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June 9, 2011

The Greening of Zoos

Posted by Stacey Tarpley under Articles, General Thoughts, profession
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Recently, the PGAV Specialty Development Team has been spending a lot of time focusing on practical applications of green principles in the complex world of zoos and aquariums. (We have spent very little time looking at aquariums as the amount of energy required to run an aquarium is beyond the practical approaches we are familiar with at our basic level of understanding.) But, nonetheless, zoos are making strides in the green world. And are finally getting recognized for their efforts.

In 2010, Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens was named the National Energy Star Greenest Zoo in America for their work including a Platinum LEED building and the installation of solar panels over their parking lot. That same year, the Indianapolis Zoo received a Governor’s Award of Environmental Excellence for their recycling program, and was the first zoo in the nation to receive the EPA’s Green Power Leadership Award for their commitment to purchase electricity created by green means.

But, I was curious. What are most zoos doing these days to become green, or at least, to give the impression that they are ‘going green?’ And, how many of these practices are things that we as zoo designers can positively influence or encourage through design?

Last month, the Zoo Design SDT investigated those questions through a rather admittedly simple exercise: We browsed the internet to find green zoos and their practices.

Each of us collected the green practices of three zoos by searching for ‘green zoo’ on Google, then searching for all of the practices that zoo had published online. We then sorted the practices into general categories, like Sustainable Purchasing, Solar Panels, and LEED Projects.

We quickly realized that these categories fall into two overall groupings: Operational Practices and Physical Plan Components, or “Things we probably can’t affect” and “Things we definitely can affect,” respectively.

Green practices collected from internet resources in May 2011.

After gathering all of these practices, it is abundantly clear that although zoos are making strides to become responsible green leaders in their communities, there is a lot of room to grow. Most zoos have strong recycling and composting programs, have initiated a green purchasing program for zoo products (like compostable or corn based dining wares and recyclable content paper products), and have implemented strategies for decreasing utilities usage (like programmable thermostats and lighting on sensors). But more than that, consistent programs are scarce.

And physical plan green principles are the least implemented thus far. This indicates that although zoos have the best intentions, we have a long way to go, and as zoo designers, we are perfectly perched to help guide zoos through into the next generation of zoo design: Green zoo design.

To review realistic green options for exhibit design, re-check out my previous post “Green Design in Zoos.”

June 3, 2011

“10 Things Zoo Won’t Tell You” via Smart Money

Posted by Stacey Tarpley under Articles, General Thoughts
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Interesting little article, although we have it on good authority that some of the numbers quoted are not accurate.

Smart Money article

April 6, 2011

Green Design in Zoos

Posted by Stacey Tarpley under Designs, General Thoughts, How-Tos
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Back in October 2010, I was honored to be a part of the AZFA (American Zoo Facilities Association) National Conference in St. Louis, MO. In the shadow of my green genius partner, Mariusz Bleszynski (AIA, LEED AP), we presented a talk about the real nuts and bolts of green design in a zoo exhibit.

Hypothetical exhibit utilizing a maximum of recycled or recyclable materials.

Because so much green design talk is generalized, we decided to tackle the issue head-on. What are the practical applications of green construction in a zoo? Most zoos utilize green methods somewhere on site, but usually it’s applied in what I call the “easy places”: nutrition centers, gift shops, special events pavilions. Places that are typical construction in a non-traditional setting. But the question always comes up…how do we make a green EXHIBIT?

Mariusz and I put our heads together and came up with a list of specific things that can, in some cases, be easily incorporated into an exhibit. In other cases, its more difficult–generally because it costs more up front.

I’ve included a link to the AZFA 2010_If I Were A Green Exhibit powerpoint presentation, but for those who just want the highlights, here’s a list of our top tips:

1. Maximize Recycled Content: Reuse existing structures, spec materials that are recycled or can easily be recycled; Minimize non-recycled or hard to recycle materials like concrete!

