesses in the ocean industries, and particularly fishery and aquaculture, have little traditions for open, multidisciplinary, collaboration. There are currently also few financial infrastructures (such as investment funds) in place to support new thinking. This makes innovation slow and introverted despite the urgency. 4. Ocean capital Bergen. The broader effort to position Bergen as Norway’s ocean capital, has been slow getting off the ground. While Bergen has Europe's strongest marine cluster for education, research, innovation, and industry, building a common project around which stakeholders can coalesce has been a challenge. 5. Many disconnected ocean events. Thanks to its heritage and business community, Bergen is home to several ocean-related events, industry conventions, and interest group gatherings. Stemming from many different organizations however, the sum of all this activity is overwhelming and navigating offers and events can be a challenge. BERGEN AQUARIUM © 2021 | Master Plan
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4. Insights 4.7 Key Insights - Business
6. Defining the ocean community. From shipping, to energy, to seafood, and many supporting service sectors, the range of Bergen businesses who’s operations depend on the ocean is vast. The ocean sector is in fact so encompassing that it is difficult to define as a whole. This represents both a challenge and an opportunity for the New Aquarium as it aims to serve ocean health for the greater common good. 7. A neutral arena for exchange. Investing in ocean sustainability also means being able to discuss ocean value creation in an open way, at times even entertaining controversial ideas. There are however currently few arenas where this is possible, because public debate is often polarized as pro-industry or pro-environment. There’s a need for a neutral arena where ideas on either side of this divide can be exchanged and explored openly and creatively, without judgement. 8. Showcasing ocean know-how. Every year, Bergen receives multiple international delegations interested in Norwegian ocean technology and know-how. There is however currently no system or platform in place that caters to this interest and delegations are more or less left to their own devices. Cultivating and managing this inbound traffic is important both for maximizing export opportunities and protecting Norwegian intellectual property.
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4. Insights
Outdoor Experiences 19 %
4.8 Destination Norway
Norway has had a great development in tourism in recent years and holds a strong position as a nature-based travel destination. About two-thirds of the land-territory is mountainous, and the country has a long coastline marked by deep fjords and thousands of large and small islands. Norway’s ocean territory is roughly six times the size of its land mass and forms an important part of the country’s culture and welfare. The majority of foreign visitors some to Norway to experience pristine nature experiences. Whether it’s to see the Northern lights in the north or the characteristic fjords on the west coast, most travelers are drawn by the country's unspoiled and scenic nature.
Amazing Nature 36 %
What European tourists associate with Norway City & Culture 16 %
An increasing number of visitors wish to experience a combination of culture and nature and recent years has seen a huge investment into expanding Norway’s cultural attractions. Iconic buildings such as the Munch Museum, the National Opera, the new National Museum and the Deichmanske Library have been forged in the capital city Oslo. Norway is also on the rise as a food destination. A combination of unique products and history, on top of an emerging Michelin-level restaurant scene has piqued the interest of travellers seeking extraordinary food experiences. VisitNorway, the government agency responsible for promoting Norway as a destination, releases several annual reports on the tourism and travel situation in the country. A report from 2019 reveals that of the five main perceptions of Norway's branding, amazing nature has by far the strongest standing among tourists from the top European markets. Further reading on Norway as a destination can be found at: visitnorway.com/media/tourism-in-norway/ BERGEN AQUARIUM © 2021 | Master Plan
Easy Access 17 %
Ski Destination 12 %
Data from Norways position as a holiday destination , by Innovation Norway 2020. 46
4. Insights 4.9 Destination Bergen
Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway and one of the most visited cities in the country. The city is situated on the coast, surrounded by mountains and fjords, facing the North Sea to the West. This spectacular nature and fjord landscape is the main reason tourists visit Bergen and the city is often referred to as the «Gateway to the fjords». People of around 140 different nationalities visit every year with the majority from USA, Germany and the UK. The visitors typically seek to experience the outdoors, and their requests range from soft activities such as simple walks on Mount Fløien to glacier hiking and rib adventures. Bergen has a well preserved rich cultural heritage, including several famous historical buildings and a harbor pier listed as a UNESCO world heritage site. The city was founded in 1070 and was Norway's capital in the 12th and 13th centuries. It has since been a thriving hub for trade and shipping, with German Hanseatic influence securing Bergen's position as the most important port on the west coast of Norway. Bergen is the birthplace of several world-famous artists, such as composer Edvard Grieg, violinist Ole Bull, landscape painter Johan Christian Dahl, and dramatist Ludvig Holberg. The city hosts several large cultural events every year, including:
• • • •
Bergen International Festival Nordic Media Days Tall Ships Races Bergenfest
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4. Insights 4.9 Destination Bergen
Bergen has developed an economy based largely on ocean-related industries including fishing, ship-building and associated services. The city has the highest density of business clusters in Norway, as well as the richest, most diverse, and most concentrated ocean sector. The production of non-renewable energy, oil and gas, is the largest industry in Bergen. Other important industries include finance, media, culture, travel and leisure. Often characterized as the gateway to the fjords of Western Norway, there is currently a desire among tourism agencies to renew Bergen’s profiling to better serve the city. In fact, a tourism impact analysis conducted by Menon Economics in 2019 reveals that Bergen contributes heavily to growth in neighboring areas. There is therefore a great interest in further developing the city as a destination of its own, broadening the offering to travellers and locals, and renewing the storytelling. A new aquarium will contribute significantly to all of the above.
