All decisions stem from this: the canted walls are an organic expression of the tree canopy. Eventually, in about ten years, the trees will be mature and eighty feet high. To discourage undergrowth there isn’t a lot of light flooding the ground level. Light is strongest at the top where the canopy will shade the open glade below. These buildings are designed from lighting loads, not aesthetics. The light changes as it goes up from sandblasted and etched glass, to clear glass, to Kalwall. Then there is handling the snow as it slides off the Kalwall roofs, requiring ice dams which also act as railings. The roofs drain into a central cistern which feeds an interior and exterior irrigation system. Mechanical systems are critical. There is an extremely high, tropical humidity level inside the pavilions requiring massive return air ducts and an extensive waste water system. Much of the mechanical equipment is hidden in the theatre of the African theme — a tree in the gorilla pavilion is a duct, a full scale baobob tree in the Savannah pavilion is an office and mechanical plant. Another programming layer is the animals themselves: different primates — monkeys, chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans, react differently to the same situation. They are quite capable of taking things apart, hiding pieces, or smashing them, or reconstructing them in a new way. They aren’t passive occupants, it is the viewing public that are the passive users. The building was designed before LEED certification was widespread — it is very close but isn’t LEED certified. On Site: Is this kind of exceptional architecture the way that zoos are going? When I spoke to Brian Keating (the director of the outreach program) about the propriety of zoos, I was overwhelmed with a barrage of material about captive breeding programs replenishing wild populations, species conservation, training resource people in the field, keeper exchanges — not a lot about exhibitions. BDKI: Zoos are destinations and these pavilions are a destination within the zoo, meant to immerse visitors in a total experience. The African Pavilions show a village with a school, huts, a large shed successfully used as a conference centre. The program is varied, and the spaces inside these buildings are huge. The Gorilla Pavilion has a one-acre footprint, a 120’
skylight, and interior spaces up to 8 storeys high. Yet, the precinct of associated uses is made up of smaller buildings that reduces scale on the outside. The corner tower on the Gorilla pavilion is the fulcrum in the master plan, which we also did. It floods the inside with light and is a beacon for the whole zoo. On Site: Has this project with its complex details and unconventional forms influenced other work you do? BDKI: No. We aren’t interested in developing a BDKI brand, each project is different.
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local architecture | in a global world
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