2. Use Geothermal Heating / Cooling: In thermally balanced environments, you can utilize this energy to heat / cool buildings and even small pools. Wells can be placed almost anywhere, including beneath the exhibit or building.

Clever Lowry Park Zoo uses elephant shade structures as mounts for solar panels.

3. Use Solar Panels Strategically: Solar panels cost A LOT so use sparingly if at all UNLESS you have extra dollars to spend on green technology, want to create an educational exhibit, or can use to power specific items such as signage, interactives, lighting, gates, etc.

4. Water Recycling: Can be any scale from rain barrels from roofs to zoo wide programs collecting run-off and wash down. Can be used for exhibit wash down, irrigation, and toilet flushing.

5. Use Native Plants: Eliminates irrigation and fertilization needs and can be selected to mimic just about any environment.

6. Use Water Based Chillers instead of Traditional Air Based: More efficient, less noisy, longer lasting. 25% more expensive. A bargain!

Within the presentation, we outlined initial costs, return on investment, and developed imagery to help everyone understand how these green technologies affect the visitor experience.

What is your zoo doing to become more green?

March 4, 2011

How Animal Behavior Drives Zoo Design

Posted by Stacey Tarpley under Articles, enrichment, General Thoughts, How-Tos
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Some designers begin with a poem. Others look at the educational message. Still others envision a place. I always start with the animal.

When I start my design process with the animal, I don’t literally mean that I sit down with Google (or even–do you remember this–flipping through books!) spending hours researching the animal’s natural history. What I mean is that I immediately register what I know about that animal and have that inform all aspects of design. Of course, I’ve been doing this for a while and I have quite a bit of animal trivia logged away in my own dusty library of grey matter.

But, really, what is it that informs design? What information about an animal is truly useful in creating its surroundings? The subject of animal behavior is a nearly unending panacea of amazing stories, but determining what facts help inform design can be an overwhelming question.

For fun, below is my absolute favorite (and quintessential) animal behavior example.

To help you navigate the masses of information available about specific animals, I’ve condensed the vast subject of animal behavior into six basic categories relevant to zoo designers.

1. Food Acquisition: Are they carnivores, omnivores, or herbivores?

2. Social Structure: Do they live in groups, pairs, or singly?

3. Time of Activity: Are they nocturnal, diurnal, or crepuscular (active at dawn and dusk)?

4. Micro-Habitat: Do they live primarily in trees (arboreal), on land (terrestrial), in water (aquatic), or some combination of any or all of the three?

5. Personality: Are they shy, curious, skittish, indifferent, vicious?

6. Reproduction: Does their reproductive strategy require any particular element in their physical environment?

Pop-up at Jungala, Busch Gardens

Each of the above will provide insight into the physical surroundings that will best house an animal in captivity. For example, carnivores tend to exert energy in bursts, spending the rest of the day sleeping. They also tend to prefer the high vantage points where they can scan the horizon and smell the air. Knowing this, we’d immediately suggest providing this carnivore with several high points in their exhibit, preferably where they can be in close proximity to the guest as they sleep. Jungala at Busch Gardens achieves this well with their tiger pop-up–highest point of the exhibit is actually a viewing window!

Another great example is the amazing bower bird. We could easily create just another generic aviary with a gravel floor or concrete basin. But understanding their reproductive behavior would allow us to create an environment whereby they are able to create their own habitat. {Or, more than that, we could re-create one of their creations on the guest side of things in order to illustrate their great ability.}

Beyond these basics, understanding animal behavior encourages us to strive for ever-more enriching environments. To design an enrichment device, or simply to provide a habitat that provides the most basic form of enrichment–choice, requires that you understand the natural history of an animal.

Oftentimes designers who do not have a specialization in animals, jump immediately to the guest experience; creating a place or a story for the visitor. But, we must understand that a good guest experience at a zoological park revolves around the ANIMAL, not the setting we create. People come to the park to see animals. And if the animals look unhealthy or unhappy, the most beautiful ancient Mayan ruins won’t save the experience. Look to the animals first. Be inspired by their lives before creating a story, and you’ll see that your final product will be by far the best experience possible for both guests and the animals living there.