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5.
Concepts 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5
Introduction Meta Narrative Concepts - Families Concepts - Education and Research Concepts - Business
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5. Concepts 5.1 Introduction
The aim of this chapter is to present an overarching narrative for the New Bergen Aquarium and to put forth a set of principles that can serve as a guide for content development. These principles summarize the central themes uncovered through target audience research. Like tiny manifestos, they remind of the key benefits which the aquarium must provide in order to successfully engage its main visitors. While exhibit design is not part of the scope of the master plan, this chapter also introduces twenty-two vignettes representing possible content concepts. These sketches are the result of a series of Design Sprints, carried out with the aquarium’s leadership and three multidisciplinary teams. The concept sketches illustrate concretely, ways in which visitor needs can be translated into aquarium experiences and offerings. These ideas are neither fully developed, nor are they meant as a comprehensive list of all the aquarium’s contents. Rather, they are intended as highly qualified starting points for anyone working with the New Bergen Aquarium going forward. Our driving force has been to provide a human lens to strategic development and to anchor the New Bergen Aquarium’s inception around the needs and mindsets of the people that it aims to serve. A complete list of all the ideas explored in this process can also be made available upon request.
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PHOTO BY PETTER TRAN
5. Concepts 5.2 Meta Narrative
The ocean is a largely unknown world, full of fascinating species and profound connections for life on Earth. For Norway, it is the key to tomorrow's value creation. For the World, this secret universe holds the answers to many of our most challenging sustainability dilemmas. We depend on the ocean in more ways than we understand, and we have to get smarter about how we care for it. To succeed, we need both new knowledge and better ways of sharing what we already know. The New Bergen Aquarium is the place where this happens. It is a place where visitors come to be amazed by life under water, but also to take part in ocean exploration, together with experts, learning institutions, and organizations across the globe. The New Bergen Aquarium is the starting point of a lifelong ocean-discovery adventure. We provide experiences that make learning fun and deeply moving, transforming people of all ages into “aquanauts” - active ocean explorers and enthusiasts. This is our contribution to ocean sustainability. By creating unforgettable moments of first-hand participation, experiential learning, and story-driven dissemination, we cultivate the explorer mindset and the guardians of our future. Combining physical design, technology, and groundbreaking pedagogy, The New Bergen Aquarium is a world-class ocean experience and science center. Our aim is also to democratize ocean understanding by supporting knowledge-sharing initiatives, reaching like rings in water, far beyond Norway and into the world.
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5.3 Concepts - Families
PHOTO BY PETTER TRAN
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5. Concepts 5.3 Content Guidelines - Families LONGTERM GOAL
GUIDELINES FOR CONTENT DESIGN
To build a life-long relationship with families by providing them with moments of shared fascination and exceptional quality time together.
1. Something for everyone. Providing kids, moms, dads, and grandparents (etc.) equally compelling reasons for visiting the aquarium, whether one is coming to see the main exhibit, to attend (say) a seminar, or perhaps just to buy a book in the gift-shop. 2. Supercharged experiences. Maximizing the impact of every exhibit by creating augmented and fully immersive sensory experiences.
