McCarthy Building Companies, Inc.

Architect:

Deutsch Architecture Group

Client:

OdySea Aquarium

Scope Of Work

Every morning I wake up and thank God I selected McCarthy to build the OdySea Aquarium. The OdySea Aquarium is truly is an engineering marvel. McCarthy’s ability to execute such a highly innovative project is a major accomplishment.

The 200,000 square-foot OdySea Aquarium, the largest aquarium in the southwest, is located at the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community in Scottsdale, Arizona. Construction began in March 2015 and was completed in only 18 months.

As one of Arizona’s premier tourist attractions, the state-of-the-art facility offers unrivaled marine adventures with a high-tech, high-entertainment, oceanic educational journey like no other in the industry. It was designed to accommodate up to 10,000 visitors daily. There are two public exhibit levels and another level for aquarium operations, with more than 50 exhibits and 500 different species living in two million gallons of water.

Built on the Salt River-Pima Maricopa Indian Community, the project design also incorporates Native American culture into the facility, including a courtyard, handrails inspired by ancient basket-weaving techniques, and tilt panels depicting rain, oceans and earth.

OdySea also boasts the SeaTREK® experience that allows guests to descend deep into the “ocean,” where they are surrounded by sea life on all sides. There is also a state-of-the-art 3D movie featuring Underwater Giants, and exhibits including Rivers of the World, Otter Banks, Touch Pools, Penguin Point, Sharks of the Deep, the Great Barrier Reef, and “the Bizarre & Beautiful” featuring jellyfish, octopus, large king crabs and seahorses. The facility also includes the Lighthouse Cafe serving a full menu and light snacks and the OdySea Treasures Gift Shop.