I found an article from February of this year talking about the future plans for Brookfield Zoo, in the suburbs of Chicago. Brookfield has been a client of PGAV for many years now, starting with the design and construction of “The Swamp” exhibit in the 90s. Recently, we’ve worked with them to complete a master plan for the next 20 years, including plans for the upcoming Great Bear Wilderness, which is we also designed and are taking through construction.
Brookfield Zoo's Adaptive Reuse Project "The Swamp"
For Great Bear Wilderness, the Zoo has already broken ground on the project, starting utilities and grading work earlier this month. The historic Ibex Mountain was demolished last December.
At the end of the article, a reader expressed concern over the future plans for the Zoo. This inspired me to address some of the factors in this master plan, of which I was involved, as a tool for illustrating how master plans are completed.
Brookfield Zoo has a long history and a special place in the hearts of the communities surrounding it. The Zoo was a donation by Edith Rockefeller McCormick in 1919, and was designed in the style dominant of that age – Romantic and Beaux Arts. The zoo was built around a central cross axis with a gigantic fountain in the center (added in 1954; known as the Roosevelt Fountain). The four malls of the cross axis terminated in either entry (North, which has been subsequently re-designed to route guests through a tunnel under a main road essentially by-passing the historic gates entirely, and South, which is the secondary entrance used mostly by members), and two visual anchors (Ibex Mountain and the main zoo restaurant). The malls are very wide swaths of green lawn lined with large non-native trees.
Roosevelt Fountain
The historic layout is a beautiful historic campus, but leaves a lot of unusable space. Additionally, many of the buildings throughout the zoo are in the Art Deco and Beaux Arts style and have historic appeal. However, most of these buildings are in dire condition needing totally rehabbing in order to use in any way. Many of these buildings, despite their condition, are still being used to house animals.
When we were called in, the administration felt conflicted as to how to approach the master plan. Knowing the community and staff ties to the historic aspects of the zoo, they felt we needed to respect some of the historic architecture and layout. But, in looking forward to the future, knew also that innovation may supercede the need to preserve history. That meant difficult choices needed to be made.
We had MANY meetings with the public, the board of directors, the staff, and members to feel out what everyone thought to be the most important aspects of the Zoo. Of course, everyone had a differing opinion. In the end, we found a compromise that left everyone, at least mildly, happy.
One of the choices regarded the malls. The need to take advantage of every square foot of space in the land locked Zoo lead us to the decision to keep portions of the malls, but to encroach, removing the outer most pathways (which were mostly unused anyway), but keeping the allee of trees, as much as possible.
One of the four malls. Preserved inner pathway shown.
We also compromised by replacing the failing and unsafe Ibex Mountain with a large Bison exhibit, as part of the Great Wild North, which may not be as visually exciting as the Ibex Mountain, but certainly plays into the Zoo’s heritage, as the Bison is the central icon of the Zoo’s logo.
Additionally, the Zoo decided to keep elephants. This meant dedicated a massive portion of the northwest corner of the Zoo to the large enclosure.
As for the southwest portion of the Zoo, the failing Aquatic Birds building and the already closed Reptile House were a source of contention. These two buildings face each other essentially creating a public square with a bird pool in the middle. The pool is in disrepair, and no one lingers or spends any time in the square. Since the Reptile House is already closed, due to unsafe conditions, the plan is to demolish it completely, while renovating the Aquatic Bird house, and adding an addition. The new Bird house is concepted to be an amazing walk-thru aviary with smaller reptile exhibits interspersed.
The overall master plan took into account the placement of revenue and food locations to take advantage of the most highly visited areas of the park, increasing sales across the Zoo. Additionally, the complaint that the Zoo is too big and confusing took precedence in the general layout, where we minimized redundant paths (by removing paths) and created one large main path looping around the entire Zoo.
Full Long-Range Master Plan
A lot of discussion and thought went into this plan, and the Zoo made every effort to get as many opinions as possible from all involved parties. Of course, there will always be weaknesses in plans, and it remains to be seen if all of the plans will eventually be built. However, the process allowed the zoo to prioritize and evaluate its real goals, giving them a solid insight into its future.