Every animal has a story. Its our job to tell it.

Resources:

“Integrating Animal Behavior and Exhibit Design” by John Seidensticker and James Doherty

“Part Five: Behavior” from Wild Mammals in Captivity

February 4, 2011

Snow Day at the Zoo!

Posted by Stacey Tarpley under General Thoughts
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As this week’s monster winter storm sweeps across the country, I keep hearing one thing: Snow Day! Not for me, of course, but the magic of the snow day, even if it’s a treasure that now only others get to enjoy, is infectious.

The snow day! To me, it’s luxuriating in the extra hours of winter sleep snuggled under a pile of thick blankets. It’s waking up at noon and pulling on my snow pants over my pjs, my moon boots over my thick wool socks, and squeezing my puffball hat over my tangled mess of bed head hair, then venturing out with my similarly dressed sister and neighborhood compadres to build a mazelike snow fort through the front yard. And only after pelting each other with perfectly compacted snowballs until Timmy’s red and snowy face gives way to tired tears do we succumb to the cold and go back inside to lay our soaked mittens, hats and scarves on the wood stove and warm up with a cup of hot cocoa. Ah the snow day!

But these days, snow days mean a little more to me. They mean a zoo-born Siberian tiger in Tennessee who’s never seen snow before. They mean the beaver in the Minnesota Zoo who’s hidden inside his iced over dam, cuddled up hopefully next to the guest viewing window. They mean the polar bears luxuriating in the extra hours of winter sleep snuggled under a pile of thick, white snow.

They mean experiences people forget to experience at the zoo.

Winter is not prime time for most temperate zoos. Winter is in fact the lost season. The dredges. The figurative Atlantis. The time for zoos to get projects done since no one is at the zoo anyway. But what if winter wasn’t the dead zone for zoos? Can we make winter exciting for guests, and profitable for zoos?

We’re asking that question right now with one of our master plan clients. Winter is traditionally the forgotten time for them. Half the zoo essentially shuts down. No food or drink carts can be found. No Dippin’ Dots, no popcorn stands. Most of the restaurants and satellite retail shops are shut down, too. Not to mention the rides, and the shows.

They do this, they say, because most January and February days see only a lowly 15 people, up to 100 on a good day. And this makes sense. In this way, they keep the operating costs down.

But what if we didn’t need to shut down most of the zoo? What if we made an attempt to get guests to show up, even on a snowy cold day like the ones we’re seeing this week? What if snow day meant Zoo Day?

As part of the master plan process, we’ve done a quick survey of zoo websites to see if anyone out there is making a big deal out of winter. Generally speaking, most zoos are not.

Some zoos do market special themed weekends with unique activities like ice sculpture carving and music and dance presentations. Toledo Zoo even gives it a cute name…Frozentoesen! Some zoos, like Toledo, also have added more indoor activities like an activity zone with bouncy houses and climbing equipment.

But what was missing was an actual campaign to show visitors what a great day they can have at the zoo during the winter. What about mapping out a winter experience route that not only highlights the indoor experiences and the shortest routes between them, but also stops at exhibits where animals will be more active and happy in the winter, like the polar bears? If zoos marketed this specific route, told people how long a walk it was between indoor activities, and maybe went the extra mile to provide enclosed transport from the furthest points, maybe we’d see an increase in attendance. We know people are willing to come to the zoo in the winter, as witnessed by the saturation of holiday lights programs at zoos across the country—and the success of all of these programs. But what is it that keeps these folks from coming during the day hours?

I think it’s a simple lack of understanding that the zoo is just as good a winter experience (and sometimes better) as a summer experience.

Of course, we could also do as the Minnesota Zoo does, and physically plan the zoo to have a continuous linkage between indoor zoo experiences thus providing a wholly indoor winter time zoo. But for those who aren’t ready, willing or able to go down that road, why not just first try with simple marketing campaigns and guest experience strategies. Why not just first try. Why not just…try?