6. A higher purpose. Providing visitors with a sense of higher meaning and connection with the world and how we (and particularly Norway as an ocean-nation) can take better care of the oceans. 7. Beyond the wall. Integrating the aquarium with the city and its natural surroundings by creating a fluid boundary between what is inside and what is outside. This also means being a starting point for experiences that take place elsewhere - outdoors, on and in the sea, and beyond.
3. Activation. Being a place for doing rather than only seeing. 4. Restfulness. Creating opportunities to disconnect from an otherwise busy life by providing activities and spaces designed for inner and outer calm. 5. A learning experience. Creating experiences that combine recreational fun and learning.
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5. Concepts 5.3 Concept Sketches - Families
Journey to the Ocean Floor
Submarine Drones
Social Meeting Points
Seafood Academy
Aquanauts to the Rescue
Seafarm
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Aquanaut App
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5. Concepts 5.3 Concept Sketches - Families
Journey to the Ocean Floor Core idea Part of the aquarium is built out and down into the sea. The construction has multiple zones, at varying depths, that highlight different habitats, lighting conditions, moods, and more. Goals • Create a technically unique, hallmark experience • To create an exhibit strong emotional experiences • Create a closeness experience of the depths • Promoting non-academic learning (learning through experiences) • Showcase Norwegian subsea industry
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5. Concepts 5.3 Concept Sketches - Families
Submarine Drones Core idea A submarine ride that takes people on an underwater tour of the area outside the aquarium and perhaps further out around Bergen. Visitors board the submarine at the aquarium and discover the Bergen city fjord under water. Goals • Create a unique world attraction • Provide a first hand experience of life under water • Go beyond traditional aquarium exhibits • The visitors become explorers • Leverage partnership with a Norwegian subsea technology provider • Show Bergen from another perspective
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5. Concepts 5.3 Concept Sketches - Families
Social Meeting Points Core idea Multiple recreational areas and ancillary services that integrate the New Aquarium with the city around it. These could include things like cafés, beaches, stores, boardwalks, skate parks, table tennis tables, and the like. Offering direct views into some of the aquarium’s exhibits, these areas maximize exposure to the public and how people might flow to the aquarium indirectly. Goals • Soften the boundary between the interior and the exterior of the aquarium • Create dialog between the aquarium and the city around it • Offer multiple ways of interacting with the aquarium • Create spaces that people will use independently of whether they are going to the aquarium or not • Create a connection with the actual ocean
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5. Concepts 5.3 Concept Sketches - Families
Aquanaut App Core idea An application for identifying marine species like fish, seaweed, shells, crustaceans, and so on. Users take a picture of an object with their mobile phone and the application returns a range of relevant information about the specimen, such as name, classification, geography, possible uses, if it is edible, recipes, and more. By taking photos users also contribute to a centralized database, tracking and surveying species distribution. Goals • To educate people about marine flora and fauna • To activate people beyond the aquarium walls • To initiate broad citizen-science projects • The app could also function as a game, where users are rewarded for sighting particular kinds of species, or doing certain things, or for sharing images with others, etc.
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5. Concepts 5.3 Concept Sketches - Families
Seafood Academy Core idea An activity program for people interested in learning about seafood. The program covers everything from how to recognize different species, where to find them, how to catch or harvest them responsibly, and how to clean and prepare them. The course combines theory, hands-on practice, nature excursions, as well as social events. Goals • To activate people around the ocean as a source of food • To take an active role in the sustainable seafood conversation • To promote healthy food awareness and literacy • To expand people’s relationship to the ocean • To establish the New Aquarium as a starting-point for outdoor nature experiences
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5. Concepts 5.3 Concept Sketches - Families
Aquanauts to the Rescue Core idea A game that takes place at the aquarium (and possibly beyond). Like a life-sized board game through which participants advance by finding clues hidden in the exhibit and solving tasks along the way. Goals • To engage the public in thinking about ocean challenges • To create multiple exhibit layers • To create multiple ways in which to see the exhibit • Highlight important ocean challenges • Make knowledge more interesting and accessible through play
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5. Concepts 5.3 Concept Sketches - Families
Seafarm Core idea An aquaculture facility and outdoor area where people can grow and harvest their own seafood (shells, shellfish, seaweed, etc.). The facility is run by specialists who also provide lessons in aquaculture for people who want to learn how it’s done. The facility is divided into plots that can be rented out to individuals or groups, on a membership basis. Goals • Activate the relationship people have with food from the sea • Provide a hands-on outdoor learning experience • Create group activities for families in connection with the sea • Give people knowledge about how marine life works • Showcase Norwegian know-how and expertise • Leverage a partnership with a Norwegian seafood company
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5.4 Concepts - Education and Research
PHOTO BY PETTER TRAN
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5. Concepts 5.4 Content Guidelines - Education and Research LONGTERM GOAL
GUIDELINES FOR CONTENT DESIGN
To create a wave of curiosity that stimulates students, educators, and experts to collaborate on ocean exploration and learning.