I love Flickr! I just found a couple of good sets walking through Minnesota Zoo’s new Russia’s Grizzly Coast exhibit. I personally can’t wait to see this in person. It really does look amazing. I especially love the photo below, with the steam escaping the vents amongst the landscaping. Gorgeous, enchanting, magical…
If you have pictures of this attraction, or any other new zoo exhibit around the world, please contact me. I’d love to share your experience with everyone.
Check out this video of an amazing idea for surprising guests at educational facilities (warning: adult language in the comments section…it really freaked some folks out!). This “live” dinosaur walks amongst the shocked visitors at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, and could be considered an interesting version of an animal presentation at zoos! I’m always curious about how to make presentations and shows (not to mention videos) more intriguing, and less “showlike” — walking into a theater to await a formal presentation just seems so anti-nature to me. However, this isnt that far from what we do currently, with the most elaborate of edutainment (like at SeaWorld) with amazing costumes, scenery and sound. This is actually much more simple–a person in a costume–albeit an immensely impressive costume. But, its just a person in a costume, nonetheless.
Is this the real deal in edutainment? Does this inspire or intrigue, or just startle and scare the little ones (and adults, alike!)? Would it be as impressive if it were a different animal? Could it serve as a presentation in and of itself, or simply as another tool in our kit? Let me know what you think!
The idea of rotating animals through several exhibits as a means of enrichment and variability is a relatively new one. The popularity of the idea is widespread, despite the requirements of large spaces, intensive staff involvement, and complex (or flexible) holding facilities.
Generally, we’ve been incorporating some sort of rotation capability in all of our exhibits for the past several years. If the staff is willing, the advantage is great: providing several smaller exhibits in which to rotate through the animals during the day provides active animals, which in turn, provides engaged guests.
The upcoming Louisville Zoo Glacier Run exhibit takes full advantage of this type of exhibitry. Despite the main exhibit area being on the small size, the bears here will have several play areas away from the main exhibit, thereby increasing the overall territory of the animals. The downside to this is casual visitors may not understand the complexity of the bears’ lifestyle, and may judge the exhibit as inadequate.
However, understanding how to incorporate this important concept will enhance most zoo exhibitry, and many times, is a creative solution to a tricky problem. Read more about rotation from da man, Jon Coe, here.
For those following the conversation yesterday about the next big step in zoo design, I’m posting the article by Coe and Mendez that outlines his theory of the “Unzoo.”
The lovely Ms. Sue Chin over at the Exhibits and Graphic Art Department at Bronx Zoo was kind enough to forward a couple of info sheets about the new Madagascar Exhibit. Instead of my summarizing for you, I am posting the sheets directly.
The first outlines the exhibit itself, from a content and experience point of view:
MADAGASCAR!
BRONX ZOO EXHIBIT FACT SHEET
HABITAT:
Madagascar! represents a dazzling reproduction of intriguing habitats on the world’s fourth largest island, located off Africa’s east coast and will highlight the extraordinary array of Madagascar’s wildlife and the many threats and challenges to species conservation. The exhibit will delight guests with a display of colorful and exotic creatures from this “eighth continent” and inspire a conservation ethic by illustrating the threats to the island’s biodiversity and the urgent need for WCS and others to protect its wildlife and wild lands.
EXHIBITS:
Only In Madagascar
This introductory exhibit to Madagascar! orients guests, through graphics and video, to the island’s geography and distinctive assemblage of wildlife, the vast majority of which exist nowhere else.
Animals Exhibited: pinstripe damba
Conservation Trail
This path through the exhibit’s rich interpretive experiences interweaves varied learning opportunities for guests to engage, both emotionally and intellectually, in the wonders of Madagascar and WCS’s conservation activities.
Tsingy Cliffs
This dramatic entrance gallery features spectacular limestone cliff formations extending a full two stories high, a striking habitat for Coquerel’s sifaka, a critically endangered species of lemur that inhabits the northwest forests of Madagascar. Sifakas have a unique mode of locomotion– called vertical clinging and leaping-where they use their powerful hind limbs to leap from tree to tree.
Animals Exhibited: Coquerel’s sifaka
Tsingy Caves
Drawing guests deeper into the exotic world of Madagascar, the Tsingy Caves introduces one of the island’s most dramatic habitats: an underground limestone cave created by the eroding effect of rivers and seeps over thousands of years. As guests navigate the dim passageway, they will come upon giant Nile crocodiles.
