Building the Aquarium - Behind the Scenes with the Ironworkers Union

I photographed the construction of the Seattle Aquarium expansion for the Ironworkers Union in 2023 before the cement pour of the huge shark tank. This image shows the massive amount of rebar that holds the place together.

Now that the Seattle Aquarium’s Ocean Pavilion is a completed centerpiece of our waterfront, it is easy to forget the massive amount of work that went into creating it. But long before the first gallon of water was added, I had the privilege of documenting the beginning of this project: the massive amount web of steel that holds it all together.

A view of the beautiful new Seattle Aquarium expansion at night with the Overlook Walk and the the city of Seattle in the background

Looking back at these photographs from a few years ago, I’m still struck by the sheer scale of the engineering and the precision of the Ironworkers Union who laid the foundation for what we see today.

Standing at the bottom of the empty basin before the concrete pour was a humbling experience. The scope was staggering—millions of pounds of heavy rebar woven into a dense, skeletal labyrinth. These "bones" were designed to withstand the immense pressure of the shark tank’s future inhabitants and the millions of gallons of water they require.

While this steel is now forever encased in concrete, these images serve as a reminder of the massive magnitude of the build. What the public sees today as a serene marine environment started as a monumental feat of engineering.

As a photographer, my goal was to highlight that contrast—the massive physical weight of the material against the delicate, highly coordinated craftsmanship of the workers. There is a specific kind of beauty in those repeating geometric patterns of steel that define the hidden strength of our city.

It is rare to see the "before" so clearly once the "after" is this spectacular. These photographs represent the final moments before the landscape of the waterfront changed forever. Once the cement was poured, this intricate lattice disappeared from view, becoming the invisible foundation for a world-class marine habitat.

Revisiting these images reminds me of the hard work and technical skill that go into the early phases of Seattle’s growth. It was an honor to document the Ironworkers as they built the backbone of one of our city’s most iconic spaces.