1. Experience-based. Providing students with the opportunity, means, and context to take part in hands-on ocean learning that supplements and supports classroom work. 2. Student agency. Investing students with the agency to influence what they learn, how they learn, and what the products of their learning will be. 3. Promoting curiosity. Activating critical thinking through experiences designed to focus on wonder, questioning, inquisitiveness, and experimentation rather than empirical certainty.
5. Collaborative partnerships. Establishing, nurturing, and contributing to lasting cooperations with key stakeholders such as local and national education agencies, schools, universities, research organizations, and partner aquariums around the globe. 6. Getting the message across. Working systematically to make complex scientific ideas understandable, engaging, likeable, and widely accessible. 7. Credibility. Cultivating trust by committing to the highest standards of transparency and unbiased communication in all exhibit contents and offerings.
4. Comprehensive learning. Developing in-depth learning programs that extend beyond the aquarium visit and connect with broader academic curricula.
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5. Concepts 5.6 Concept Sketches - Education and Research
Ocean Heroes
Njord
Aquanaut Panel
Animal Care School
Adventure Guides
First Aqua League
Global Community
The Question Center
Mission Wise Waves
Citizen Science Cubes
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5. Concepts 5.6 Concept Sketches - Education and Research
Ocean Heroes Core idea Ocean Heroes is a learning program combining theoretical and hands-on practice of scientific marine research. Through the program, students take on ocean sustainability missions, each designed to reinforce a number of concepts, skills, and practical experiences relevant to school curricula. The program is taught in tandem between aquarium specialists and participating schools, and takes place in a variety of settings ranging from the classroom, to online, to the aquarium, to out in nature. Goals • to combine theoretical and hands-on learning • to expose students to real-life ocean research • to involve students in knowledge production • to create opportunities for long-range collaboration between the New Aquarium and its partner schools
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5. Concepts 5.6 Concept Sketches - Education and Research
Njord Core idea A digital ocean encyclopedia and a smartphone app. Njord is a community-driven database that logs and shares scientific data about marine species. The database is openly accessible to anyone through a smartphone app and website. Users of the platform contribute to the dataset by participating in crowd science projects for which they may log various observational data, upload images of species in their region, register water samples, and so on. The system uses artificial intelligence to become smarter as more data is contributed. Goals • to create a real-time knowledge center for the ocean • to support ocean knowledge dissemination globally • to engage people across the world in ocean research • to enable everyone to become a knowledge creator
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5. Concepts 5.6 Concept Sketches - Education and Research
Aquanaut Panel Core idea The Aquanaut Panel is the New Aquarium’s advisory board. It is made up of students, educators, researchers, key aquarium staff members, and some expert facilitators. The Panel’s role is to evaluate visitor experience feedback and to collaborate creatively on solutions for keeping the aquarium relevant and engaging. Goals • To make sure the aquarium’s offerings stay current with needs of students, teachers, and researchers • To engage students and educators in content creation an validation • To make the academic community the ambassadors of the aquarium • To provide a system for public influence on aquarium contents and decisions
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Animal Care School Core idea The Animal Care School gives students an understanding of how animal care at the aquarium actually works and a behind-the-scenes access to daily operations. It’s a learning program spanning the entire cycle of animal care, from species collection excursions out at sea, to quarantining and monitoring, to exhibit creation, to daily care and animal wellbeing. Students are involved in all stages of the process. Goals • To provide students first-hand experience about animal care • To use animals as ambassadors for multiple themes and topics (species, habitats, water quality, symbiosis, feeding, reproduction, etc.) • To give hands-on experience of aquarium work
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Adventure Guides Core idea Adventure Guides are university students who work as guides at the New Aquarium. They are aspiring marine biologists trained in storytelling and their role is to guide visitors through the exhibit and to heighten the aquarium experience with dramatic, live narration. The tours are designed like adventures in which the visitors become protagonists. The program is run in collaboration with partner institutions such as the University of Bergen, and is an integral part of student course work. Goals • to support scientific dissemination and narration skills • to provide students with first-hand experience of interfacing with the public • to activate engagement between visitors and aquarium exhibits • to deepen public understanding of aquarium exhibits
