Allan Toft
| “Terrors of the Deep,” Sea World, Orlando, Fla., 1992 |
The main attraction at Sea World’s “Terrors of the Deep” is a 60-foot-long tunnel that visitors walk through to get a closeup view of menacing sharks, moray eels, and other deep-sea creatures in their “natural” habitat. Simulating the design and lighting effects found in a Caribbean coral reef was an immense challenge for lighting designer Randy Burkett, as he had to devise a lighting scheme that had to contend with corrosive saltwater and minimize the heat from 25-kilowatt luminaires. It is one of the first aquarium exhibits to create a lifelike experience that simulates filtered sunlight through water. The lighting effect is achieved with a combination of PAR56 and PAR64 fixtures. None of these fixtures shine directly on the tunnel’s acrylic dome, heightening the material’s transparency and making visitors feel as though they are underwater. The project is a technical accomplishment that set the bar for aquarium exhibits, and the visitor is unaware of the lighting feat before them, which addresses both their needs as spectators and those of the sea life on the other side of the display.