Animals Exhibited: Malagasy killifish and Malagasy tree boa
Crocodile Pool
Placed at eye level, a 15,000-gallon tank in the Tsingy Caves brings guests face-to-face with a 13-foot-long giant Nile crocodile lying in wait for its prey in the darkness of the cave.
Small Wonders, Big Threats
This gallery introduces, at child’s eye level, an array of living gems: tomato frogs, leaf-tailed geckos, rainbow fish and other fascinating creatures that introduce the diversity of Madagascar’s wildlife. The exhibits is set into a high-tech surround “theater-in-the-round” with dramatic video portraying the island’s animals in their native environments contrasted with scenes of habitat destruction and the threats to Madagascan wildlife.
Animals Exhibited: mouse lemur, lesser hedgehog tenrec, Malagasy killifish, white fin rainbowfish, tomato frogs, Madagascar giant day gecko, golden mantella, painted mantella, blue-leg mantella, and leaf tailed gecko.
Spiny Forest
In this gallery, the centerpiece of the exhibit, guests enter a bizarre arid forest of spiny trees found in Madagascar’s dry south. There they encounter a diverse range of animals, including a dozen charismatic ring-tailed lemurs, a pair of brown lemurs, radiated tortoises, and two bird species: the Madagascar red fody and greyheaded lovebird.
Animals Exhibited: ring-tailed lemur, brown lemur, gray-headed lovebird, Madagascar red fody, radiated tortoise.
Baobab Tree
Within the Spiny Forest gallery, guests can step into a “cockroach tree,” a fabrication of the oddly shaped baobab tree, where they will view a glass-enclosed collection of Madagascan hissing cockroaches.
Animals Exhibited: hissing cockroaches
Discovery Zone
At the central point of the Conservation Trail, this child-focused interactive area provides an opportunity for hands-on exploration through educational activities designed to spark curiosity and foster learning in Madagascar!
Observation Station and Tortoise Nursery
This interactive display brings guests inside a “WCS field hut” in the Spiny Forest for a close look at the science behind conservation. Here they can learn how scientists use observation of lemur behavior as part of conservation efforts in the wild. A pair of ring-tailed mongooses scamper around in this corner of the spiny forest, exploring their habitat. Guests can also view juvenile radiated tortoises, spider tortoises and two species of lizard.
Animals Exhibited: ring-tailed lemur, ring-tailed mongoose, radiated tortoise, four-lined plated lizard, spiny-tailed iguana, spider tortoise (aka pixie tortoise)
Masoala
A dramatic final gallery, here guests will experience a re-creation of the Masoala National Park, critically important to many of Madagascar’s species and a site of WCS’s field conservation efforts for more than a decade. A habitat formed around a cascading waterfall is home to a small group of vociferous red-ruffed lemurs, and a separate habitat hosts a pair of fossa, a unique mammalian predator found only on Madagascar.
Animals Exhibited: red ruffed lemur, fossa
Fossa Forest
Within the Masoala exhibit, guests will encounter a pair of animals rare in zoos. The fossa, the largest mammalian predator on Madagascar and a relative of the mongoose with catlike features, is one of the unique and threatened species of the island nation.
Animals Exhibited: fossa
Masoala Cascade
The Masoala gallery waterfall will flow into a 1,000-gallon elevated pool filled with colorful cichlids, unusual freshwater fish found in Madagascar.
Animals Exhibited: spotted damba, red-sided damba, saro cichlid, fony cichlid
Conservation Pathway
As guests depart Madagascar! and return to Astor Court, this pathway provides a final photographic opportunity in a reflective setting.
Great Hall
Featuring the historic architectural elements of the building, this grand 4,600-square-foot multi-purpose room in the Lion House is the largest indoor meeting and event space at the Bronx Zoo. The refurbished century-old trusses, two-story windows and ornamental animal sculptures are visible to guests assembled for WCS meetings, community events and private functions in this flexible and fully accessible venue with a seating capacity of 230 people.
Executive Meeting Room
This glass-enclosed meeting space within the Great Hall provides a bird’s eye view of the dramatic architecture of the Lion House, including a close look at the interior sculptures and other historic architectural features. This upper level room affords a flexible space for use by WCS and community groups.
Lion Garden
This courtyard along the west side of the Lion House enhances the historic architecture of the building’s exterior. The sentinel lion sculptures, relocated from their original placement at the Lion House’s south entrance, are the new focal points of the garden.
