Future of Zoo and Aquarium Design .. 17Vol. 2016 II WAZA 17 (2016) WAZA 17 (2016) 1 © Julie Larsen Maher/WCS Susan A. Chin1 & Markus Gusset2 Contents Editorial Editorial ................................................................. 1 Susan A. Chin & Markus Gusset Zoo and Aquarium Design – Yesterday, We are pleased to bring you the first Design for zoos and aquariums How do we stay relevant? Under- Today and (the Day after) Tomorrow .................... 3 WAZA Magazine dedicated to exhibit involves much more than “enclosure standing why we are or are not Peter Rasbach design at zoos and aquariums. Why design”. In addition to animal exhibit relevant to different audiences can would we focus on design when there spaces, it is vital to consider behind- help us design exhibits to reach a Advocacy Through Thematic Design .....................8 are so many pressing issues facing the-scenes management and support broader audience. Increasing our visi- L. Azeo Torre zoos and aquariums? Simply put, areas, associated public spaces and tors’ understanding of the important design is a critical tool that can shape tactical approaches to story-telling, conservation and science work done Showcasing Science and Research ...................... 12 our animals’ well-being and our visi- including high- or low-tech interpre- at zoos and aquariums can help cre- Charles G. Mayes & Ed Mastro tors’ experiences. It determines how tive media. As we think about the ate relevant connections. Also, as we tell our stories and creates the future of zoo and aquarium design, it zoos and aquariums are increasingly Zoo and Aquarium Design – primary physical interface with our is important to consider the advances involved in local conservation pro- The impact of Experience .................................... 16 visitors. It influences the efficiency of the past and to pose key questions jects, we are positioned as a source Kieran Stanley and effectiveness of our facilities and about the directions in which our of environmental information and significantly impacts animal care and institutions may evolve. opportunities for action. Designing Zoos and Aquariums welfare. Zoo and aquarium design as Conservation Organisations ............................ 20 should not be simply about creat- What is our mission? Each zoo or How do we define and design our visi- John Kemper ing novel ways to house and view aquarium will have a specific mission tor experience? Our unique and defin- animals; it has to serve a greater pur- relevant to their organisation and ing element is living animals. How Designing for Active Animals .............................. 24 pose, one that engages our visitors in cultural context, but today most are do we facilitate and interpret staring Greg Dykstra our conservation and animal welfare (or will be) defining themselves in into the eyes of another species; missions. the broader context of supporting contact with another sentient being? Wellness-inspired Design for Elephants ..............28 conservation. Holistic integration of How do we use this to best effect? In Júlia Hanuliaková Over the past few decades, the com- our conservation mission from animal many places, zoos and aquariums are plex and unique considerations that exhibits, to merchandise in the gift an antidote to urbanity; a place to Land of Lions at ZSL London Zoo ....................... 32 go into designing zoos and aquariums shop, to marketing is essential. We connect with nature and escape daily Ray Hole has led to the emergence of a highly need to be engines for conservation life. People have always come to zoos skilled and motivated cadre of zoo- funding, innovators of research and and aquariums to make memories Woodland Park Zoo’s Banyan Wilds: logical design specialists. The articles science that support conservation, and we facilitate this important social Conservation and Connection with Asia’s that follow examine questions around stewards and propagators of insur- bonding experience. Malayan Tigers and Sloth Bears .......................... 36 the future of zoo and aquarium de- ance populations and – perhaps Becca Hanson & Monica Lake sign from the perspective of some of most critically – places that facilitate What are the most impactful and ap- the leading practitioners in the field, conservation awareness and action propriate design strategies? Land- Imprint A Playground in Nature: all of them members of or affiliated for our millions of visitors. scape immersion can be an effective Longsha Zoological and Botanical Garden with WAZA. strategy in some situations, but it is Editors: Markus Gusset & Susan A. Chin in China ................................................................40 Who are our audiences and what do not necessarily appropriate every- WAZA Executive Office Patrick Janikowski, James Brighton, they want? This will differ depending where. How do we use all of the tools IUCN Conservation Centre Joyce Lee & Terry O’Connor on location and history. Understand- in our toolkit to engage our visitors? Rue Mauverney 28 ing not just sociological and demo- Graphics, interactives, technology, CH-1196 Gland ZooLex by the Numbers ...................................... 