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First Aqua League Core idea An international ocean science challenge organized for students ages 10 - 16. Each year the New Aquarium introduces a real-world ocean challenge for teams to focus on. Through a schoolassisted program in partnership with leading institutions from the marine cluster, teams spend time researching the challenge and working on possible solutions involving science, engineering, IT-skills, and more. Students then meet for regional, national, and international tournaments to present their solutions, share their knowledge, compare and exchange ideas. Goals • to engage and activate young people around ocean challenges • to encourage critical thinking skills and hands-on experimentation • to foster new ideas for solving ocean challenges • to activate collaboration between academia and the marine industries
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Global Community Core idea A digital platform and website moderated by the New Aquarium and partners, bringing together students, educators, scientists, and entrepreneurs working with ocean sustainability. The site is an open-source repository for everything from scientific reports, educational resources, species inventories, to ongoing data collection. It is both a provider of content for people seeking information or specific resources, and a receptacle through which people can contribute selfproduced data and build shared knowledge. Goals • to create a global community of ocean enthusiasts • to provide a digital point of exchange for ocean information • to encourage multilateral collaboration on key ocean challenges
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The Question Center Core idea People often have questions, directly and indirectly related to the exhibit. The Question Center is a help desk where students, teachers, and the general public can talk to experts to better understand whatever they may be wondering about. Whether it’s a biology or science-related question, something technical, or a question about the animals - whatever it may be, the experts at the Question Center are there to assist. And when they are unable to, they can help to research the question. Questions can also be submitted to The Question Center online. Whenever the these requests are processed, the answers become publicly available for everyone to see. Through its functionality, the Question Center also monitors what people wonder about, and provides feedback to the curators of the aquarium about how the exhibit can be improved. Goals • to encourage critical thinking • to activate discussions and exchanges of knowledge • to systematize visitor questions as a source for feedback and improvement
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Mission Wise Waves Core idea A submarine simulator that takes visitors on an interactive underwater journey about ocean sustainability. The journey exposes people to different underwater habitats, climatic conditions, marine life, and ocean experiences. Travellers advance through different stages by navigating a series of choices throughout the journey. Each level features a unique learning challenge for which people get rewarded. The ultimate goal is to collect enough points to achieve the “aquanaut” status. Goals
• to create awareness about ocean sustainability • to engage visitors through a game-like experience • to enable people to experience extreme habitats that are impossible to recreate in real life
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Citizen Science Cubes Core idea The Citizen Science Cubes are temporary science installations created by students in collaboration with the New Aquarium. Each Cube is a transparent laboratory showcase in which an experiment is set up to investigate an important topic for ocean sustainability. The program displays science in action and testifies to how students, schools, researchers, and the aquarium produce ocean knowledge together. Each experiment is deeply connected to broader student course work, and involves both preparatory and follow-up activities at the aquarium and school. Goals • to feature student work as part of the exhibit • to spotlight marine science methodologies • to introduce elements which keep the exhibit constantly evolving • to establish the aquarium as a producer of scientific knowledge • to make scientific experimentation visible and accessible
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5.5 Concepts - Business
PHOTO BY PETTER TRAN
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5. Concepts 5.5 Content Guidelines - Businesses LONGTERM GOAL
GUIDELINES FOR CONTENT DESIGN
To be a catalyst for cooperation and sustainable development for the oceans in the business world.
1. Defining sustainability. Contributing to creating consensus and shared understanding among businesses around ocean sustainability challenges and opportunities.
5. A hub for ocean networks. Being a base and a partner for ocean communities aiming to collaborate around common projects and events.