SIZE: Total Square Footage: 41,354 sq. ft.
Basement: 20,765 sq. ft.
First Floor: 18,648 sq. ft.
Mezzanine: 1,941 sq. ft.
EXHIBIT DESIGN: Exhibition and Graphic Art Department, Wildlife Conservation Society
Film and Video Production: Archipelago Films
Media Design: Unified Field
Bronze Sculpture: Priscilla Deichmann
Life Support System Design: TJP Joel Johnson
Illustration: Lawrence Richardson
ARCHITECTURE:
Architect: FXFOWLE Architects, New York, NY
Structural Engineer: Chris Anastos, P.E.
Mechanical Electrical Plumbing (MEP) Engineer: Kallen & Lemelson Engineers
Landscape Architect: Quennell Rothschild & Partners
Historic Preservation: Building Conservation Associates, Inc.
Lighting Consultant: Hayden McKay Lighting Design -
Acoustic Consultant: Cerami Associates
Geotechnical Engineer: Langan Engineers
Code Consultant Expediter: Design 2147 Limited
AV Consultant: DVI Communications Inc.
CONSTRUCTION:
NYC Department of Design and Construction
Construction Manager: Hill International
EXHIBIT CONTRACTORS:
Habitat Fabrication: Cost of Wisconsin
Graphics Fabrication: Dimensional Communications Inc
Exhibit Murals – Dave Rock
The second is all about the project as an historic restoration and green project:
BRONX ZOO LION HOUSE RESTORATION
HISTORY
The Wildlife Conservation Society has rededicated the spectacular architectural legacy of the Bronx Zoo’s Lion House exhibit. The structure is over 100 years old, built in the popular French beaux-arts style of that era, an elaborate and highly decorative form that emphasizes dignity, symmetry and the infusion of diverse influences from the past. It is the largest of six buildings comprising the Bronx Zoo’s Astor Court, and has served as the temporary home of the New York Aquarium, a meeting place for the National Guard during World War II, a home for the Zoo’s big cat exhibit for many years and as the site where the groundbreaking 1905 decision was made to rescue America’s rapidly-shrinking bison population.
Situated at the heart of the Zoo, the Lion House was designated a Historic District by the New York City Landmarks Commission in 2000 in recognition of its aesthetic and historic distinction. The 20,000-square-foot building, which opened in 1903, is a jewel of Beaux Arts architecture and will be the site of a magnificent new exhibit, Madagascar!, and of the Schiff Family Great Hall, a spacious community meeting and event facility. Its design addresses the functional demands of the future and incorporates new advances in animal welfare, visitor experience, conservation awareness, and science education.
GREEN DESIGN
It is anticipated that the building will carry the distinction of being the first landmarked building in New York City to be certified “green” by the U.S. Green Building Council. It represents the next generation of the Zoo experience, function as a publicly accessible building and exemplifies the Wildlife Conservation Society’s mission of conservation – an integrated exploration of fit and form, aimed towards environmental, social, and economic sustainability. The greatest challenge was to design and restore a historic structure that not only met mixed use programmatic and functional goals, but also met the US Green Building Council’s LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards. An integration of sustainability into the design concept is the key to the success of all aspects of this project; a local materialization of the Wildlife Conservation Society’s global conservation efforts and a model for future development. The contained, right-sized mechanical systems contribute to a healthy and sustainable environment for the animals, handlers and visitors with high standards of interior environmental quality These and many other sustainable advancements contribute to an anticipated LEED Gold Rating, including:
Site
• Site selection and building design are part of a comprehensive master plan. The building rehabilitation and its central location insure the use of a formerly empty building which had become obsolete for animal exhibits.
• Maintain integrity of historic building and surrounding landmark district while incorporating modern exhibits and systems.
• Cultural enhancement of the Bronx Zoo campus through historic preservation and creation of a new popular destination in a previously underused area.
• Reinforce WCS mission for sustainability in a publicly visible area at the original center of the zoo complex.
Energy
• Fuel cell for generation of building electricity with connection back into campus cogeneration system.
• Use of waste heat to reduce size of building systems and connection to campus waste heat loop.
• Geothermal heating and cooling systems to reduce consumption of fossil fuels.
• Extensive use of dynamic skylight system to maximize daylight and modulate temperature in exhibits.
• Increase acceptable temperature range within building to reduce equipment size.
