World's Most Expensive Aquarium Made with 24k Gold, Mammoth Tusk & T-Rex Bone.

The Aquavista Dinosaur Gold - The only Aquarium with a 65 million year old history.

This is the world's rarest, most exclusive, most expensive - and undoubtedly the most bizarre- fish tank ever made. 
No surprise that it's a product of Stuart Hughes of Liverpool, maker of all things elite (with the world's most annoying and poorly designed website) who was commissioned by Aquavista UK of London to design something luxurious and unique.




The result is a wall mounted panoramic aquarium whose frame is made with a massive amount of pure solid 24ct gold in the form of 68 kilograms. Embedded in the frame are two side veneers made from real mammoth tusk with a unique piece of dinosaur bone from an actual T-REX diagonally shaved into the tusk.



The specifications:
• Low maintenance – designed to simplify your life, the Aquavista Panoramic Wall Aquarium requires less 
than 15 minutes per month


• No daily care – complete with embedded Automatic Feeder, caring for your fish has never been easier. 
Just refill the feeder periodically and enjoy!


• Complete advanced aquarium system – the Aquavista Panoramic is pre-assembled with dual filtration 
system, heater, air pump, lighting, CO2 generator, and automatic feeder that is controlled by an easy to 
use programmable touch-screen control that simplifies all functions. Essential aquarium 
care accessories are included at no charge.




• Create an underwater garden – each unit comes with a Carbon Dioxide Generator that allows live plants to photosynthesize and 
flourish. Aquascaping is a new and growing hobby, and it has never been simpler.


• Space-saving design – Aquavista Panoramic Wall Aquariums’ sleek wall-mounted design brighten up any wall to create a 
clutter-free environment.


The project took 4 months to complete in London where Aquavista UK is based. Installation by Aquavista UK
.

Available as a limited edition of only 3
Priced at $4.8 million or £3 million

Buy it here

Archiquarium. A Modern Swedish Fish Tank By Karl-Oskar Ankarberg.

At the Home Fair Exhibition earlier this month in Stockholm, the Swedish Aquarium Leasing (Akvarie leasing) company debuted something very unique - a spectacular modern aquarium, designed by Karl-Oskar Ankarberg, known for his collaborations with Orrefors glassworks.

The new aquarium named Archiquarium is something really special for both aquarium and design enthusiasts. The spectacular aquariums are reminiscent of ultra-modern architecture, rather than traditional aquariums. The clean rectangular shapes and surfaces are hallmarks of modern Scandinavian design.


above: the frame is made of solid sawn wood, aquarium glass and Corian®.

Archiquarium is the work of increasingly high-profile designer Karl-Oskar Ankarberg. When the sketches were presented to the Aquarium Leasing AB, they quickly decided to go ahead and produce a prototype - which was presented to external design agencies in Karl-Oskar's booth No. AO4: 53 on the Home Fair, 7-10 October.







Aquarium Leasing AB leases and operates aquariums in over 2000 workplaces in industry and public sectors so that people can enjoy the serene spectacle that is the aquarium's signature. The company is based in Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmo and Copenhagen.

The Three AIR Aquariums By Design Studio Usin-e.

above: Air1 aquarium (top), Air2 (lower right) Air3 (lower left)


The newest AIR 3 Aquarium design (shown above) by Rémi Bouhaniche and Amaury Poudray of Lyon, France design studio Usin-e is the third in their series of modern laboratory glassware fish tanks.

AIR 1 Aquarium:



AIR2 Aquarium:





Each of the AIR series consists of a glass vessel perched atop metal legs. The first two AIR aquariums have horizontally elongated zeppelin-shaped blown glass (blown by Peter Pignat of Pignat glass) bowls perched atop metal legs.


above: Peter Pignat of Pignat scientific glass-blowing creating the AIR1 Aquarium.

The third is a test-tube like shape with a flat bottom and sheared off top, supported on an angle by white metal rods.

AIR3 Aquarium:





The AIR1 and AIR3 aquariums from a 2010 exhibit at La Bergerie, Marseille:


and the AIR2 aquarium at VIVID Gallery, Rotterdam, NL, 2010:



While it's true that these are impossible to clean, have no filter and are not the most fish friendly environments, they are beautiful as studies of material, space and balance.

Materials: Glass, metal
Size: diameter 15cm, 80cm X 25cm
Date: March 2010
Production: AD , Christophe Bailleux
Photos: Laure Mélone

According to the designers:
USIN-e is showing a new generation of Airs aquariums. It was on show for the first time at USIN-e’s exhibition, March 2010, in La Bergerie, Marseille. This aquarium is a glass bubble caught mid-fall by a metal structure. As other Airs models, Air3 was created using the techniques of scientific glassware. Hanging up in the air, Air3 tells us about weight and elevation.

