It's certainly not what I expected. I didn't expect hokey theming, a decent outdoor yard with ugly walls, etc. However, comparing this to their former accomodations, it is an improvement. Design wise, this could have been handled much better.
The grey slabs of cement that constitute walls are so overbearing that I wonder if it would have been better for the zoo to paint the walls beige or green. Naturally it would have cost millions of dollars to have mud-bank, textured barriers and so that was probably out of the question. There is a nicely manicured lawn and a very open concept but why not let some thick undergrowth emerge before allowing the chimpanzees to run riot?