• The Lion House has a 57% savings in energy cost over an Energy Code compliant equivalent.
Water
• Use of waterless urinals and low flow plumbing fixtures to reduce water consumption for building occupant and public toilets used by thousands of visitors per day.
• Wastewater reclamation through grey water system for lavatories.
• Inclusion of water filtration system for adjacent sea lion pool to eliminate regular water changes.
• The Lion House has a 59% savings in water consumption and 30% savings in waste water.
Systems + Materials
• Fully integrated building management system to control all aspects of the building environment.
• Use of low-impact materials: recycled steel, slag concrete, FSC certified wood.
• Use of high-performance building systems: ETFE dynamic skylight system to control sunlight and modulate heat loss and heat gain.
• Location of construction within campus eliminates traffic impacts.
• Construction waste management program to minimize waste generation, reuse materials and recycle waste.
• Conservation of materials and resources: preservation of building shell; salvage and reuse of existing brick and stone to eliminate need for any new face brick.
• Reduction in the building’s ecological footprint (e.g. minimizing materials, space efficiency, limiting impact on the ecosystem.)
Indoor Air Quality
• Building Management system controls natural and mechanical ventilation as appropriate to interior and exterior temperature and humidity.
• Operable windows and skylights.
• Low pressure under-floor air distribution system.
• Carbon dioxide sensors.
• Use of low and no VOC emitting materials.
DESIGN
Led by FXFOWLE Architects, a cadre of consultants expert at historic preservation, acoustics, green architectural practices, food services and event space use make up the team for the restoration. A complex design process included participants from landmarks and historic preservation, NYC Department of Design and Construction, NYC DDC Office of Sustainable Design, New York Power Authority and WCS’s exhibit designers and plant and animal curators.
The core project goals were: to restore a historic structure; to adapt the architecture to address the new exhibit and event space program needs; and to meet the sustainable design principles that reflect WCS’s mission. The Lion House required major infrastructure work to meet these goals.
The new program for the Lion House scope spans from cellar to ceiling, expanding the usable area from 32,000 to 41,000 square feet by increasing the basement in width and depth and by inserting an interior mezzanine. This program calls for the building to have two separate, but interconnected functions. The first function is as a dynamic animal exhibit dedicated to the beautifully exotic animal and plant life of Madagascar.
The second is the Schiff family Great Hall, a multi-use space that will host staff lectures, educational activities, art exhibitions, conservation conferences and other public events. The space will also be made available to the community for local needs such as Community Board meetings.
Comprehensive restoration and cleaning of the brick façade, decorative friezes, limestone sculptures and wrought iron elements along with the replacement of the roof, downspouts and gutters, windows was necessary to return the building envelope to its original splendor. New Foiltec skylights retain the historic quality of the building yet address the needs of the new exhibit by allowing lots of natural daylight and ultra violet light for the animals and plants. Completely new HVAC, plumbing and electrical systems were designed to meet the complex needs of the animal exhibits as well as the Great Hall. A new geothermal system, along with a fuel cell funded by the New York Power Authority are prime examples of the green technology included in this project. The interior of the building required complex interior demolition, stabilization and replacement of floor structure, walls and building structure; and modifications to enable adaptive re-use for living collections. The landscape design includes an outdoor terrace to the west of the building. This terrace is the new home for the historic sentinel lions that were originally located at the South entrance to the building. In addition, the restoration includes installation of a fire protection system, the building of new service access, and the building complies with ADA requirements and general building and energy codes, including the installation of ADA compliant restrooms.
This construction project also includes two types of skylights. Traditional skylights have been installed over the corridors for visitors, public spaces and a mezzanine level conference room. WCS is also using a thermoplastic foil layering system called Foiltec for nearly 8,500 square feet of skylight space, which will balance the contradictory requirements of allowing maximum natural light with minimum heat gain. The Foiltec system has very good insulation value and uses special technology to connect to the HVAC for further temperature regulation efficiency. Foiltec is unique in that it transmits ultra violet light, which is vital to the animals and plant life in the Madagascar! exhibit. With this restoration, the Lion House returns to its earlier architectural glory, providing the public with an important destination for new exhibitions and educational program.