45 graphic composition of our audiences, events, programmes, live interpreta- Switzerland Monika Fiby but knowing more about visitors’ tion can all play an important role in Phone: +41 22 999 07 90 expectations will give us a framework achieving our goals and they all have Fax: +41 22 999 07 91 for designing meaningful and engag- design implications. ing visitor experiences. Layout and typesetting: [email protected] How can we support our mission Cover: Roy Lewis/Detroit Zoo & with design? Opportunities for new Júlia Hanuliaková/Zoo Design Inc. revenue streams can be thematically Print: Agentura NP, Staré Město, Czech Republic integrated into master plans and new exhibits to support financial growth. Edition: 600 copies | © WAZA 2016 This edition of WAZA Magazine is also available on www.waza.org. 1 WCS Vice President of Planning & Design Printed on FSC paper. and Chief Architect 2 WAZA Chief Conservation Officer ISSN: 2074-4528 2 WAZA 17 (2016) WAZA 17 (2016) 3 Peter Rasbach1,* Zoo and Aquarium Design – Yesterday, Today and (the Day after) Tomorrow Summary Which task must zoo design perform Immersing Exhibits in this area of conflict? The large This article provides numerous city zoos that were created after the With their master plan for Woodland examples of exhibits throughout the French Revolution in Vienna, Paris, Park Zoo, Jones & Jones sustainably recent history of zoo design. These London and other locations, show influence the zoo architecture in 1978. examples range from the invention of exotic animals in ethnographically In a landscaped zoo, animals and immersing exhibits and their global orientated, stylised structures with visitors are integrated into recre- spread, to exemplary exhibits where small iron cages and generously ated biotope or ecosystem scenarios size matters, to important design sized visitor areas. In addition to resembling the wild, based on the considerations. The development of purely satisfying curiosity, with the immersion principle. zoos and zoo design runs in parallel establishment of zoological societies with one another. in London, Frankfurt and New York, Facilities attempt to simulate a the seeds are sown for interest in the nature scenario as precisely as pos- “Zoos and Aquariums Are morphology of animals and initial sible, by showing animals as living, not for Animals, They Are serious research in the mid-19th interactive parts of the landscape for People” century. Botanical and zoological in their natural communities and to © Julie Larsen Maher/WCS gardens evolve in parallel, with few integrate the viewer by using the Good zoo and aquarium design engages our visitors in our conservation and animal welfare missions. This criticism, which is often raised by exceptions. same type of characteristic design zoo opponents, is increasingly also elements (plants, rocks, soils, etc.). being shared by zoo experts. Never- In 1907, in his zoo in Hamburg-Stel- Boundaries are hidden or, if they theless, or specifically as a confirma- lingen, Carl Hagenbeck presents the are obviously identifiable as being What are the elements of design that How do we use design to support The projects featured in this edition tion of this, over 700 million people a innovation of animals in open enclo- artificial, they are allocated to the facilitate the best in animal care and sustainable populations? As we design of the WAZA Magazine illustrate year visit one of the more than 1,000 sures, in spacious, replica panoramas, viewer; steel nets or glass fit better welfare? Designers focus on the master plans and individual exhib- a variety of responses to some of organised zoos worldwide, with the thereby sustainably revolutionising to an observation hut than into a wild public experience, but without good its, we need to consider space for these questions. In a time when the trend rising in line with a growing zoo architecture. In spite of these be- environment. A maximum experi- support spaces and infrastructure, propagation and science. Partner- role of our institutions is increasingly human population and the associated ginnings, after the end of World War ence value is achieved for people zoos and aquariums cannot function. ships with other zoos and aquariums subjected to scrutiny and criticism, alienation from nature. With this, a II, a long period begins during which and animals, where