About Usin-e (from their site):

Rémi Bouhaniche and Amaury Poudray are two designers based in Lyon, France. They received their degrees from Saint Etienne Art School , and went on to receive degrees in Industrial Design (BTS Design de produit) - Rémi in Marseille, France, and Amaury in Les Herbiers, France. Both studied abroad for 6 months - Amaury at the Rhode Island School of Design in the United States, and Rémi at the School of Art, Design and Technology in India, Bangalore Srishti. They experiment with materials, welding, cutting, folding, covering, stretching, molding. They are always looking for craftsmen and industies with whom to develop trusting relationships to create new projects.
**French** Nous recherchons les liens qui unissent la matière, la forme et les compétences, L'objet devient un pretexte pour rassembler. La recherche de simplicité nous pousse à travailler en cohérence avec les techniques artisanales et industrielles. Conscients du détail, nous préférons l’action simple, le geste précis et juste. Ce qui avant tout nous intéresse c'est de créer du lien entre des choses qui apparement s'opposent; personnes, techniques, matières. Créer des paradoxes, de la tension et de la légereté, du vide et de la fragilité, à l'image du monde qui nous entoure.


Village des créateurs,
Passage Thiaffait,
19 rue René Leynaud,
69001 Lyon
contact@usin-e.fr

all images courtesy of Usin-e and Amaury Poudray.
Special thanks to DsgnWrld for bringing this to my attention

More Modern Aquariums and Fish Tanks
I have a thing for modern aquariums and fish tanks. I've compiled a shopping list with links to purchase some of the coolest modern fish tanks and aquariums available right here.

Use Too Much Water And Poor Little Fish Floats Belly Up.

Industrial designer Yan Lu is hoping that you'll think twice about your water consumption if you think of it as draining the home of a poor little fish, hence the name of his innovative design.

The wash basin, "Poor Little Fish", topped off with a fishbowl, not only looks interesting but works in such a manner that, if you're a fish lover, will not have you wasting a drop.



Why? Because as you turn on the faucet and let the water flow, the level of water in the fish bowl lowers proportionate to the amount of running water you are using. Let the water run for too long and you've got a fish out of water. Don't fret though, the water level in the bowl returns to normal after turning off the faucet. And it's designed in such a way that the water from the tap is pure because the pipeline does not connect to the water in the fish bowl.





The project was first shown in 2008 at the Kith Kin exhibit, a London based art & design cooperative, producing events exhibitions and projects to inspire. Then at Designersblock London in 2009

Here are some additional images courtesy of Mocoloco:




Yan Lu is a Chinese designer/engineer based in London. He graduated from product design department in Central Saint Martins in 2009, and currently in the first year of the Industrial Design Engineering joint course (MA + MSc Double Masters) at the Royal College of Art and Imperial College London.

See more of his imaginative and innovative designs here.

Modern Glass Vessels / Fish Tanks By Vanessa Mitrani

above: The No Limits Bowl, glass and porcelain.

Amongst her large repertoire of work, French artist Vanessa Mitrani creates beautiful and functional hand-blown glass decorative vessels that can also function as fish tanks or fishbowls.

The latest of these objets d'art/aquariums is her No Limits Collection which features porcelain or aluminum cast fish half in and half out of their glass surroundings. As if escaping from their habitats, the fish create a sort of optical illusion, floating between their world of captivity and ours.

Dish (glass and porcelain):

Round bowl and Giant Cylinder (glass and porcelain):

In addition to the larger pieces (shown above) that can actually be used as aquariums, the collection includes a vase, water glasses, mugs and cups:


Her Aquarius Collection has been featured in various magazines and on design blogs touting their modern shape and convergence of nature and design.

Simple and Double:

Panoramic and Bottles:

Building and a recent piece from Salone del Mobil (name unknown):


And finally, her Oxygen Collection consists of two pieces; a large and small version of fused round bowls that appear as connected bubbles, weightless and suspended in air.



Glasssware is only a small part of Vanessa Mitrani's work. She also designs textiles, display products for merchandisers and works in porcelain. She has an impressive client list, having created pieces for Salviati, Ligne Roset and Roche Bobois, to name a few. Many of her pieces are carried by exclusive galleries or high end boutiques.

About the artist:

Vanessa Mitrani trained in furniture design at ENSAD, under the tutelage of Jean Claude Maugirard, spent a year at ADAC studios and worked with with the glass artist Pedro Veloso.

After graduating from ENSAD in 1999 she embarked on a professional career, the following year obtaining the VIA Label and created her first edition of vases for Ligne Roset.

In 2002, she started Vanessa Mitrani Creations which developed original objects, products, furniture design, and produced pieces for Roche Bobois, Salviati, Neiman Marcus, l’Occitane en Provence and the Conran shop. Mitrani also collaborates directly with factories in France, Portugal and India several times a year.


Vanessa Mitrani

Places where you can purchase some of her pieces:
Les Site Des Createurs
The Conran Shop
Roseland Gallery