Which university can study zoo design?

baboon

baboon

Well-Known Member
15+ year member
Hi, could someone kindly tell me where can study zoo design? And which university or institute has the best professor or courses on zoo design? I know in China there are not such courses in any university. Therefore if I want to become a zoo designer, which university should I go and which courses should I take? Or are all the zoos' exhibits just designed by some temporary combination of zoologist, animal behaviorists, veterinaries, architects and landscape architects?
I have already studied wildlife ecology and conservation and have conducted several years of field work on several species, but now I realize I can't spend all my life in the field and leave my parents and family alone in home. Thus maybe working for the zoos or related institutes is a better choice for me in the future.
Thank you very much!
 
baboon said:
Hi, could someone kindly tell me where can study zoo design? And which university or institute has the best professor or courses on zoo design? I know in China there are not such courses in any university. Therefore if I want to become a zoo designer, which university should I go and which courses should I take? Or are all the zoos' exhibits just designed by some temporary combination of zoologist, animal behaviorists, veterinaries, architects and landscape architects?
I have already studied wildlife ecology and conservation and have conducted several years of field work on several species, but now I realize I can't spend all my life in the field and leave my parents and family alone in home. Thus maybe working for the zoos or related institutes is a better choice for me in the future.
Thank you very much!
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Here in the USA there is no good program to study zoo design. There have sometimes been a course or two, but no degree in zoo design is offered.

I suggest you consider what sort of zoo designer you wish to become.
The zoo exhibits in China are not like those in Australia, the USA, or the Netherlands. And outside the exhibits, the zoos themselves are not like "ours." Do you want to design for zoos as they exist in China today, or do you want to change zoo design in China to something more like what you saw on your recent trip to the USA?
If you want to change zoo design in China, you will have to leave China and work with an American, Australian, Singaporean, or Dutch firm to learn what they do.

Most zoo design is done by a team including landscape architects, architects, zoologists, etc. That may be within one firm, or a collaboration of several firms. Still, you must first decide which specialty you wish to pursue. Then work with a firm that does zoo design to understand the skills unique to good zoo design.

What is the zoo in China whose design you most admire? What firms have done the

I will add that most zoo designers do travel a lot. There are few zoos that build enough to support a full time designer. So we travel from project to project. We are home more than most field biologists, but we do travel!:p

Look at this site for ideas (I hope it is not blocked!): http://www.joncoedesign.com/pub/technical.htm
 
Zooplantman said:
Here in the USA there is no good program to study zoo design. There have sometimes been a course or two, but no degree in zoo design is offered.

I suggest you consider what sort of zoo designer you wish to become.
The zoo exhibits in China are not like those in Australia, the USA, or the Netherlands. And outside the exhibits, the zoos themselves are not like "ours." Do you want to design for zoos as they exist in China today, or do you want to change zoo design in China to something more like what you saw on your recent trip to the USA?
If you want to change zoo design in China, you will have to leave China and work with an American, Australian, Singaporean, or Dutch firm to learn what they do.

Most zoo design is done by a team including landscape architects, architects, zoologists, etc. That may be within one firm, or a collaboration of several firms. Still, you must first decide which specialty you wish to pursue. Then work with a firm that does zoo design to understand the skills unique to good zoo design.

What is the zoo in China whose design you most admire? What firms have done the

I will add that most zoo designers do travel a lot. There are few zoos that build enough to support a full time designer. So we travel from project to project. We are home more than most field biologists, but we do travel!:p

Look at this site for ideas (I hope it is not blocked!): Bibliography of Professional Zoo Papers
Click to expand...

Thank you very much! I think zoos in China will change toward the western style sooner or later. Now most exhibits in Chinese zoos are designed by architects but not zoologists, thus are unsuited for animals. I just hope one day I could have the opportunity to design some western-style zoo exhibits, from the perspective of a field researcher but not an architect. Maybe I could work as a part-time researcher and a part-time zoo designer :)
In China no zoo is good designed in my opinion, though the Xiangjiang Safari Park is the best among them, and I know they have communicated and studied a lot from Singapore Zoo. Among the three foreign zoos I have visited, the three Zoos in Singapore is ingenious but small, their most exhibits are undersized; the Smithsonian National Zoo is just an ordinary zoo in my opinion and without any impressive design (it even give me a feel as Beijing Zoo~~); while the Bronx Zoo is the best one of the three, and it has so many stunning and lush exhibits such as Baboon Reserve, Congo Rainforest, Chilean seabird colony and Wild Asia. The WCS really do a good job~~
Meanwhile, your link is luckily not be blocked :) I will read those articles ~~ Good website! thank you for the links and all your advice!
 
You might want to look into ZooLex site too. There are quite a few books on zoo design and even the authorative Wild Mammals in Captivity has good source info on zoo design. Aside, quite a few zoo magazines feature exhibit design and discussion.

I would suggest you hanker down on one of the mainstream zoos with an army of zoo designs / drawings for exhibits under your arm. I agree architects may not be the best zoo designers, yet there are quite a few architectural firms here and there specialised in the subject. Even the Singapore Zoo team have a zoo design company working with and for them.
 
Kifaru Bwana said:
You might want to look into ZooLex site too. There are quite a few books on zoo design and even the authorative Wild Mammals in Captivity has good source info on zoo design. Aside, quite a few zoo magazines feature exhibit design and discussion.

I would suggest you hanker down on one of the mainstream zoos with an army of zoo designs / drawings for exhibits under your arm. I agree architects may not be the best zoo designers, yet there are quite a few architectural firms here and there specialised in the subject. Even the Singapore Zoo team have a zoo design company working with and for them.
Click to expand...

Thank you! I like to browse the Zoolex. And I have just brought back a Wild Mammals in Captivity from USA and now am reading it. Maybe I should finish the reading of this book first and then turn to other more special books. :)
 
Zooplantman said:
OK, I may well be retired by then, but we'll see how quickly you get there! (I am already working in China)
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Thank you! I will do my best~~ BTW, if it is convenient to you to tell, which Chinese zoos have you worked with, please? :)
 
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