What are the biggest "bombs" in zoo exhibit history and what was learned from them?

DavidBrown

DavidBrown

Well-Known Member
15+ year member
There was a recent discussion about the history of the Casson Pavilion (the elephant and rhino complex built in the 1960s) at the London Zoo. There seems to some consensus that that this building had some serious flaws for its original inhabitants like providing excess vertical space when the original inhabitants needed more horizontal space (Ian Robinson included a quote from someone saying that it looked like the building had been designed for the elephants to fly into the rafters).

This got me wondering in general what some of the largest mistakes in zoo exhibit history have been, how these mistakes have been fixed, and what was learned from them. Whenever there is a bomb made in Hollywood the LA Times usually has a series of articles on what went wrong with the movie.

I thought I'd kick off the discussion (if anyone wants to discuss this) with an example:

Zoo/Aquarium: New Jersey Aquarium (now Adventure Aquarium)
The "Bomb": The original aquarium theme was only native fish of New Jersey. Apparently people found these fish boring and the aquarium wholly lacking.
The Fix: The aquarium was shut down for an overhaul. Many tropical and exotic species were added including hippos, penguins, and tropical reef fish.
The Lessons: Do some market research on what people in your institution's region want to see before you design and build the institution.
 
A certain mega indoor "rainforest" complex known widely as "Tragic World" comes to mind....

Oh, and can I nominate "EO?"
 
reduakari said:
A certain mega indoor "rainforest" complex known widely as "Tragic World" comes to mind....

Oh, and can I nominate "EO?"
Click to expand...

There have been many posts about why people don't like "Elephant Odyssey" for aesthetic reasons (e.g., the metal "trees" prominent in the elephant yards, some of the signage, etc.), but what lessons will future zoo designers learn from it? Is it perceived to be a bomb in the world at large (either the public or the wider professional zoo community) and why?

Regarding the Brookfield Rainforest, the orangutan and gorilla exhibits now seem to be regarded as substandard, but was this exhibit considered a bomb from the day that it opened and was anything done to fix it?
 
There were several problems with the exhibit, #1 is was just before Jungle World at the Bronx, which has to rank as one of the best, but viewing down into pits for several of the exhibits, poor workmanship with the exhibits props (trees, rockwork, etc.), and of course the big one, they put a whole series of planters so they would catch the natural light and at least get some live plants into the building - However - and this may be urban ledgen, but the designers were a firm from Austraila and the skylights were on the wrong side of the building so it never had any good groupings of live plants!
 
dmanwarren said:
There were several problems with the exhibit, #1 is was just before Jungle World at the Bronx, which has to rank as one of the best, but viewing down into pits for several of the exhibits, poor workmanship with the exhibits props (trees, rockwork, etc.), and of course the big one, they put a whole series of planters so they would catch the natural light and at least get some live plants into the building - However - and this may be urban ledgen, but the designers were a firm from Austraila and the skylights were on the wrong side of the building so it never had any good groupings of live plants!
Click to expand...

Not to mention the curatorial directive to eliminate any plants (or soil) being accessible to animals--leading to the remarkable development of metal "plants" so unfriendly that keepers lacerated themselves trying to clean around them!
 
Dudley Zoo Apehouse.

Dudley Zoo Apehouse.:(

It was built in the early 1960's, along the architectural lines of similar houses at Bronx USA, and Antwerp, with outside, a watermoat and high-walled semi-circular concrete 'yards' for three different Ape Species(Gorilla/Orangutan/Chimp). Inside, which was very dark, was a traditional but unnecessarily wide public viewing passageway looking into five raised glass-fronted exhibition dens with a service passageway running behind.

Unfortunately it was built toward the end of the era of that style of building for Apes and so it soon became outdated. The decor/paintwork soon looked scruffy, the indoor viewing windows of the chimps had to be strengthened with mesh, and the watermoat often collected rubbish. The concrete floor was bad for the Apes' coats and there were very few climbing or other facilities for them. It was heavily critisised for its prison-like atmosphere and appearance, most famously, because of the shape of the outoor enclosures, being referred to as a 'Giant's Urinal'- a name that has dogged it ever since.