Landscape immersion, which is a type of design intended to “immerse” the visitor in the same natural habitat as the animal, effectively began with the Woodland Park Zoo’s gorilla exhibit. Created by zoo design godfathers Grant Jones and Jon Coe as a collaboration with Woodland Park then-director David Hancocks and biologist Dennis Paulson, they coined the term landscape immersion, and thus began the philosophical shift from a homocentric view of zoos to a biocentric view. We now spend massive amounts of resources re-creating “natural” places and cultural phenomena, in an effort to connect people to the earth; to inspire respect of natural places. Back in 1978, this style of design was fresh, new, innovative, revolutionary; nearly thirty years later, the style has become so a part of zoo culture that any exhibit not designed in this manner is questioned for its validity and chances of success. However, should landscape immersion continue to be our design standard? How do we push to the next step beyond landscape immersion?
True and successful landscape immersion requires designers to experience a habitat first-hand before beginning to design a re-creation of it. They research the essence of the habitat, the ecosystem structure within the habitat, and the natural ebbs and flows the habitat would undergo. The animal is an integral part of the ecosystem, not just the centerpiece of a painted scene. The visitor is whisked away to another world, drastically different from the asphalt sidewalks and ice cream shops of the zoo midway. Today’s landscape immersion is, too often, not this. Today’s landscape immersion usually means planting the visitor space with the same plants as seen in the animal exhibit, and using props from a culture as shade structures, means to hide back-of-house buildings, and educational interpretives. Moreover, today’s visitor to a modern zoo no longer has their breath taken away by a landscape immersion exhibit; they simply expect to be immersed in an animal’s habitat. The magic of landscape immersion is gone. Along with that, the opportunity to educate and inspire is waning, because, as Coe has said himself, “Only the emotional side, in the end, has the power to generate changes in behavior” (Powell, 1997). If the “oh my” moment is gone, does education stand a chance?
Landscape immersion does not generate longer experiences, as commonly believed. This can easily be shown true by simply observing visitor behavior at exhibits. After studying visitor length-of-stay time at viewing areas, little to no difference can be observed between the old, concrete moated tiger exhibit at Philadelphia Zoo and the landscape and cultural immersion tiger exhibit at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. The average maximum stay time of 90 seconds has been consistently shown through observations at other exhibits as well, including the gorilla exhibit and bongo exhibit at Cincinnati Zoo, and the polar bear exhibits at Detroit Zoo and Louisville Zoo. Despite renovations and millions of dollars spent on landscape, rockwork, and interpretives, the most we can expect of our visitors is a minute and a half. Is this time shorter now than at immersion exhibits in the early 1980′s? What can we do now to increase this time? Or, what can we do to get the most impact for our minute and a half?
One of the biggest complaints against landscape immersion is the difficulty, generally, in spotting and clearly seeing the animals. Therefore, proximity to animals should be a chief concern in exhibit design. Visitors want to experience something special. They want to do something no one else gets to do; something they have never done. Most importantly, in doing these things, visitors feel connected to the animals. Creating the connection should be of the utmost concern for designers and zoos.
Another component lacking in modern zoo design (not just landscape immersion specifically) is the integration of behavioral enrichment into the basic design process. Too often behavioral enrichment is an aspect of the exhibit that is not addressed by zoos to the architectural designer, even if the behavioral enrichment program is being developed concurrently. Most zoos still see the enrichment program as a separate aspect of the new exhibit to be implemented by the keepers after the exhibit is opened. Most architectural designers are ignorant to the importance of behavioral enrichment as a means not only to increase the health and welfare of the animal, but also in creating an active exhibit with active animals, which translates into longer stay times. Thus, enrichment generally is not addressed as an aspect of design, and ultimately we see beautiful new landscape immersion exhibits with large orange boomer balls and blue plastic barrels. Can these be considered cultural props? Recently, behavioral enrichment has been integrated beautifully into primate exhibits, but what about ungulates and big cats?
Connection creation and enrichment are the two most important issues that we must address in order to move beyond landscape immersion. The complexity of stepping beyond landscape immersion may seem a daunting task. However, the essence of the next successful step will be in creating “novelty”-something new or unexpected. Novelty to visitors, both within every new exhibit they encounter, as well as within the same exhibit upon repeat visits. We must create novelty to animals, both in new enrichment devices and methods, as well as within their own habitats. We need to make adaptable habitats that can be changed on a daily, weekly, monthly or seasonal basis. We need to make experiences for the visitor and animal that they can share, becoming intuitively novel, since every person or animal will react slightly different in new situations. Thus, our new exhibits will stay new, increasing visitor repeat attendance, and discouraging cookie cutter exhibit design.