Speak up. Let me know why or why not you don’t visit the zoo in the winter. Or, let me know if your zoo does anything special for winter experiences.

January 30, 2011

Zoo Exhibits in Three Acts

Posted by Stacey Tarpley under General Thoughts, How-Tos
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Forgive me. This post will not wrap up cleanly. There will be no final conclusion. No simple 5 step process. This post is simply my musings on design philosophy in zoos. So indulge me. But just don’t expect a Hollywood ending.

Last night, I took my husband begrudgingly to the movies to watch “Black Swan”–which he was unwilling to see until one of his buddies had seen it and confirmed that it was, in fact, worthy of a watch. To me, it was breathtaking. Mesmerizing. Exhilarating. But this is not a website on film review, so I’ll leave it at that. But, what is relevant is the fact that, a day later, I am still thinking about it. Analyzing what made it appeal to me so much. Obsessed with how it attached itself around my subconscious, seeping into my most mundane daily thoughts. How did it achieve this? What made it so special to me?

The matter is important in the context of zoo design for one simple reason: this level of affect is the goal of zoo exhibits. We are in the business of creating experiences and memories that so tightly hang in your mind that you have no choice but to not only think about the plight of wildlife or the environment, but take action to protect it. That’s the real goal, isn’t it? Name the last exhibit that did this to you. Go ahead. Try.

To say that exhibits rarely achieve this is an understatement. So, on my morning walk through the woods with the dog (and I’ll amend that for today’s walk to ‘on my snowy morning walk’), I continued to obsess. And I think I figured it out.

Think about any story that grabbed you—a film, a book, a campfire tale. Most were told in the familiar and customary three act structure. If you haven’t been to literature class in twenty or so years, here’s the Cliff’s Notes version: a story is divided into three simple parts—the Setup, the Confrontation, the Resolution. A three act structure allows the listener (or viewer) to first empathize or relate to the main character, understand (and care about) the basic problem the story is addressing, then finally celebrate the resolution of said problem. Practically all major movies follow this structure, and most books do as well. It is followed because it works. It’s as simple as that.
Now, just because a film or book follows this format, doesn’t mean the story or the execution won’t fall flat, absolutely ruining an otherwise fine idea. There must be more. There must be something that draws you in. You must first empathize with the character (or animal, in our case). You have to relate to him or her. In the first act, we must see a little bit of ourselves in the subject—our failures, our faults, our dreams, our aspirations—or we’ll just not care.

Empathy can carry us only so far, and as we move through the action, or confrontation, something else needs to take hold. We already care about the character, now what makes us hold on? In “Black Swan”, the hook was a purely visceral, physical reaction. This movie was R rated, so the director expertly leveraged sex, drugs, and pain (which I’ve never seen, nor will I, I’m guessing, ever see in a zoo setting!), but combined with the familiar Swan Lake melodies and simple beauty of dance, the body was fully engaged.

This movie was about evoking a physical reaction, every bit as much as it was about the emotional. And nothing I’ve ever seen brought the two together as well as during the resolution of the film. Built into a tidal wave of chaotic flurry, where every frame was an expertly composed visual feast, and moment after moment brought tension and exhilaration to its absolute apex, then, just as we believe we can take no more, the film concluded. Right there. Right at the peak. Leaving you breathless, body abuzz in euphoria. I left the theater alight. Grinning from ear to ear despite the desperately tragic film I’d just experienced. And I’m still thinking about it. Still wondering how we achieve this kind of attachment to zoo exhibits. How we achieve this moment of perfection.

January 24, 2011

Teaching the Next Generation Zoo Designers

Posted by Stacey Tarpley under Articles, General Thoughts, How-Tos, profession
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People are always floored when they learn what I do for a living. I don’t blame them. It’s not like high school guidance counselors are pushing kids to become zoo designers or aquarium architects. There are no high-profile television shows about zoo designers, no yearly review of the best zoo design schools at the best price.