After the Gorillas died/left and the Chimps were moved elsewhere in the Zoo, it was converted into an Orangutan(only) House, and one dividing wall of the outside was removed. Recently it has undergone a refurbishment of the indoors, and the animals' space significantly enlarged, by using the former public area. Public viewing is now from the outside, looking in.

But it is still standing and in use, some fifty years or more after it was built and is arguably Dudley Zoo's worst building. It still arouses a lot of critisism, so is not a good advert for them, but they are stuck with it and it seems it will still be used to house Orangutans well into the future.
 
It sounds like Dudlet Zoo's Apehouse is similar to Kansas City's Great Ape House. By the time it was built it was outdated, and the architecture is quite different. It still stands but is empty. It held chimps and gorillas until their much better exhibits opened in Africa, and orangs until the slightly better (still horrible) exhibit opened in 2004.

http://www.zoochat.com/1137/former-great-ape-house-111222/
 
*Bronx Zoo - Ota Benga, a Congolese pygmy
*Philadelphia Zoo - World of Primates and the Christmas Eve Fire
*Wild Safari - Lex Salisbury and his Patas Monkeys
 
Chessington Zoo Apehouse.

This one was even worse than Dudley's (above) as it was a miniaturised version, also for three Great Ape species, though the tiny outside yards were square not rounded. In every respect, chiefly its scale, it was totally unsuitable for Apes- Sulawesi Macaques would have looked cramped in it, let alone Gorillas.

Fortunately this one was raised to the ground and no longer exists.
 
Pertinax said:
This one was even worse than Dudley's (above) as it was a miniaturised version, also for three Great Ape species, though the tiny outside yards were square not rounded. In every respect, chiefly its scale, it was totally unsuitable for Apes- Sulawesi Macaques would have looked cramped in it, let alone Gorillas.

Fortunately this one was raised to the ground and no longer exists.
Click to expand...

Yes, even at the time using Dudley's building as a model must have seemed odd to someone.

The forbidding legacy of Lubetkin preceded both, of course. Cynics have been known to comment that the only good thing Hitler did was prevent London Zoo building a Lubetkin Elephant House with the outbreak of war in 1939.
 
KCZooFan said:
It sounds like Dudlet Zoo's Apehouse is similar to Kansas City's Great Ape House. By the time it was built it was outdated, and the architecture is quite different. It still stands but is empty. It held chimps and gorillas until their much better exhibits opened in Africa, and orangs until the slightly better (still horrible) exhibit opened in 2004.

http://www.zoochat.com/1137/former-great-ape-house-111222/
Click to expand...

Just seen this. It looks unnervingly reminiscent of the RC Cathedral in Liverpool.
 
Pertinax said:
This one was even worse than Dudley's (above) as it was a miniaturised version, also for three Great Ape species, though the tiny outside yards were square not rounded. In every respect, chiefly its scale, it was totally unsuitable for Apes- Sulawesi Macaques would have looked cramped in it, let alone Gorillas.

Fortunately this one was raised to the ground and no longer exists.
Click to expand...

You would be referring to this monstrosity:

http://www.zoochat.com/196/great-ape-exhibit-1982-a-47871/

:p

Hix
 
I think that Chessington Ape House was the worst post 1945 UK zoo building that I ever saw.
The Lubetkin penguin pool at Regents Park is not suitable for penguins by modern standards, but it is a graceful and interesting piece of architecture. The Casson building is grotesque in my opinion - the only reason for preserving it is to warn zoos not to build anything as ugly, as unsuitable or as expensive ever again.
My contribution, which older members may remember (with shudders), is the double enclosure that Chester built in the sixties on the site of the old Reptile House (next to the sea lion pool) which is now part of the rocky area of the penguin enclosure. These were a pair of narrow concrete strips behind shallow water areas, separated from path between them by low walls - designed for penguins and small-clawed otters. They were very small, very bleak and very ugly. Mr Mottershead did not always get things right: but I think it soon became clear that they were unsuitable and they did not last very long.

Alan
 
Marwell. Original siamang cage- most hideous looking primate cage ever in 'modern' era?
Current siamang enclosure-very spacious and natural looking but its design means it can't support proper climbing equipment.

Colchester- Orangutan Forest- outdoors only. Truly awful.:eek:
Gelada enclosure. extremely ugly.