But how do we begin to do this? In addressing the issues of connection creation and incorporation of enrichment into design, the first and most critical step will be to develop stronger relationships between architectural designers and zoo staff. Designers need to be educated by the keepers on animals’ behaviors, both in the wild and in captivity, as well as on methods of behavioral enrichment. Designers should spend a day or two working side-by-side with the keepers as “keepers for a day.” This will help designers to not only understand the needs of the keepers in their daily work routines, but also to help create bonds between designers and the animals whose homes they are creating. The zoo staff has a passion for animals that most architectural designers are lacking. This passion needs to be shared and experienced by the designers.
In “novelty-based” design, zoos and designers need to work together to develop new methods of enrichment and test them before integrating them into design. Design schedules and budgets should include a phase for enrichment development and testing, wherein the designers work with the keepers to create prototypes to be tested with the animals. If the zoo is designing exhibits for animals they currently do not have in collection, partnerships should be developed to test enrichment devices at other zoos with those animals. These findings should be recorded scientifically and published for the entire zoo community to share. If the zoo uses training as enrichment, the designers need to experience training sessions and clearly understand the need and utility of the training. Keepers and designers should be discussing how all of these methods can be displayed on exhibit.
Specific enrichment goals need to be addressed at design kick-off meetings, making numerical goals for incorporating enrichment devices and creating new methods. Enrichment must be seen as a philosophical aspect of design, incorporated into the master planning process, because if animals are active and happy, visitors will become more engaged. Enrichment must be planned not only for the opening day of the exhibit, but for the future of the exhibit as well. Animals become acclimated to enrichment devices and stop using them. We must plan for this, developing phasing plans for enrichment, and flexibility of the exhibit design for novelty of the environment. Most importantly, after the construction is complete, studies must be conducted to determine the successes and failures of enrichment techniques. These results should be shared with the zoo community, and especially, the designers.
Secondly, the “novelty-based” design process must become “connection-centered,” not visitor-centered or animal-centered. Connections are created both by proximity and by experience. Landscape immersion began to explore this idea by attempting to have visitors and animals in the same habitat, thus experiencing the same things. However, in landscape immersion, we don’t experience the same things at all. As visitors, we have a choice to move into a different area, to eat ice cream or hot dogs, to sit and watch the gorillas or to go see the penguins. We don’t swim in the same water as the polar bears and we don’t get to swing around on ropes like orangutans. What if we started creating these shared experiences? Can we make environments for animals and visitors that are truly similar? What if the actions of a visitor change the environment for the animal? What if the actions of an animal change the environment for the visitor? No longer would we be bound by the idea that the habitat must look like the animals’ wild habitat. We could make it look like any thing, any place, any time, as long as the visitor and animal are engaged and ultimately, connected.
We have already seen a movement starting to push beyond landscape immersion, and, in some instances, toward “novelty-based” design. Several new exhibits, including the St. Louis Zoo ‘Penguin & Puffin Coast’ exhibit and the San Francisco Zoo’s ‘Lipman Family Lemur Forest’, utilize natural habitat but also incorporate distinctly non-immersive elements, and are exceedingly successful. These exhibits focus on getting the visitor close to the animals (connection-centered) and being surrounded by active animals (behavioral understanding and enrichment incorporation). This experience, which will be different and therefore novel upon each visit, makes these exhibits extremely emotional and therefore memorable to visitors, and begins to create a connection. These exhibits are a step in the right direction toward “novelty-based” design. Using this type of design, we can move to the next incremental step in the evolution of landscape immersion, keeping the “oh my!” moment, and continuing to educate and inspire our zoo visitors.
Recently, Busch Gardens’ Africa’s latest attraction, Junagala, opened to rave reviews. Check out the video preview from Orlando Attraction Magazine.
This new addition, conceptualized by Portico Group, includes a new large, lush habitat for the tigers and orangutans (not together!), and massive play structure for kids and adults, including several small sized rides. The purpose was to create interactivity between animals and people, and allow guests understand that all creatures play. In fact, the orangs play so well, that one has already found a way to escape, only to be lured back to her exhibit with ice cream!
