A recent visit to The Florida Aquarium in Tampa provided some examples of how curved steel can help modernize and accentuate a popular tourist attraction.
Before even entering the aquarium, visitors outside encounter a few sets of picnic tables which feature both curved steel flat bar and pipe. The seating of the bench features flat bar rolled the easy way with multiple radial dimensions to provide contoured rests for weary visitors. The seats and tables are supported by a series of tight radius 90 degree pipe bends. Even the edge of the table itself is made from rectangular tubing curved the easy way. Combining the table and chairs into a single unit offers several benefits, one of which would be preventing the chairs from blowing away in the wind.
The lobby of the aquarium features a staircase and escalator leading up to the second level. The area is accented with brushed stainless steel railings using a mixture of bending and rolling techniques. A shop experienced with bending and rolling polished stainless material can help reduce fabrication time by rolling pre-polished pipe while taking efforts to minimize any abrasion or scratching of the polished finish.
Inside the aquarium, there is a large open area with a domed ceiling, to allow for natural lighting in several habitat areas for alligators, river otters, and various species of fish and plants. Outside, from a distance, the roof of this dome appeared to be a mixture of curved steel tube and piping. However, upon closer inspection from the inside, the curve is approximated by cutting and welding several sections of rectangular tubes with miter cuts.
An alternate solution for this roof would have been to curve rectangular tubing the hardway with a radius that forms the shape of the dome. Given the number of smaller sections welded together, this could have saved numerous hours of welding labor in the construction process and left fewer visible weld seams.