Paignton.- 'Monkey Heights' outside enclosures, initially they seemed to me designed to keep monkeys low down- but its grown on me a bit.

Bristol- the 1975 ApeHouse- of its time but was very unsuitable for all the Apes it contained really. Has been far more successful in its conversion as a Nocturnal House and with Kea/ Red Panda and Bat exhibits in the old outside enclosures.

Edinburgh. Ape House for Gorillas/Orangutans. Terrible building but now being refurbished attractively for Pandas and probably more suited to this use.

Whipsnade- Rhinos of Nepal building- actually a nice house but most of the rhinos won't use the heated indoor pools- so they are largely wasted.

Twycross- where do I start...:D
 
Pertinax said:
Twycross- where do I start...:D
Click to expand...

Has got to be the old Lion enclosure that now currently houses Striped Hyena,built in the 90's and was out of date before it had even been put to the local council for planning permission to build,its only just big enough for 2 hyena,so just think what it looked like with a breeding pair of Lions that had 2 cubs and a cub from the litter from the year before in it!!!!
 
zoogiraffe said:
Has got to be the old Lion enclosure that now currently houses Striped Hyena,built in the 90's and was out of date before it had even been put to the local council for planning permission to build,its only just big enough for 2 hyena,so just think what it looked like with a breeding pair of Lions that had 2 cubs and a cub from the litter from the year before in it!!!!
Click to expand...

This does show that some exhibits that look awful don't always fail in terms of breeding results. The one that springs to mind in that regard is the old Polar Bear cage (no other word suits it) at Whipsnade, which reared (I think) ten cubs in the 1960s/1970s.

I hasten to add that I don't defend either exhibit; that Twycross enclosure doesn't flatter hyenas for space, and if the grass was allowed to grow might just suit Serval, IMO.
 
IanRRobinson said:
This does show that some exhibits that look awful don't always fail in terms of breeding results. The one that springs to mind in that regard is the old Polar Bear cage (no other word suits it) at Whipsnade, which reared (I think) ten cubs in the 1960s/1970s.

I hasten to add that I don't defend either exhibit; that Twycross enclosure doesn't flatter hyenas for space, and if the grass was allowed to grow might just suit Serval, IMO.
Click to expand...
Very true just because an exhibit doesn't look good to us doesn't mean that the animals will not like it and bred like rabbits in it,but it still doesn't excuse the building an enclosure that was atleast 10 years out of date before it was built,by a zoo that 2 years ago said it wanted to be in the top 15 zoo's in the world,just show's you one of many reason why it will never be a top 15 zoo in the UK let alone the world!
 
Last edited:
Having seen both the Kansas City ape cathedral and Dudleys ape house pre-orangs only, then Dudleys would be worse i think...i remember Belle Vues[Manchester]being somewhat similar.Tropic World must take the prize for very expensive faux-naturalism gone wrong however.
 
The original marmoset and tamarin houses at Jersey Zoo, built in the mid-seventies.

It should be said that these were a marked improvement on what most zoos were giving their marmosets and tamarins at the time, as the two ranges gave these diminutive primates access to outdoor, aviary-type accommodation, so essential for good health in animals that require sunlight to provide them with sufficient vitamin D. The first complex originally contained 16 off-view indoor cages connecting to 10 outdoor enclosures, the second complex had 10 off-view indoor cages connecting to an equal number of outdoor enclosures. The two complexes were pretty well designed except that one very important thing had been overlooked. The indoor cages (which were rather on the small side in order to fit so many in) faced each other across a very narrow staff service passageway. With so many marmosets and tamarins of around eight different species housed in the two buildings, the close proximity of the different groups led to quite a lot of stress within the groups. With the marmosets and tamarins feeling they needed to assert their territory, they scent-marked much more than normal. To Jersey's credit, this design flaw was recognised and eventually the indoor areas were rebuilt so that they contained only a single row of (enlarged) cages. The outdoor enclosures were also rebuilt and enlarged, and this time there was a gap between each outdoor enclosure to allow bushes to be planted between the enclosures as screening. These improvements seemed to rectify most of the probklems. I believe I'm right in saying (not having been back to Jersey for some time) that one of these complexes has now gone, replaced by a meerkat enclosure, which is a shame in my opinion.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top