2. An open arena for collaboration. Being a safe space where businesses can engage with each other and the public around ocean sustainability questions in an open and meaningful way.
6. Grab the world’s attention. Breaking through the “noise" by being a completely unique and desirable gathering point for local, national and global businesses.
3. Sustainable innovation. Assisting businesses in developing sustainability strategies and innovation programs. 4. Showcasing sustainable Norwegian ocean technology. Being a beacon and a source of knowledge for everyone who has an interest in Norwegian ocean technology.
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5. Concepts 5.6 Concept Sketches - Business
Oceanfest
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Aquatica
The Room
The Ocean Gathering
The Solving Lab
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5. Concepts 5.6 Solution Sketches - Business
Oceanfest Core idea An ocean-themed art, music, and knowledge festival hosted by the aquarium in partnership with Norway’s leading ocean industry companies. An essential destination for global ocean professionals, the event features conferences, concerts, showcases, screenings, exhibitions, and a variety of networking opportunities. Oceanfest proves that unexpected opportunities for sustainable collaboration are sparked when diverse topics and people come together in an informal way. Goals • To activate collaboration across ocean industries • To connect culture, business, and science • To be an informal arena for sharing knowledge and stunning ocean-related experiences • To be a safe space where relationships are curated through informal interaction first
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Aquatica Core idea Aquatica is a digital and multimedia display space. It’s a modular room that can be configured in various shapes and sizes to host variable content and create unique experiences for different audiences. An interactive digital canvas, the space functions as a constantly evolving aquarium exhibit. Thanks to it’s flexibility, the space is also available for business receptions, and serves as the venue of choice for hosting visiting delegations and showcasing Norwegian ocean technology and know-how. Goals • Provide the aquarium with an space for reproducing digitally exhibits that are impossible to show in real life • Support the development and growth of Norwegian ocean technology • Curate the customer journey of international delegations interested in Norwegian ocean expertise
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The Room Core idea A large multipurpose space constructed below sea level, for conferences, performances, and other events. The core idea is a space immersed in water, offering direct views into the sea and/ or into the aquarium. Through it’s awe-inspiring design The Room will become an unmissable Bergen attraction in its own rite and a scenic venue for cultural performances, temporary installations, tv production sets, and global events. Goals • Provide a unique multipurpose venue for large events • Provide a space for cultural events like art shows, concerts, gatherings • Create a sense of awe and proximity to the underwater world • Create the impression of total immersion • Leverage strategic partnerships between the aquarium and leading Norwegian providers of subsea building technology • Showcase Norwegian technical know-how
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The Ocean Gathering Core idea The Ocean Gathering is the world’s largest ocean-gaming event. It is a tournament built around an aquatic-themed video game, created in collaboration between the aquarium, key players from the Norwegian ocean business sector, and leading gaming developers. The competition is organized as a multilayered contest over several days, hosted virtually and physically by the New Aquarium, and takes advantage of the building’s unique design and digital infrastructure to heighten underwater immersiveness. Goals • To engage youths in ocean sustainability problem-solving • To engage the subsea, aquaculture, energy, and maritime sectors • To connect youths and ocean industry • To build strong partnerships with leading video game developers • To explore video gaming as a channel and medium for narrative design and knowledge dissemination
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The Solving Lab Core idea The Solving Lab is a facility and a business-outreach program through which the New Aquarium assists businesses with sustainable innovation and development. The space is equipped for workshops, smaller seminars, and intensive work-sessions. The program could include things like executive development courses, strategic problem-solving workshops, and co-creation projects connecting ocean businesses with diverse areas of expertise around common goals. Goals • To solve societal and industry ocean challenges together • To serve as a connector and facilitator for sustainable innovation • To promote collaboration across different areas of expertise • To activate businesses, experts, consultants, and academics, around common objectives
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Looking ahead 6.1 6.2
Impact Next steps
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6. Looking ahead 6.1 Impact © TEAM ASPLAN VIAK / MAD
The New Bergen Aquarium project will have enormous impact for the city of Bergen, for Norway as a leading ocean nation, and for the world. Launching a project of this scale, with its associated ambitions and activities, signals Norway’s commitment to ocean sustainability to the world. It’s an opportunity to physically embody how the nation aims to remedy the challenges the ocean faces and to activate an ideological storytelling about why it matters. Much more than a physical place or a building in Norway, the aquarium will ultimately be a driving force for how we can conserve and sustainably use the oceans of the world. Succeeding with this process relies on inspiring people to participate in ocean sustainability action. The aquarium’s entire purpose therefore hinges on its ability to impact communities far and near.
means the aquarium will contribute to setting the tone and the standard in the new district. It will bring instant vibrancy and vitality to a part of the city which has been an industrial site inaccessible to the public for generations.