The writers over at MiceAge, a site dedicated to the Disney parks, took time out to experience the attraction and write up a review. According to them, the attraction is a real win, and touches on the idea of enrichment-based design for guests and animals alike. Enjoy!
Over time, zoos’ physical forms have been a direct reflection of our society’s values and understanding of science. It is important to understand where we’ve been in order to move forward, and its is also important for visitors to the older zoos to understand why certain buildings and exhibits are the way they are (as we know, zoos usually do not have an abundance of money, and struggle to keep their physical state up with the trends).
Zoos, in the form we know them now, have been in existence since the mid-18th century. Prior to this, private collections existed throughout the world as far back, it is believed, to Mesopotamian times. Romans kept animals, of course, for sport, but would display the animals in a zoo-like manner, prior to their being released to their deaths in the Coliseum. But we’ll focus on the mid-19th century forward.
We can easily divide the eras in zoo design into three general categories:
Zoos as Jails (mid 19th to late 19th century)
Zoos as Art Galleries OR the Modernist Movement (early to mid 20th century)
Zoos as Conservation and Education Facilities
Zoos as Jails
This was the Age of Enlightenment and the Romantic Age, where beauty was of the upmost value and our understanding the natural world was just becoming a science. Science in this time was all about classification and comparison. Linneaus and Darwin were the scientific stars. The earliest official zoos started now, with the London Zoo in 1828 and Philadelphia Zoo in 1874. The early zoos were based on the mission of science for science’s sake, but also were places for socializing.
As such, a balance between beauty and classification was struck. The zoos of this time were laid out by families, and the term “House” came to being, as in Cat House, Bird House, etc. The architectural style was over the top beautiful. Highly ornate bird cages, and buildings themed in the most dramatic fashion were everywhere. But, cages were small, animals were short lived and people enjoyed the animals as beautiful pieces rather than living beings.
Zoos as Art Galleries OR the Modernist Movement
During this time, the world was experiencing several wars. The study of nature became much less important, but Romanticism still existed. Science progressed into problem solving, and medical advances were abundant. Vaccinations became prevalent and the idea of killing germs to increase health and extend life expentency came into being.
During this time, zoos held a similar value as art galleries, and the exhibits became mini-paintings and sculptures. In the Romantic movement, a proper landscape exists with a foreground, mid-ground, and background. Carl Hagenbeck applied this theory first, and created the firstever barless (moated) exhibit. His desire was more to create this Romantic living landscape, like the famous painters of this time, than to recreate nature for moral sensitivities. This style obviously caught on, but generally became popular much later.
Additionally, the modernist movement was catching fire. Modernism requires that form follow function. This belief along with the advances in medicine and desire for sterilization, created zoo exhibits that were easily hosed down and cleaned regularly. This meant concrete everywhere. Additionally, the Modernist Art scene infiltrated zoo design, and the hardlines and simplification modernist style is famous for, reigned supreme in exhibits that looked more like sculpture than habitat.
With both the Romanticism and Modernist styles abounding in this time period, zoo design was more about creating an art gallery than a responsible home for animals. Interestingly, due to the increased attention to health, captive animals’ life expectancies did increase almost to today’s levels. The only thing they missed was the mental health aspect of the habitats.
Zoos as Conservation and Education Facilities
Since the mid-20th century, our society has developed a strong sense of environmental awareness and human rights ethics, which eventually gave way to animal rights as well. In 1950, Hediger wrote “Wild Animals in Captivity” which opened people’s eyes to the idea of husbandry practices and exhibit design based on an animal’s natural history. What a novel approach! With the advances in healthcare (which overlaps into this era), animals in captivity began to be treat for physical as well as mental health.
During the 1970s, a group of folks at the Woodland Park Zoo (including two young designers from Jones and Jones Architects) decided to resurrect Hagenbeck’s ideas from long ago–but to advance them.
Instead of creating a living painting, they wanted to put the visitor into the habitat…Immerse them in the painting. And, instead of creating a visually exciting statement only, they decided to re-create the habitat in the which the animal was naturally seen. All of these things were incorporated into the gorilla exhibit at Woodland Park Zoo, and, thus, landscape immersion was born.
Since then, the idea of landscape immersion has caught on like wildfire, and today, is the standard of responsible zoo design. Understanding the past, I have to wonder where we are headed next…A topic for future discussion.
