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150 tanks
105 m3
France
T3 Architecture
The Paul Ricard Oceanographic Institute is a non-profit organisation established in 1966 by Paul Ricard on an island off the French Riviera coastline.
On Les Embiez Island, the Paul Ricard Institute dedicates its research programs to the conservation of marine biodiversity, climate change, sustainable exploitation of living resources, and restoring coastal habitats. It focused first on the different sources of pollution affecting the Mediterranean Sea.
The Paul Ricard Institute wanted to extend its experimental capacities to develop Integrated Multi Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA) solutions and endangered marine species reproduction models.
The Paul Ricard Institute required custom-made fish tank systems for their new 600 m² aquaculture research centre to support projects such as :
Currently, the aquaculture research centre focuses on the following marine species:
The Paul Ricard Institute wanted to extend its experimental capacities to develop Integrated Multi Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA) solutions and endangered marine species reproduction models.
The Paul Ricard Institute required custom-made fish tank systems for their new 600 m² aquaculture research centre to support projects such as :
Currently, the aquaculture research centre focuses on the following marine species:
The requirements for this project represented a total of 150 fish tanks.
Here are the specifications below, depending on the area:
The Paul Ricard Institute hired Luxaqua for its project’s design and engineering study. From the requirements analysis to the detailed piping layout design, this project happened over 9 months as follows:
01
We started the initial project phase with a video conference with the stakeholders. It allowed us to get a first understanding of the requirements, objectives and budget of the project. We carefully analysed the gathered information to provide clarity and a rough estimate regarding technical solutions and costs. For such an ambitious project, the task allocation between the internal teams and external service providers was at the heart of the discussions.
After 2 weeks of working on our initial idea, we organised an on-site meeting. It involved visiting the premises and having informal meet-ups. To ensure effective project coordination, meeting the contact persons of IT, operations, and procurement departments is always a key success factor. Before getting into the design details, we conducted a hazard and critical point analysis to optimise flows, technical room layout and disinfection measures.
Architect : Luc Lacortiglia
02
During the preliminary design phase, our team dedicated their efforts to creating a Preliminary piping and Instruction Diagram (PID) with multiple inlets and outlets for each loop to offer maximum flexibility for using the available laboratory space between currents and future research projects.
We communicated our preliminary technical requirements to the architect and the structure, mechanical, electrical and HVAC engineers and submitted a financial rough estimate to our client for approval. We finalised the concept design through rounds of questions and revisions; it allowed the architect to ask for the construction permit.
03
We completed the detailed design phase by calculating and incorporating technical details such as the diameter of every single pipe and the exact piping layout. We sent our piping under the slab and wall penetration requirements to the structure engineers and the high-voltage/low-voltage wiring details to the electrical engineers.
Based on the requirements of modularity and prophylaxis, the final design taking had 7 different loops that never crosses each other:
Our final design also included 17 Aquatic Life Support Systems (ALSS) and Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS) to control and maintain physical and chemical water parameters (temperature, salinity, O2 concentration, etc.) according to experimental protocol requirements.
The project led to an investment over a million euros that fulfilled the client’s needs. Here are some of the media coverage this facility received:
Here are some of the media coverage this new facility received:
The Paul Ricard Oceanographic Institute is now also a user of our fish colony management software, Fishlab.