© TEAM TREDJE NATUR
© TEAM ADVANSIA / VILL
Setting the tone for the new Dokken district On a very local level, together with the Directorate of Fisheries and the Institute of Marine Research, the aquarium will impact the city of Bergen simply by being built. Being among the first buildings to be constructed in the new Dokken area BERGEN AQUARIUM © 2021 | Master Plan
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An aquarium of the imagined size will also have some very concrete consequences for the livelihood of the city and the attractiveness of the region. An engine for local economy and tourism Employing an estimated 350 people, and aiming to attract 1M visitors per year, the aquarium will provide a visitor basis for adjacent offerings like restaurants, shops and many other services in the Dokken area. It will play an essential role for the travel and tourism industry, revitalizing the destination attractiveness of Bergen and Norway. Stimulating growth in ocean industries The New Bergen Aquarium will also stimulate the growth and development of the marine and maritime cluster in Bergen. By facilitating new interactions, provoking debate, and supporting co-creation, the aquarium will contribute to increased innovation in local ocean industries. This will attract talent and competence to the city and simultaneously contribute to making Bergen and Norway more competitive globally.
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Impacting future generations Through its work with schools and learning institutions, the aquarium will also have an impact on the competence and productivity of future generations. In the short term it will be a science center and learning resource that local and regional schools can visit and use daily. More broadly, the aquarium will aim to become an integral part of the school system by engaging students and educators in the production of new learning concepts and materials that can inform national and international learning curriculums and be made available to students that are unable to visit the aquarium in person. In the long run this will equip future generations with the skills and mindsets necessary for better preserving and using the oceans for the benefit of everyone.
can become a social place outside of home, school, and work, a recreational area, and a place for cultural events. Equivalent projects in the capital Oslo, such as the recent development area of Bjørvika or the new Deichmanske Library, have similarly integrated large outdoor, non-commercial areas open to the public.
Social impact Beyond its functionality as an a aquarium, the building and its connected offerings will also be designed to drive the liveliness of the city. Target audience research shows there is a strong desire for a multipurpose building, which is open and accessible to the population and can function as a social meeting place. By blurring the boundaries between its inside and outside, its formal and informal purposes, its free and paid offerings, the aquarium will become a forum for urban life. It 87
6. Looking ahead 6.2 Next steps
Parallel to the proceedings of the formal development, which will include an international architectural competition and exhibit planning process, there are many things the New Bergen Aquarium will do immediately to establish the foundations of its future operations. Partnership with academia The relocation to Dokken provides an opportunity to reimagine possibilities for how the New Bergen Aquarium and Institute of Marine Research work together. A joint strategy will be developed to formalize how the aquarium can function as a sounding board for science produced by the Institute. This will undoubtedly also involve formalizing collaborations with higher education and research organizations like the University of Bergen, HVL, NHH, Norce, nationally and internationally. Partnership with schools Leading aquariums around the world are transitioning from being places for entertainment to being places for learning. In this spirit, The New Bergen Aquarium aims to become a new kind of civic asset, which is fully integrated with the school system. To make this happen the aquarium will engage with BERGEN AQUARIUM © 2021 | Master Plan
regional and national education agencies to collaborate on curriculum development at various levels. Preliminary research shows there is great interest for such a collaboration locally, and particularly for exploring how the the aquarium can support and expand learning goals set out by the newly revised national curriculum. Sustainability Sustainability is a broad term which encompasses everything from ethics, to gender equality, and climate action. As it is central to its purpose, clearly articulating what sustainability actually means to the New Bergen Aquarium will be crucial going forward. In the immediate to short term, the aquarium will therfore begin work on its own sustainability strategy, outlining more specifically its aims in three domains:
1. Creating lasting change in people’s behavior 2. Ensuring a sustainable building project implementation 3. Ensuring sustainable operations Technology The New Bergen Aquarium aims to become the world’s most technological aquarium. To make this happen it will establish lasting partnerships with world-leading technology providers as necessary. This process will begin with engaging Bergen’s rich IT community in order to define a strategy on two levels: 1. How technology can support knowledge dissemination 2. How technology can facilitate the aquarium’s operations
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6. Looking ahead 6.2 Next steps
Storytelling Ocean science is of little value unless it can drive positive change. A big part of creating such engagement relies on the ability to tell compelling stories that can captivate the public imagination and make sophisticated knowledge relatable. The aquarium will therefore also function as a media-house, using anything from films, tv series, websites, video games, books, images, cartoons and more, to move public sensibility. Building the editorial team and strategy, establishing partnerships with renowned authors and creators, are all things that will be initiated well in advance of the building’s existence.
