Public Invited to Join Pacific Visions Team for a Panel Discussion Exploring the New Wing’s Creation and Environmental Themes

June 5, 2019

WHAT: Join the Aquarium of the Pacific President and CEO Dr. Jerry Schubel in the new state-of-the-art Honda Pacific Visions Theater as he moderates a panel discussion among leading environmental experts and the team behind the development and realization of the Aquarium’s first major expansion project, Pacific Visions. This is an opportunity for the public to hear from the project architect, exhibit and content creator, a scientific advisor, and the project director who oversaw the project from start to finish and to experience the wing before its public opening. The panel will take an in-depth look at the biomorphic design, bird-friendly glass façade, interactive game tables, art installation built with data collected from the world’s ocean, original film with multisensory effects, the science informing next steps we all can take to make a new planet here on Earth, and more. Attendees will get a sneak peek at the Honda Pacific Visions Theater and view its new film during the event in advance of Pacific Visions public opening on May 24, 2019.

In addition to the Aquarium’s president, the panel will include Duncan Ballash, president of EHDD, the architecture firm that designed the expansion; Joe Cortina, president of Cortina Productions, who produced the Pacific Visions film and interactive exhibition content; Peter Kareiva, director of the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability at UCLA, and a science advisor for Pacific Visions; and Fahria Qader, project director of Pacific Visions and architecture at the Aquarium of the Pacific.

WHEN: May 16, 2019, 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

WHO: Speakers will include:

• Duncan Ballash, president, EHDD
• Joe Cortina, president, Cortina Productions
• Peter Kareiva, director, Institute of the Environment and Sustainability at UCLA
• Fahria Qader, director, Pacific Visions & Architecture, Aquarium of the Pacific

WEBCAST: youtube.com/aquariumofthepacific

TICKETING: FREE. Reserve tickets online here or call (562) 590-3100. For media passes contact Maura Klosterman, maura.klosterman@finnpartners.com Visit the official event page.

About the Pacific Visions Building: The Pacific Visions building is designed as a biomorphic structure that evokes the size, depth, variability, luminosity, and biological diversity of the Pacific Ocean. It houses a state-of-the-art immersive theater, art gallery, and animal exhibits. Complementing the Aquarium’s existing building, also designed by EHDD, Pacific Visions has a façade with over 800 individually shaped panels that respond to changing light and weather conditions throughout the day with varying colors to mirror the effect of sunlight rippling on the ocean’s surface. Having recently earned the distinct Two Green Globes certification from the Green Globes® building rating system for demonstrating leadership in best practices regarding environmental efficiency, Pacific Visions’ sustainable design priorities include water and energy conservation, use of environmentally friendly materials, and greenhouse gas minimization. The nonprofit Aquarium of the Pacific is a community gathering place where diverse cultures and the arts are celebrated and where important challenges facing our planet are explored by scientists, policymakers, and stakeholders in search of sustainable solutions. To learn more about Pacific Visions, visit aquariumofpacific.org.