Where's the best school for Zoo Design?

Ultimately, this lack of awareness about our field brings questions. And one that is always, guaranteed to come up is ‘where did you learn to do this?’ When I describe my homemade educational program achieved through determination, passion and a plucky ingenuity, indelibly, my listener almost always appears disappointed with my answer.

So, in an effort to reduce the looks of disappointment that my fellow zoo designers must endure, I’ve introduced a new educational, career development program within PGAV. This program is called the “Specialty Development Group (SDT).”

At PGAV, we have many specialists: ride designers, green designers, interpretive & storyline developers, resort designers, among others. And most of these specialists learned their trade through their own plucky ingenuity and years of experience. But, we have many young people at PGAV as well. People who have a passion for destinations like theme parks, aquariums and zoos, but who may not have had the chance to pursue a specialty in school due to strict program requirements.

In an effort to fully develop these young designers, we’ve decided to actively teach them, rather than hope they pick up the nuances of these specialties through on the job training. The Zoo Design SDT which I lead is the pilot program. We have a small group of three trainees, myself as leader, and a VP, who has over 20 years of experience in the animal exhibitry field.

We meet once a month for about an hour. In this time, we discuss any news that we’ve found interesting over the last month, including project news or world zoo / aquarium happenings. We usually have one person give a quick site visit presentation (they are required to visit 3 zoos or aquariums over the yearlong course), then delve into the monthly discussion or lecture.

The monthly topics are pre-determined via syllabus and have been chosen and arranged to allow a logical flow from general zoo design philosophy into specifics, like LSS design and enrichment. This portion of the program is very much like a class, with required readings, in-meeting activities, discussions, formal lectures and guest speakers.

Beyond these meetings, we go on field trips together, and we create a monthly Animal of the Month info sheet to be shared with the entire PGAV office. These sheets cover everything from the basics (animal size, conservation status, behavior, social structure) to husbandry requirements and recommendations to the world’s best exhibits.

Jin Hee and I on a tour of PGAV's Glacier Run with Louisville Zoo director, John Walczak.

The participants are also required to write two papers during the year. The first, a simple white paper, is open to any topic of interest to the participant, limited only to the subject of zoo or aquarium design. The second, and final project, is a paper addressing the future of zoo design–a topic of great interest to everyone in zoo design.

Of particular note, the SDT is not supposed to function as a class. Everyone attending the meetings must partake in the activities and homework. So, as leader, not only do I create the lesson plan and lectures, but I also do research for the Animal of the Month info sheets, write papers, and present on site visits. In this way, not only do the newbies learn, but the experienced zoo designers continue to learn as well.

Personally, I’ve found the SDT has renewed my passion and required me to not site idly by, as is so easy to do as a professional. This type of professional development requires me to evaluate day to day work, to think more deeply about philosophy and ethics and about the long-term implications of everything we do as designers.

Even more, I’m so proud of our participants who, despite a very taxing workload, are able to attend meetings regularly, excitedly share experiences, and think critically about the topics we discuss.

I’m very proud to be leading the charge to help educate our future zoo design leaders and hope other professionals at zoo design firms take advantage of our experiences with this issue.

If you are interested in our program description or syllabus, please email me directly. I’m glad to share!

January 19, 2011

What is Bravery?

Posted by Stacey Tarpley under General Thoughts, profession
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Yesterday, WordPress (the website that allows me to bring this blog to you) sent me an e-mail suggesting that I write a post addressing “the bravest thing you’ve ever done.” It struck me that I could apply that question directly to my profession, as often bravery is at the heart of design.

To be “brave”, according to Dictionary.com, means:

1. To meet or face courageously: to brave misfortunes.

2. To defy; challenge; dare.

How often do I meet or face courageously? I might generously answer: daily. Some might say just getting out of bed can be an act of courage. But that’s not what we’re talking about here. Daily, as design professionals, we must make decisions. We must choose the width of a path, the height of a wall, the length of a beam. We must decide how to communicate our ideas to our peers and to our clients. We must be courageous to suggest our deepest thoughts to those who are capable of shooting us down with a shake of the head, crushing our hours of glorious contemplation in a split second. We must speak our minds and forge a path. As designers, some might argue, requires courage daily. Not to mention braving misfortunes.