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Concept tests and refinement The content concepts put forth in the Master Plan are the result of an initial round of workshops and creative collaborations. Progressing with these ideas will (among other things) involve testing them with the audience so as to identify and prioritize the most promising concepts that can be further refined and taken forward. A more extensive narrative arc explaining how content and exhibit ideas connect must also be established.
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PHOTO BY FRANCISCO MUNOZ
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7.
References 7.1
Reference list
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7. References 7.1 Reference list
Title (and hyperlink where applicable)
Source/Author
Year
DNA Nye Akvariet I Bergen
Akvariet i Bergen
2020
Havet i byen, byen fra havet.
Akvariet i Bergen
2019
Innspill til Plan for museer og frivillig kulturvern 2022-2031
Akvariet i Bergen
2020
Innspillsnotat Nye Akvariet
Akvariet i Bergen
2020
Velkommen til Nye Akvariet. Et verdensledende kunnskaps og formidlingssenter
Akvariet i Bergen
2017
Akvarieselskapet i Bergen
Bergen City Archive
Referenced 2020
Dokken - Fra godshavn til fremtidsrettet bydel
Bergen City Council
Referenced 2020
Dokken 2050 - overordnet strategi
Bergen City Council
Referenced 2020
Bergen - en god by for alle (politisk plattform 2019–2023)
Bergen City Council
Referenced 2020
Byrådet legger til rette for akvariet på Dokken
Bergensavisen
2019
The Circularity Gap Report Norway
Circle Economy
2020
Rapport fra en kort befaring - tilstandsrapport
Havforskningsinstituttet
2018
Nytt bygg - ny marin akse I Bergen
Havforskningsinstituttet og Fiskeridirektoratet
2018
Key Figures for Norwegian Travel and Tourism 2019
Innovasjon Norge
2020
Reiselivsåret 2019 - Turistundersøkelsen Årsrapport
Innovasjon Norge
2019
Tracking Norways brand in European markets – 2012-2019
Innovasjon Norge
2019
Lov om Stiftelser (stiftelsesloven)
Lovdata
2005
Ringvirkningsanalyse av reiselivet i Bergen
Menon Economics for NHO
2019
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7. References 7.1 Reference list
Title (and hyperlink where applicable)
Source/Author
Year
The Norwegian Government's updated Ocean Strategy
Norwegian Ministry of Trade, Industry & Fisheries
2019
Ocean Panel - high level panel for a sustainable ocean economy
Ocean Panel
Referenced 2020
Ocean Panel Announcement
Regjeringen
2020
Statens prosjektmodell for store prosjekter
Regjeringen
Referenced 2020
Tilstandsanalyse Akvariet
Statsbygg Vest & Rambøll AS
2009
Q&A with Ray Oldenburg, author of Third Places
Steelcase
Referenced 2020
Budsjettinstillingene i statsbudsjettet for 2021
Stortinget
2020
Dokken. City of life. Livets By.
Team Advancia
2020
Ut mot havet!
Team Asplan Viak/MAD
2020
Regenerativ By
Team Tredje Natur
2020
The UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development
United Nations
Referenced 2020
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Colophon
The New Bergen Aquarium Master Plan has been produced for the Bergen Aquarium as a digital document. The conceptual and written contents were produced by Brandity in 2021 in Bergen, Norway. The design and layout of the document was produced by Apriil. The workshop images were produced by Dråpe Media. This is edition # 1 of the New Bergen Aquarium Master Plan.
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Bergen Aquarium © 2021
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