Feng Zooi.

[European Fauna]

Are any zoos consciously designing exhibits according to the precepts of Feng Shui?Do they take this philosophy into account when they determine the orientation of buildings, or the distribution of land and water elements in enclosures , as well as ancillary services such as wiring , plumbing and heating?Many architects have Feng Shui principles in mind when planning residential accommodation and even shopping centres.If we can accept that buildings designed according to these precepts have a bearing on human welfare , should we not expect this to be even more important in the case of animals who must spend 24h all day every day in the same enclosure.I sometimes think that zoo design in the past had a certain sensitivity in this respect - zoo planners in bygone generations may not have used the term "Feng Shui" , but they certainly had great landscaping sensitivity in how they combined natural features , trees , buildings and water areas to make a harmonious whole.These zoos are still beautiful and harmonious today,a pleasure to their visitors and great breeders of their stock.Is zoo design , even the fundamental decision of where to actually locate a zoo, in the hands of sensitive designers / planners / architects whether or not these people employ the term "Feng Shui" in their vocabulary?

 

[Sun Wukong]

See: Los Angeles Zoo, Golden Snub Nosed Monkey Exhibit (that never had, and probably never will have any Snub Nosed Monkeys inside).

LA Zoo pays feng shui expert to ensure monkeys can have a strong life force - FlyerTalk Forums

 

[Zooplantman]

Traditional feng shui, as I understand it, is about harmonizing with qi based on land form, compass, etc where the "three legs of the stool" are Heaven, Earth and Man (humanity). A vital component is how the arrangement of things and places resonates with the human mind and qi. There is no reason to believe that it applies to animal inhabitants.

In feng shui, the lay-out is as much about matching the individual to the site as anything else. With zoo collections ever-changing and animals coming and going on loan, such an arrangement would be rather difficult (the new macaques may be better off in what is currently the location for the elephant exhibit, for example).

19th century designers had the sense to locate, for example, temperate species (in warm climate, Northern Hemisphere zoos) on north facing sides of hills. But that is not feng shui. Zoo entrances were oriented towards where the public would approach from (the main street or trolley, etc.) not by feng shui principles. While many 19th century zoos were designed as lovely pleasure parks, many are nasty for the animals.

As to the final question you ask: the zoo directors and landscape architects who today lay-out zoos are sensitive to what they are sensitive to. But not, in general, to feng shui or anything similar. Often "destination consultants" have a big role: predicting where the restaurant ought to be located to maximize profit, etc. There are some firms that are very sensitive to matching zoo lay-out to existing natural features (ravines, forests, meadows, etc)...but that has mostly been the case for at least 150 years.

Even in the L.A. Zoo situation that Sun refers to, the so-called expert was brought in AFTER the site was chosen and mostly developed. She was allowed to tweak the design, but not to start over.

That's how I see it.