Designing Zoos

New Aquarium building

The aquarium is, in fact, the first for Arizona, but, at a mere 180,000 gallon capacity, its only a small and somewhat simple attraction by aquarium standards. 

Simple viewing windows and lack of signage at the WWZ's new Aquarium Expansion.

The new aquarium is an expansion of the private Wildlife World Zoo in the West Valley, and is part of a larger 10-year plan for the Zoo.  This expansion cost an extremely budget-friendly $7 million. 

However, not to seem cynical, I must congratulate the Zoo on continuing its effort to bring education about wildlife to an area lacking quality facilities.  The Zoo currently sees approximately 405,000 visitors annually, and will surely see an increase. 

Exhibits at the Aquarium include what looks to be a nice black-footed penguin habitat, a small (30′ diameter) shark tank, and several touch zones.  The Zoo also incorporates rides into exhibits, including a log flume through one of the Aquarium’s tanks, to make for a true Edutainment facility.

Black-footed penguins

More penguins

Viewing penguins

Shark tank from above.

Shark tank under construction

One touch tank

Sting ray touch

Check out the rest of the Wildlife World Zoo here.

Its been touted as the “Eden Project” of wildlife. 

However, if you’ve been to the Eden Project, you’ll know this project seems to fall short.  Very short, in my opinion.  

Eden Project from above. Reclamation of Clay Mine.

The Eden Project was, and is, as innovative in approach, as it was in design, made all that more impressive by the fact that botanical gardens and arboretia tend to be, well, on the more dull side.  The Eden Project, built in a reclaimed clay mine, brought hip to gardens; it connects the reality of being green to the flashy, trendy movement.  It creates a place to enjoy nature as an art, and art in nature, sometimes quite literally.  It’s also beautiful, fun, exciting, and a gorgeous piece of architecture and landscape architecture.

Walk at Eden Project

Bristol Zoo’s “Eco-Zoo”, which was conceived over 40 years ago and since shelved, claims to become “the first conservation-led animal visitor attraction of its kind in the UK.”  The $140 million Park is planned at 136 acres, and aims to be open by 2012, a lofty goal considering it hasn’t yet been approved.  The Park estimates attendance at 400,000 annually.  

Touting itself as the “next generation of zoological attractions”, I’m especially curious at what it aims to do differently.  The single article I could find about it outlines a few key points:

1.  “Bristol’s “eco zoo” could connect the inherent interest value of captive animals with the conservation methods needed to save their wild cousins.”

2. “The whole idea of captivity will be reduced to a minimum….The often controversially cramped spaces of the Victorian era’s most famous zoos are gone – replaced with open land, moats and ditches.”

3. “…most importantly, the four themed areas of the park…have all been chosen to reflect specific areas of the world where conservation is desperately needed to save critically endangered species. “

The Eco-Zoo's Congo Exhibit

The Eco-Zoo's Sumatran Exhibit

 So far, this sounds very similar to most zoos creating new exhibits across the U.S. and world.  Victorian era design died in the Victorian era, and as illustrated in a previous post, the idea of landscape immersion has been around since the 1970s.  Creating themed areas based on conservation needs is what is done with virtually every new exhibit out there.  What of all of the recent and upcoming Arctic exhibits?  Bronx Zoo’s Madagascar!? I’m duly unimpressed thus far…

The Eco-Zoo’s British Woodland Exhibit

The Eco-Zoo's Indian Ocean Exhibit

 

But then there’s this:

“Food for the animals will be organic, while 80 per cent of the building material will be locally sourced and sustainable. “

And this:

“Every aspect of the park’s design incorporates sustainability, from the buildings and the engineering infrastructure to the landscape.”

Now that’s new.  Seriously, folks.  Zoos tout themselves as conservation leaders, but are some of the most un-green institutions out there.  Tremendous amounts of water and electricity are wasted daily on washout of stalls and sustaining water life support systems in tanks and pools, amongst other things.  

Buildings themselves are most often behind the scenes and often suffer from the smallest budget.  For this reason, environmentally friendly alternative building practices rarely are integrated.   Recently, however, some zoos have been making an effort with their “non-animal” buildings, such as the LEED silver certified Nutrition Center at St. Louis Zoo.  

Silver Certified Nutrition Center at St. Louis Zoo

Speaking of the infamous LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Accreditation, no standards exist for buildings housing animals.  So, zoos and aquariums looking to do right by the environment through LEED (and gain a little good press and grant money, too), are oftentimes without means.   In the non-profit sector (as in many others), if you can’t gain revenue or attendance increases from something, it isn’t done.  And there goes the green leadership…

However, if this project can put their money where their mouth is (almost literally!), they may be onto something special.  If not for innovation in zoological exhibit design, then definitely for innovation in zoological construction and green design. 

I’ll be keeping my eyes peeled for more news about this potentially exciting project.

The Aquarium, the newest add to Thailand’s Chiang Mai Zoo, is finally open.  In late October, the Aquarium shut down literally hours after its official opening gala, due to malfunctions in both the life support systems and the ticketing machines. 

Apparently, sand had found its way past the filtration system entering the main tank, and creating water murky enough to delay the opening for about three weeks. 

Saltwater Tank at Chiang Mai's Aquarium

However, the Aquarium is now up and running, and is touted as Southeast Asia’s largest with an expectation to gain 800,000 visitors annually.  The Aquarium was built as a joint venture between the Zoological Park Organization (an apparently governmental body) and an undisclosed private investor for the sum of $17 million. 

