VISITOR EXPERIENCE IN ZOO DESIGN: DESIGN GUIDELINES FOR GIZA ZOO by MARWA GEWAILY (Under the direction of David Spooner) ABSTRACT Animal welfare organizations have developed criteria for zoo institutions with animal welfare as a top priority. This research aims to identify design guidelines for the Giza Zoo from the ‘visitor experience’ point of view, where the visitor experience is set as a base line to measure the effectiveness of zoo exhibits. The research identifies authenticity, aesthetics, recreation, education, and exploration as basic components of the visitor experience. These components are defined throughout the research, examined through case studies of the elephant and lion exhibits in three zoos, and are refined to further define visitor experience in the Giza Zoo. A redesign for the elephant and lion exhibits in the zoo is proposed based on these guidelines. INDEX WORDS: Zoological gardens, Giza Zoo, Animal welfare organizations, Zoo history, Visitor experience, Animal exhibits, Design guidelines. VISITOR EXPERIENCE IN ZOO DESIGN DESIGN GUIDELINES FOR GIZA ZOO by MARWA GEWAILY B.S , Ain Shams University, Egypt, 2000 A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the University of Georgia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree MASTER OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE ATHENS, GEORGIA 2010 © 2010 Marwa Gewaily All Rights Reserved VISITOR EXPERIENCE IN ZOO DESIGN: DESIGN GUIDELINES FOR GIZA ZOO by MARWA GEWAILY Major Professor: David Spooner Committee: Marianne Cramer Pratt Cassity Josh Koons Electronic Version Approved: Maureen Grasso Dean of the Graduate School The University of Georgia May 2010 Acknowledgments I would like to thank my major professor David Spooner for his support, guidance and patience, my reading committee for their interest and time: Marianne Cramer, Pratt Cassity, and Josh Koons. Thanks also go to my father for his continuous generosity and support. Although being very far away, his encouragement kept me going on. My best friend Radwa for always believing in me even when I doubted myself. Finally I wish to thank my husband and my two adorable kids for their support and understanding throughout these two years. For my dear husband, thanks for the long sleepless nights and early mornings. Thanks for always being there for me. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................... iv List of Tables .................................................................................................................. vii List of Figures ................................................................................................................ viii CHAPTER 1 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 1 Problem ..................................................................................................... 1 2 Animal Keeping and Zoo History ......................................................................... 9 Animal Keeping History .............................................................................. 9 Zoological Garden History ....................................................................... 11 History of Giza Zoo .................................................................................. 14 Development of Animal Exhibit ................................................................ 15 Potentials of the Giza Zoo ........................................................................ 19 ‘Development’ or ‘Destruction’ of the Giza Zoo ........................................ 23 Giza Zoo Current Condition ..................................................................... 24 Animals vs. People .................................................................................. 30 3 Animal Welfare Organizations ........................................................................... 32 World Association of Zoos and Aquariums .............................................. 32 Association of Zoos and Aquaria ............................................................. 34 African Zoos and Aquaria ........................................................................ 36 Discussion and Conclusions .................................................................... 37 The Role of Landscape Architect ............................................................. 41 4 Visitor Experience .............................................................................................. 44 Defining ‘Visitor experience’ ..................................................................... 44 Affordance Theory ................................................................................... 52 Rationale for Naturalistic Exhibits ............................................................ 55 v Giza Zoo Animal Exhibit Design Guidelines ............................................. 57 5 Case Studies ...................................................................................................... 63 The Rationale for Selection of Case Studies ........................................... 63 Elephant Exhibits ..................................................................................... 64 Lion Exhibits ............................................................................................ 82 Discussion and Conclusions .................................................................... 96 6 Re-designing the Giza Zoo and Future Recommendations ............................. 104 The Elephant Exhibit in the Giza Zoo .................................................... 104 The Lion Exhibit in the Giza Zoo ............................................................ 123 Conclusion ............................................................................................. 132 Recommendations for Future Research ................................................ 135 7 References ....................................................................................................... 137 Bibliography ........................................................................................... 137 Reference Websites............................................................................... 139 vi LIST OF TABLES Page Table 3.1: Shows the AZA & WAZA accreditation criteria ....................................... 39 Table 3.2: Summary of accreditation criteria ........................................................... 40 Table 5.1: Elephant exhibit summary ..................................................................... 100 Table 5.2: Lion exhibit summary ............................................................................ 101 Table 6:1: A summary of the elephant exhibit ........................................................ 120 Table 6:2: A summary of the lion exhibit ................................................................ 132 vii LIST OF FIGURES Page Figure 2.1: Wall sculptures in Mereruka tomb ............................................................. 9 Figure 2.2: The Great Sphinx of Giza ....................................................................... 10 Figure 2.3: Brutal display of animal hunting .............................................................. 11 Figure 2.4 Berlin Zoo ............................................................................................... 12 Figure 2.5: The polar bear exhibit ............................................................................. 13 Figure 2.6: Asian elephant naturalistic ...................................................................... 14 Figure 2.7: Giza Zoo gate in 1911.............................................................................. 15 Figure 2.8: Giza Zoo gate in 2009.............................................................................. 15 Figure 2.9: The gorilla naturalistic exhibit .................................................................. 17 Figure 2.10: The spiny mice enclosure ....................................................................... 18 Figure 2.11: Gustave Eiffel suspension bridge ........................................................... 20 Figure 2.12: Hills and variety ...................................................................................... 20 Figure 2.13: A bridge in the tea island ........................................................................ 20 Figure 2.14: Colored pebble patterns .......................................................................... 20 Figure 2.15: Tea Island ............................................................................................... 21 Figure 2.16: A crafted handrail in the Tea Island ........................................................ 21 Figure 2.17: The arrow on the right ............................................................................. 22 Figure 2.18: The tree is fenced and surrounded ......................................................... 24 Figure 2.19: A concrete bench and light post .............................................................. 24 Figure 2.20: The elephant chained ............................................................................. 25 viii Figure 2.21: The lion in its very small cage ................................................................. 25 Figure 2.22: A dying tree that has been fenced .......................................................... 26 Figure 2.23: The children playground area is also