But I’m more intrigued by the second definition. To defy. To challenge. To Dare. How often do we actually reach those lofty heights? How often do we truly put our necks out– suggest something contrary to our clients’ preconceived notions; contrary to our bosses’ well-intentioned strategies? Not often, I’d guess.

As I’ve said before, design, especially zoo design, tends to push forth, birthing innovation once in a blue moon, only to then regurgitate and spew forth a lesser and lesser version of that once impressive original concept. Instead of continually challenging our designs, instead of continually working to improve the previous iteration, to learn from our mistakes and successes, we far too often just simply pull out examples and drawings from the last time we built that barrier or concepted that raptor exhibit, and copy. Copy. Copy.

So as I consider the question ‘What is the bravest thing I’ve ever done?’ I realize, embarrassingly, I haven’t done it yet.

January 17, 2011

New Year, New Posts…I Promise!

Posted by Stacey Tarpley under General Thoughts
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Dear readers…I owe you an apology. I left you alone in the confusing and exhilarating world of zoos and aquariums. I left you to fend for yourselves; to find information on new exhibits and zoo design philosophy through the oft harrowing, oft frightening, and always tedious process of Googling (or Binging, if you’re a Windows devotee). I do apologize for leaving you this way. I am forever in your debt.

Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, I’d like to share my re-dedication to our beloved webpage with you. I’ve got plans for us. I have a dream, one might say (appropriately for today).

Before I tell you future plans, let’s take a look at what we’ve missed together.

In 2010, as the economy slowly began to show signs of perking up, so did the zoo and aquarium market. Many projects entered construction, many zoos began master plans, and some zoos even opened new exhibits. Instead of posting each and every one of those openings, the bigs ones are conveniently summarized by the authors of “America’s Best Zoos: A Travel Guide” here.

A visit to the Wilds in 2010

Personally, I’ve been amazingly busy–as a direct result of the success of my employers, PGAV. Most of my year has been dedicated to a confidential project in Asia, causing me to visit 5 times over the course of the year. Additionally, my “little zoo that could” Big Bear Zoo has started up again with a new site and a renewed sense of urgency. We began work on a 15 year master plan with the amazing Columbus Zoo (Jack Hanna’s home base, for those who are unfamiliar), and we’ve won the master plan project for another promising zoo, the Tulsa Zoo.

Beyond billable hours, I’ve developed an in-house career development program for blossoming young zoo designers, called the Zoo Design Specialty Development Team. We’re halfway through the first year of the guinea pig group, and together we’ve all grown as designers.

So what does 2011 hold for all of us? I won’t claim to be clairvoyant, but I can create a plan. So, here it is for DesigningZoos.

1. Sharing progress and projects of PGAV’s Zoo Design Specialty Development Team (ZDSDT)

2. Sharing site visits and Zoo / Aquarium reviews completed by me and the ZDSDT

3. Opening up the floor to guest posts

4. Continuing to share resources

5. Continuing posting about new exhibits and other zoo news

So, welcome back everyone! If you have ideas for topics of posts or would like to share your thoughts in the form of a guest post, please contact me directly.

July 8, 2009

Dolphins are the Stars, New Poll Shows

Posted by Stacey Tarpley under General Thoughts | Tags: dolphin, sharks, star, visitor favorite |
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The Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums recently funded a study about guest perceptions of aquariums and zoos. Among their many questions, the study sought to find out which animal had the biggest appeal to American aquarium visitors. Dolphins came out on top with an outstanding 40% of the respondents naming them as their favorite. Sharks came in a distant second, and killer whales, much to the chagrin of SeaWorld, came in nearly last. Check out the study in more detail here.

Designing Zoos