@lintworm: Many of the recent photos that you've posted of this German zoo showcase designs that are basic, functional and interestingly enough full of straight lines in all directions. The elephant indoor area, the sea lion pool, the polar bear exhibit, the gibbon cage and even the Indian rhino outdoor pool are 5 examples of designs that don't strive for naturalism but instead are rather cold and clinical. What parts of Wilhelma Zoo would you say are the best?
Quite some exhibits are built in the 70ies, which was especially in Germany the era of concrete, symmetry and straight lines. For example similar houses for the larger cat species can be found in many german zoos (to name a few, munster, karlsruhe & wuppertal).
Personally I do not give to much about such aesthetics as long the animals have an interesting home that provides them in their needs. So that may be a reason that I like the Wilhelma and would consider it within my personal top-10. The parts I liked most are all the historical greenhouses, the section with walk-through aviaries near the entrance, the new great ape house and the bear + mountain animal complex. I also really like the gibbon cage. But apart from the exhibits I really like the atmosphere and the great botanical collection, which make the Wilhelma a unique zoo.
The Wilhelma Zoo in general raises quite some controversy, with many people rating it as one of the best zoos they have visited and just as much people who just do not like the zoo.
On a sidenote, there are plans for a new elephant house, which is great, (though I think it will take some years....) because this is one of the few bad enclosures at the zoo (together with rhino, hippo & orang utan)
Thanks for your honest assessment of a zoo that regularly receives over 2 million annual visitors and is obviously very popular. A zoo friend of mine from the United States visited Stuttgart in 2012 and he raved about the gardens, California redwood grove, fountains and the various greenhouses and walk-through aviaries near the entrance. "A 3-section building of aquariums and terrariums that went on-and-on" was very impressive to him; the Ape House was terrible (although now obviously there is new accommodation for the animals); more greenhouses and a nocturnal house near the center of the zoo received praise; and amongst a few other notable sections he loved the "bears + climbing animals" zone. However, he did point out that there was a large number of outdated exhibits that needed to be overhauled in the future.
