Peter Chermayeff LLC is a

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

-based architectural firm which specializes in aquarium architecture and exhibit design, from conceptual planning to the details of final realization.

History

The two principals, Peter Chermayeff and Bobby C. Poole, have collaborated on the design of public aquariums since 1975. Their long partnership, with focus on the design of public aquariums, began in 1975 when Bobby Poole joined

Cambridge Seven Associates Cambridge Seven Associates, Inc., stylized as CambridgeSeven, and sometimes as C7A, is an American architecture firm based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Buildings designed by the firm have included academic, museum, exhibit, hospitality, transpor ...

, which had been founded in 1962 by Peter Chermayeff together with Louis Bakanowsky,

Ivan Chermayeff Ivan Chermayeff HonRDI (June 6, 1932 – December 2, 2017) was an American graphic designer and artist. He is best known as co-founder of graphic design firm Chermayeff & Geismar. Chermayeff created logotypes for the Smithsonian Institution, Ha ...

, Alden Christie, Paul Dietrich, Tom Geismar, and Terry Rankine. The firm's first major commission was the

New England Aquarium The New England Aquarium is a nonprofit organization located in Boston, Massachusetts. The species exhibited include Harbor seal, harbor and northern fur seals, California sea lions, African penguin, African and southern rockhopper penguins, gia ...

, which opened in 1969. Peter Chermayeff was the principal in charge and he himself put each fish, including a sand tiger shark, in its main four-story 40-foot-wide Giant Ocean Tank containing 200 thousand gallons of salt water. Peter Chermayeff played a leading role in much of the design work through the first thirty-six years of

, including comprehensive design guidelines for Boston's mass transit system, the

MBTA The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (abbreviated MBTA and known colloquially as "the T") is the public agency responsible for operating most public transportation services in Greater Boston, Massachusetts. The MBTA transit network in ...

, and its simplified identity at "The T"; the United States Pavilion and Exhibition at Expo '67; the

National Aquarium in Baltimore The National Aquarium – also known as National Aquarium in Baltimore and many people calling it the Baltimore Aquarium – is a nonprofit public aquarium located at 501 East Pratt Street on Pier 3 in the Inner Harbor area of downtown Baltim ...

; the

San Antonio Museum of Art The San Antonio Museum of Art (SAMA) is an art museum in Downtown San Antonio, Downtown San Antonio, Texas, USA. The museum spans 5,000 years of global culture. The museum is housed in the historic former Lone Star Brewing Company, Lone Star Bre ...

;

Charles Square Charles Square (; ) is a city square in the New Town, Prague, New Town of Prague, Czech Republic. At roughly 80,550 m² it is one of the List of city squares by size, largest squares in the world and was the largest town square of the medieval E ...

, a hotel, retail, housing and office complex in Cambridge, Massachusetts; “Where's Boston?”, a mixed media celebration and portrait of Boston for the

United States Bicentennial The United States Bicentennial was a series of celebrations and observances during the mid-1970s that paid tribute to historical events leading up to the creation of the United States as an independent republic. It was a central event in the memo ...

; the Osaka Aquarium; the

Tennessee Aquarium The Tennessee Aquarium is a non-profit public aquarium located in Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States. It opened in 1992 on the banks of the Tennessee River in downtown Chattanooga, with a major expansion added in 2005. The aquarium, which ha ...

in Chattanooga; and the

Aquarium of Genoa The Aquarium of Genoa () is the largest aquarium in Italy. Located in the Old Harbour area of Genoa, Italy, the aquarium is a member organization of the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA), and welcomes more than 1.2 million visitors ...

. These and other projects led to C7A receiving the Architecture Firm of the Year award in 1993 from the

AIA AIA or A.I.A. or Aia may refer to: Aia * Aia, a small town in the province of Gipuzkoa, Spain * Peñas de Aya, small mountain range in Oiartzun, Gipuzkoa * Aia, current Kutaisi, ancient capital of Colchis * Aia, another name for Aea (Malis), an ...

. Bobby Poole joined C7A in 1976 to work with Peter Chermayeff on the

. Poole became the aquarium's project architect, leading preparation of final design documents and on-site overview of construction and installation. He became a principal in 1986 and further developed his interest in aquariums working with Peter Chermayeff on the Osaka Aquarium, the

, the

, the Lisbon Oceanarium, and the Alaska SeaLife Center in

Seward, Alaska Seward (Alutiiq language, Alutiiq: ; Denaʼina language, Dena'ina: ''Tl'ubugh'') is an incorporated home rule city in Alaska, United States. Located on Resurrection Bay, a fjord of the Gulf of Alaska on the Kenai Peninsula, Seward is situated ...

. They also collaborated on unbuilt aquariums and rainforest pavilions proposed by Chermayeff while at C7A for Moscow, Russia, for Hamburg, Bremerhaven and Oberhausen in Germany, and for Tsuruhama, Osaka, in Japan. Peter Chermayeff and Bobby Poole continued their close collaboration until 2005 with Peter Sollogub under the firm name Chermayeff, Sollogub and Poole, Inc., until 2009 under the firm name Chermayeff & Poole, Inc., and since that year as Peter Chermayeff LLC. Recent completed projects have included the expansion of the

, and the expansion of the

in Chattanooga, both of which opened in 2005. Expansion of the Museo Nivola in Orani, Sardinia, a second component of a museum dedicated to the sculptor

Costantino Nivola Costantino (also known as Antine, in Sardinia, or Tino, in the United States, US) Nivola (July 5, 1911 – May 6, 1988) was a Sardinian people, Sardinian and Italian sculptor, architectural sculptor, muralist, designer, and teacher. Born in O ...

, was completed in 2005. The remodeling and expansion of the Virginia Aquarium at Virginia Beach, Virginia, was completed in 2009. Recent unbuilt projects have included a proposed Aquarium and Environmental Center for

Alexandria, Egypt Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

, the New Songdo Ecotarium in

Incheon Incheon is a city located in northwestern South Korea, bordering Seoul and Gyeonggi Province to the east. Inhabited since the Neolithic, Incheon was home to just 4,700 people when it became an international port in 1883. As of February 2020, ...

, near

Seoul, South Korea Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

, and the proposed remodeling and expansion of

Nausicaä Centre National de la Mer Nausicaa (; , or , ), also spelled Nausicaä or Nausikaa, is a character in Homer's ''Odyssey''. She is the daughter of King Alcinous and Queen Arete of Phaeacia. Her name means "burner of ships" ( 'ship'; 'to burn'). Role in the ''Odyssey'' ...

Boulogne-sur-Mer Boulogne-sur-Mer (; ; ; or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Hauts-de-France, Northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Pas-de-Calais. Boul ...

, France. A recent proposed Aquarium was to be the core attraction within the proposed Parco del Mare in Trieste, Italy. A current project is the expansion of the Lisbon Oceanarium.

References

Sources

Time Magazine, “The Age of Aquariums”, by Daniel S. Levy, June 1, 1998 re Oceanarium of Lisbon"
* ttp://peterchermayeffvideo.blogspot.com// Video interview with SIC Noticias TV channel in Lisbon, Portugal, May 2009br>New York Times, “Underwater Theater for Briny Stars”, by Marlise Simons, 1998 re Lisbon Oceanarium
* ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TnT2lSLHxo// Design for a Fair: The United States Pavilion at Expo '67 Montreal

External links

Peter Chermayeff LLC websiteCambridge Seven Associates website
{{authority control 1975 establishments in Massachusetts American companies established in 1975 Companies based in Essex County, Massachusetts Andover, Massachusetts Architecture firms based in Massachusetts Design companies established in 1975

History

See also

References

Sources

External links