Vast renovation project for the Océanopolis center in Brest

The Océanopolis scientific culture center will be the subject of a vast renovation and extension project costing nearly 34 million euros in order to “stabilize” attendance at the aquarium, the leading paid tourist facility. in Brittany.

“The objective of this project is to bring back and forth and stabilize our attendance at a level of 450.000 visitors” per year, declared Nathalie Péron-Lecorps, director of Océanopolis, Monday during a conference. Press.

In 2022, 445.000 visitors visited this center dedicated to the oceans and 197.000 people flocked during the summer of 2023 alone.

The “creation and renovation” project, which is due to last until the summer of 2025, provides for the construction of a reception building with a wooden frame shop, green roof, photovoltaic panels and rainwater recovery for toilet.

A new space dedicated to children, “unique of its kind in Europe”, will present 15 fun and educational mediation devices around five themes.

The current polar pavilion will become the "southern pavilion" with transformed pools, a more immersive route and a redesigned scenography.

“This southern ocean is central: it conditions all ocean circulations and is at the heart of climate regulation and CO2 absorption,” explained Dominique Barthélémy, curator in charge of the living environment, to justify the name change of the flag.

Finally, the tropical pavilion will also be renovated, with an update of its scientific content, while retaining its major themes, particularly around sharks. “It seems important to us to talk about it because we are in the process of massacring them. It is a dramatic collapse,” underlined Mr. Barthélémy.

Coral reefs will also be in the spotlight, with the arrival of mesophotic corals, which can live between 30 and 200 meters deep, in areas of very low light.

“We no longer talk about coral reefs like we did 20 years ago, with global warming,” underlined Mr. Barthélémy, recalling that with 2°C of warming, 99% of reef-building corals risked disappearing, according to IPCC experts.

The cost of the work is estimated at 33,8 million euros, 46% financed by Brest Métropole, 21% by the Brittany region and 10% by the State.

Océanopolis, which was inaugurated in 1990, will remain open during the work, with an adapted tour route.