Thank you for posting these excellent photos of the HippoDom. I was at Cologne in the Spring of 2010, and just missed the opening of this house. I'd be interested to hear your verdict on it? From the photos here, I think it looks rather excellent - even if there is a utilitarian quality to the architecture (those exposed pipes in this picture, for example).
Thank you for posting these excellent photos of the HippoDom. I was at Cologne in the Spring of 2010, and just missed the opening of this house. I'd be interested to hear your verdict on it? From the photos here, I think it looks rather excellent - even if there is a utilitarian quality to the architecture (those exposed pipes in this picture, for example).
A number of flaws in the execution of this interesting exhibit surprised me: terrible water quality in the hippo pool, a waterline set too high to allow any views above water, bee-eaters and hammerkops choosing to perch on the exposed pipes rather than on the branches of the rather crudely-rendered "baobabs," and a discordant "fossil Supercroc" set into the unconvincing mudbanks. I also noted some huge gouges in the acrylic viewing windows from hippos tusks!
The connected outdoor exhibit shared with sitatunga was okay, but not a major improvement over its predecessor in West Berlin.
A number of flaws in the execution of this interesting exhibit surprised me: terrible water quality in the hippo pool, a waterline set too high to allow any views above water, bee-eaters and hammerkops choosing to perch on the exposed pipes rather than on the branches of the rather crudely-rendered "baobabs," and a discordant "fossil Supercroc" set into the unconvincing mudbanks. I also noted some huge gouges in the acrylic viewing windows from hippos tusks!
The connected outdoor exhibit shared with sitatunga was okay, but not a major improvement over its predecessor in West Berlin.
I would agree that Berlin is the superior hippo exhibit, but there didn't seem to be any water-quality issues at Cologne when I was there.
One odd thing is that the hippos have no outdoor pool, which is another way Berlin scores over Cologne, but I think that's mostly a factor of space as adding a pool on the same footprint would have reduced the available outdoor grassed area to very little indeed.
Basically, it's a very good house, but not my very favourite.
I was at Cologne in the Spring of 2010, and just missed the opening of this house. I'd be interested to hear your verdict on it? From the photos here, I think it looks rather excellent - even if there is a utilitarian quality to the architecture (those exposed pipes in this picture, for example).