Saltwater Tank at Chiang Mai's Aquarium

Boasting the World’s Longest Acrylic Tunnel at 133 meters (436 feet–longer than a football field!), the Aquarium is over 13,000 sf in area divided into 9 zones.  The tunnel itself not only allows visitors to gaze into the depths of a marine environment, but also takes visitors through a freshwater tank.

Freshwater Tank at Chiang Mai's Aquarium

I’ve not been able to find many pictures of the Aquarium online, so if you know of any, please let me know.

Recently opened Dubai Aquarium, inside the gargantuan Dubai Mall, set the new Guiness World Record for “World’s Largest Acrylic Panel” this November. 

According to Emaar Malls, the Dubai Mall developer, the panel measures ”32.88 metres wide x 8.3 metres high x 750 mm thick…weighing 245,614 kg, the viewing panel at Dubai Aquarium surpasses the current Guinness World Record holder, Churaumi Aquarium in Okinawa, Japan, at 22.5 metres wide x 8.2 metres high and 600 mm thick.”

For those metric-impared Americans, that’s  nearly 108′ wide x 27′ tall.  This dwarfs the large and impressive Ocean Voyager acrylic panel at Georgia Aquarium, which is 61′ wide x 23′ tall. 

Dubai Aquarium's "World's Largest Acrylic Panel"

The large tank also has a long tunnel, running about 160′ in length at a depth of 36′.  Georgia Aquarium’s tunnel is only 100′ in length at a similar depth.  However, both of these tunnels are tiny compared to L’Aquarium in Barcelona, Spain.  This tunnel is reportedly over 260′ in length!

L'Aquarium's Massive Tunnel

The rest of the Dubai Aquarium includes three habitat centered thematic zones:  Living Ocean (different from the large ocean tank), Rocky Shore, and Rainforest.

Living Ocean highlights unusual individual specimens such as Moray Eels, Jellies, and Sea Dragons.  The Rocky Shore showcases Humboldt penguins, Harbour seals, and a touch tidal pool.  The Rainforest focuses on interesting freshwater creatures like piranha, catfish, and otters.

Berlin Zoo’s megastar polar bear, Knut (the zoo’s equivalent of a studio produced boy band), turned two  on Friday, December 5.  However, the celebration was a quiet affair. 

Happy Birthday, Knut!

News that the bear needs a larger enclosure as he reaches maturity has the bear’s biggest fans all atwitter.  Due to the omnipresent credit crunch, the Zoo’s intention to renovate the bear’s home have all but disappeared.  Instead, the Zoo is looking for potential new homes at European zoos far and wide.

Baby Knut

I’m impressed to hear the Zoo is willing to give up its 27% increase in attendance in exchange for “doing the right thing”–for the bear itself (to have a healthier and happier life), and for the species as a whole (to be given a chance to breed). 

Read the whole story here.  There’s a nice little video along with the article that I can’t seem to get into the post.  Check it out.

Renderings of shark exhibit concept from designers, WRT.  Thanks, Rob, for the tip!

Correction to earlier post:  WRT and Cloud 9 are the design competition winning team.  I reported that Smith-Miller +Hawkinson had the winning design.  I apologize for the confusion. 

An additional rendering of the ill-fated winning design.

Smith-Miller + Hawkinson's Winning Design Concept

Then, this spring, that design was thrown out the window for apparently being too restrictive to potential future growth.  The next step, according to city officials, is to re-work the interior of the aquarium to attract new visitors. 

First on the plate? A new shark tank. The $50 million tank would triple the aquarium’s current shark population to 40, and plans for the 300,000 gallon tank include an arch for guests to walk beneath.  For comparison, 300,000 gallons is approximately 1/18th the size of the Ocean Voyager tank at Georgia Aquarium.  $50 million for 300,000 gallons seems a bit pricey to me, so perhaps other unreported exhibits are included in that number.

Ocean Voyager's 6 million gallons at Georgia Aquarium

All of those plans are now moot, though, as the New York state government is proposing 55% budget cuts to all of the state’s “living museums.”  This includes the NY Aquarium, the Bronx Zoo, and the Botanical Gardens, amongst many others.  If this proposal passes, any redesign or renovation of the Aquarium is surely to die. 

Sadly, I’m awaiting news of these types of budget cuts to occur all across the U.S. and the world, as unfortunately, educational and entertainment budgets are always the first to go.  If your local zoo, aquarium, or living museum is currently facing major cutbacks, please let me know and I’ll gladly post your story here.

This summer, Buffalo Zoo implemented another portion of their 15 Year Master Plan, created in 2002.  The Phase I addition is the South American portion of the geographically organized master plan. 

The M&T Rainforest Falls is a two-story building housing a collection of animals representing the tropical rainforest.  The exhibit “replicates the unique geology and ecology of Venezuela’s Canaima National Park, home to Angel Falls – the tallest waterfall in the world.”  Featuring a 25′ waterfall, the exhibit incorporates lush vegetation and beautiful graphics into an immersive environment.  

The subsequent phases of the Zoo’s master plan include a new entry plaza, an Asian river and highlands zone, an African savannah, and an Arctic zone.  The overall plan organizes itself around the theme of water, and I’m especially interested to see how successfully the guests pick up on the message.