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Nausicaá
Case overview
Nausicaá invites visitors to experience the ocean like never before. As Europe’s largest aquarium and home to more than 1,600 marine species, it offers a truly immersive marine experience. To enhance this, a building extension was designed to ensure that every stage of the visitor journey became part of the attraction.
| Project name | Nausicaá |
| Location | Boulogne-sur-Mer, France |
| Building type | Aquarium |
| Building extension inaugurated | 2018 |
| Exhibition area | 10,000 sqm |
| Marine species | 1,600 |
| Annual visitors (2018) | 874,000 |
Designed to immerse
A journey below the surface
Nausicaá wanted visitors to feel connected to the underwater world from the moment they enter the extension. Rather than treating elevators and escalators as purely functional elements, the journey through the building was designed as part of the attraction itself. Visitors descend through a massive wave into the depths of the sea via an escalator, before returning to the surface in a custom-designed, submarine-inspired capsule elevator. Carefully integrated with the surrounding environment, the experience helps create a seamless journey from one exhibit area to the next.
Key requirements of the project
- Create an immersive underwater experience for visitors to the extended aquarium
- Ensure smooth people flow for up to one million annual visitors
- Synchronize digital and physical elements of the aquarium journey
Results of the modernization
Transportation as part of the attraction
Technology highlights
- 3 KONE TranSys™ 5-tonne elevators
- 1 KONE TravelMaster™ escalator
- 2 KONE TranSys™ freight elevators
- 3 KONE MonoSpace® elevators
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