Does anyone know the best book on enclosure or cage design?

I can tell you which one NOT to get; "Build a Jungle Zoo". It's an interesting read, but it has nothing to do with what the title suggests.
 
For a really good book on the philosophy of zoo design I suggest David Hancocks "A Different Nature".
 
Thanks MRJ, I,m surprised no one has suggested more books about designing zoo enclosures. Are there very few?
 
In case you do speak German (or have someone to translate) there is an excellent book by Dr. Wolfgang Salzert about designing enclosures and zoo architecture :
# Was macht Tiergärten attraktiv? Ein kleines Einmaleins der Zoogehegegestaltung. Schüling, Münster 2010, ISBN 978-3-86523-166-6
In Germany, he is well known for his expertise in designing excellent zoo enclosures.
 
I don't know of any books about designing actual enclosures. However, I am currently reading a book that talks about how to design the graphics and visitor amenities (for zoos and museums).

CREATING GREAT VISITOR EXPERIENCES: A Guide for Museums, Parks, Zoos, Gardens, & Libraries by Stephanie Weaver (2007 Left Coast Press).
 
Arizona Docent said:
I don't know of any books about designing actual enclosures. However, I am currently reading a book that talks about how to design the graphics and visitor amenities (for zoos and museums).

CREATING GREAT VISITOR EXPERIENCES: A Guide for Museums, Parks, Zoos, Gardens, & Libraries by Stephanie Weaver (2007 Left Coast Press).
Click to expand...

Just ordered that book from Amazon!

Hope it is good...
 
pinkback said:
Thanks MRJ, I,m surprised no one has suggested more books about designing zoo enclosures. Are there very few?
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I guess the problem is that the zoo design field is both very narrow and very broad.

Narrow in that it is a very small professional field, there are very few professional practitioners whom would purchase a "zoo design textbook".

Broad in that there are so many factors affecting any one enclosure design. Not only are you designing for just one of thousands of species, but each zoo has a different situation, for instance different climatic conditions, with different geographical problems, and often other limitations such as size and history, not to mention money. So the problems of design are so varied.

If you are after things like enclosure size these are often set by regulation. Minimum requirements are usually included in captive husbandry manuals for each species and sometimes in books with husbandry information.

Inspiration can be found by looking at the Zoolex website. The International Zoo Yearbook includes articles about new enclosures. Both these sources include plans that give a good indication of design constraints for the species concerned. Another good source of inspiration are zoo master plans. David Hancocks wrote a series of 3 articles for the magazine Landscape Australia a number of years ago about his master plan for Melbourne Zoo that covered the principles he uses for enclosure design.

Maybe if you can more clearly why you want to know?
 
MRJ's response was exactly correct.

Whether designing for elephants or mouse deer there are VERY different issues. Hornbills or crossbills. Whether a simple fenced paddock or an immersion exhibit, whether in Chester or Madrid, as many differences as similarities.

But there are resources for learning minimum standards.
Virtual Zoo : WAZA : World Association of Zoos and Aquariums
Is very good. Once you select the species that interests you, click on the tab "At The Zoo" to learn more.

Another book on general design approaches to zoos (in the American immersion style, if I may term it that) is Ken Polakowski, Zoo Design: The Reality of Wild Illusions (out of print though)
 
"Wild Animals In Captivity" is a good book for what you are describing. It goes through chapters on Husbandry, Nutrition, Exhibitry, Population Management, ect. which include essays by noted experts describing trends and basic principles of modern Zoo design.
 
Drew said:
"Wild Animals In Captivity" is a good book for what you are describing. It goes through chapters on Husbandry, Nutrition, Exhibitry, Population Management, ect. which include essays by noted experts describing trends and basic principles of modern Zoo design.
Click to expand...
Is Rob Laidlaw the author of this book? Trying to find it and not sure if the one I found is the right one.
 
Construction and Design Manual: Zoo Buildings (Natascha Meuser, 2019) is a 550-page book that is jam-packed with a dizzying array of zoo information. It's a masterpiece of zoo architectural design.

The book is a very large, heavy, hardcover that contains an overwhelming number of blueprints, schematic drawings and images of famous zoo exhibits. For example, Copenhagen Zoo's 'Asian Elephant House' takes up 6 big pages, with text describing the exhibit in detail, 6 photos and then 6 drawings/sketches all on the single exhibit. There are 8 pages about the 'African Apes Enclosure' at Stuttgart Zoo, complete with glossy photos, text, full-page diagrams and maps, etc. There is a wide range of both historical and contemporary exhibits, mainly focused on European zoos.

If I ran a zoo design firm then I'd make it mandatory that my employees purchased this book for home reading:

https://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Buildings-Construction-Design-Manual/dp/3869226803/ref=sr_1_1?crid=12UQFTE2DWFKQ&keywords=natascha+meuser&qid=1668828678&s=books&sprefix=natascha+meuser,stripbooks-intl-ship,137&sr=1-1

Also, the same author has a 450-page book on aquariums due out next month:

https://www.amazon.com/Public-Aquariums-Construction-Design-Manual/dp/3869227567/ref=sr_1_4?crid=12UQFTE2DWFKQ&keywords=natascha+meuser&qid=1668828678&s=books&sprefix=natascha+meuser,stripbooks-intl-ship,137&sr=1-4
 
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