The Age Of Aquariums

With its forest of steel masts, miles of cable rigging and giant, sail-shaped glass roof, the new aquarium that opened in Lisbon last week looks like a futuristic ship preparing for exploration. That's as it should be: The aquarium, the largest in Europe, is the centerpiece of Expo '98, a world's fair dedicated to "The Oceans" and timed to celebrate Vasco da Gama's historic voyage from Lisbon to India--via the Cape of Good Hope--500 years ago. But Lisbon's newest tourist attraction is also a symbol of a growing public interest in underwater zoos, especially those created by Peter Chermayeff of the...