An ambitious new design for St Petersburg zoo

kiang

kiang

Well-Known Member
15+ year member
Architects from Beckman N'Thépé, Aldric Beckman and Françoise N'Thépé, teamed up with designers from TN Plus, Bruno Tanant and Jean Christophe Nani, to create a winning design for the international competition for the new Primorskiy Zoological Park in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Having already won the 2008 Helsinki Zoo Project and the 2006 design for the Zoo in Vincennes, France, the team's triumph surely came as no surprise.

Masterplan - Batiactu
 
I heard that new territory is not suitable for zoo. Ground is too wet (it's good for WWT Centre). But are many willing for grounds of old zoo in city centre so it will be removed.
I don't belive that they realize french design for new zoo. I saw winning english project of renovation of Kazan Zoo-Botanical Garden from 2007 if I good remember. And they do nothing to this day.
Almost all new zoos or new complexes of exhibits in Russia are poorer and worse copies of Moskva Zoo enclosures.
 
Arek said:
I heard that new territory is not suitable for zoo. Ground is too wet (it's good for WWT Centre). But are many willing for grounds of old zoo in city centre so it will be removed.
I don't belive that they realize french design for new zoo. I saw winning english project of renovation of Kazan Zoo-Botanical Garden from 2007 if I good remember. And they do nothing to this day.
Almost all new zoos or new complexes of exhibits in Russia are poorer and worse copies of Moskva Zoo enclosures.
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Not just that ... the proposed site of the new St Petersburg Zoo is a nature reserve. Hardly an example of sustainable development nor environmentally sound and educative. If one were cynical one could project an image of hungry real estate developpers in St. Petersburg having the only interest in ....
 
Trying to keep an eye out for news on this project, as I've wondered whether it's likely to actually happen. Take the links below with a grain of salt, no idea to how reliable these are.

Came across this recent article, which states that construction on the first phase (Asia) could begin in 2013, with a target to open as early as 2015 or 2016. Also states that when complete it will be the largest zoo in Europe or Russia.
http://www.sptimes.ru/index.php?action_id=2&story_id=36034

Also, missed this 'article' from last year - where the author speculates on what species they might have in mind. It lacks all kinds of credibility, and it's not translated very well - but 'direct contact' with polar bears? Awesome.

The new St. Petersburg Zoo visitors will provide “direct contact” with the polar bears
 
Terp924 said:
Also, missed this 'article' from last year - where the author speculates on what species they might have in mind. It lacks all kinds of credibility, and it's not translated very well - but 'direct contact' with polar bears? Awesome.
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I think that saying "direct contact" they mean something like new "Eismeer" exhibit complex in Tierpark Hagenbech (Hamburg, Germany): no fences, walls, grids, just moats.
 
There have been more recent developments. I have to look up the articles, but it seems there is talk and designs for a new site - away from the nature reserve -.
 
Kifaru Bwana said:
There have been more recent developments. I have to look up the articles, but it seems there is talk and designs for a new site - away from the nature reserve -.
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I think that's right. It seems to me that it's impossible and useless to create here big nature reserve facility near the big city which population is about 5 million (and we should not forget tourists). Russia has enough space for such facilities far from large cities.
 
callorhinus said:
I think that saying "direct contact" they mean something like new "Eismeer" exhibit complex in Tierpark Hagenbech (Hamburg, Germany): no fences, walls, grids, just moats.
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Just joking, figured it was lost in translation - but sure would be exciting.

I'd be interested in any more recent developments, I'm keenly keeping an eye out for developments here and with new zoo in Paris...as I'm interested to see if these innovative designs ever actually get the funding they need. They seem like the type of exhibits where costs get way out of hand, and massive concessions are made (this appears to already be the case in Paris).
 
Terp924 said:
Just joking, figured it was lost in translation - but sure would be exciting.

I'd be interested in any more recent developments, I'm keenly keeping an eye out for developments here and with new zoo in Paris...as I'm interested to see if these innovative designs ever actually get the funding they need. They seem like the type of exhibits where costs get way out of hand, and massive concessions are made (this appears to already be the case in Paris).
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It depends on, whether there will be this zoo state. Almost all new zoos here are private or something like that, and money is more serious problem for this facilities than for state ones. State zoo have chances to get more money, but the result very often differs from the project.
 
It is time to celebrate the anniversaries of moving StPetersburg zoo to another location. It started in the year 1936 when the first plan was actually made. Since then every 10 or so years the new one appear. Now the old location is a prime target for developers. Knowing Russian reality I can bet that the zoo will finally be moved one day but the new one will be built "provisorically" and will remain so for many years to come.
 
Terp924 said:
That said, article still sites construction on a whopping 288 hectare park whic boggles the mind (Tierpark Berlin is 160).
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Russian articles claim that size of new zoo will be less than 100 hectares. Nothing clear was even said about place, and there is a strong likelihood that the construction of the new zoo will not start this year.
 
http://www.travel.ru/news/2013/09/12/221883.html
A new private mini-zoo will be opened next year in St Petersburg.
It will be situated in 'Rio' mall at 2 floors, total space is 2600 sq meters. Seems to have no outdoor exhibits.
The species are: felines (leopard, cougar, serval), small & medium primates, meerkats, tapirs, aadrvarks, pygmy hippo, birds (toucans, parrots, crowned pigeons, etc.), crocodiles and other reptiles. Night house for nocturnal species.
The project sounds too ambitious. Nevertheless, some other cities (Moscow, Voronezh, Kiev) have large public oceanaria in malls, where land animals are exhibited too. Those projects got payback in 1-2 years.
 
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