Zoo Architect

kbaker116

kbaker116

Well-Known Member
I have really been interested in zoo Architecture and I'm a freshmen in high school, I would like to do this sort of thing as a career. I am not a stranger to architecture and have already taken a few classes. Could some one maybe through me a couple tips or college I should think about going to. I would really appreciate it!
 
kbaker116 said:
I have really been interested in zoo Architecture and I'm a freshmen in high school, I would like to do this sort of thing as a career. I am not a stranger to architecture and have already taken a few classes. Could some one maybe through me a couple tips or college I should think about going to. I would really appreciate it!
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I don't think the college matters. No one teaches zoo architecture.
In addition to becoming a great architect, learn as much as you can about wildlife, geography and geology (the stuff besides built structures that are shown in a zoo exhibit).
See if you can do an internship at a zoo (to understand how things work)
And especially, line up an internship at one of the main zoo design firms (several are in Seattle, others are scattered around the country).

You might enjoy reading
http://www.jonesandjones.com/news/publications_pdf/Zoo_Design.pdf.

Best of luck!
 
In the US, most states regulate design and require that architects and landscape architects be licensed. In order to obtain the license, you will need to complete an accredited program at a university, then intern under the supervision of a licensed architect. Once you have met all of the prerequisites, you can then take the registration exam in the state of your choice.

My advice to you is to reach out to architects who specialize in zoo habitat design, and learn as much as you can. If possible, see if you can secure an internship at one of these firms. Also, take as many courses on biology, wildlife conservation, etc. as you can. Finnaly, visit as many zoos as you can and don't be afraid to get in touch with the professionals at those institutions to ask questions about the exhibits.

Best of luck to you!
 
Wow! This Forum is very helpfull for me ,because
I really want to have experience in this topic (such as: zoo architect or zoo planer or zoo designer). Right now, I am studying in master landscape architecture, i did my bachelor in architecture. So, after i will find an architecture / landscape architecture company that have relation with animal (ex:zoo). anybody have suggestion for me?
THANKS ALL!
 
Pleaaaaaaaaseeeee ZOOPLANTMAN for the LOVE OF GOOODDDDDDDDDD tell me where did you find that pdf. file? Do you know what book it is??????? I´m doing my final thesis in Landscape Architecture and it´s about zoo design and I´m just finishing it but I really would like to have a look on that book.

Please, if you see this, answer right away. My presentation is two weeks from now.

Thanks*
 
WildlifeLover said:
Pleaaaaaaaaseeeee ZOOPLANTMAN for the LOVE OF GOOODDDDDDDDDD tell me where did you find that pdf. file? Do you know what book it is??????? I´m doing my final thesis in Landscape Architecture and it´s about zoo design and I´m just finishing it but I really would like to have a look on that book.

Please, if you see this, answer right away. My presentation is two weeks from now.

Thanks*
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Well I found it on the web, but you can email the authors and ask them.
 
Not sure if this will be any interest, I'd love to design zoos/aquariums, I designed this exhibit. Its a dolphin exhibit...I just designed it as an idea for a new dolphin feature I named "Atlantic Coast"
dolphinexhibit2.jpg
 
ollielloyd said:
Not sure if this will be any interest, I'd love to design zoos/aquariums, I designed this exhibit. Its a dolphin exhibit...I just designed it as an idea for a new dolphin feature I named "Atlantic Coast"
dolphinexhibit2.jpg
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Good idea, could you elaborate on this idea though and explain it. Thanks!
 
Nice idea and very well drawn, but i could set quite a few critical notes to the idea. Don't know if you want to hear them though :)
 
thank you for the quick response Zooplantman. I do not know who is the author. It´s written Jones and Jones but Jones and Jones is a architecture company. Anyway, that pdf. file already helps me a lot, so thank you. =)
 
Thank you red-ant. I´ve been working on it for the last year and a half. I would really like to work in this field, like for example the landscape architect Jon Coe, but unffortunatly I don´t think that´s possible. The Lisbon Zoo doesn´t work with landscape architects (only architects) and I´ve contacted other european zoos but none of them is recruting. In my country there is no company of landscape architecture that does zoo design so... Probably is a dream of mine that will die with this thesis. =/ I´m going to start the MSc in November about the aesthetic value of central asia deserts. So I´m leaving this subject behind for a year or so. Let´s see what the future brings.

I´m new at zoochat. I already been here but I only signed in the other day. There are great stuff here about zoo design and other zoo topics. It´s great. It was a great ideia.

=)

Bye bye
 
WildlifeLover said:
thank you for the quick response Zooplantman. I do not know who is the author. It´s written Jones and Jones but Jones and Jones is a architecture company. Anyway, that pdf. file already helps me a lot, so thank you. =)
Click to expand...

I believe the article credits Dave Matthews. He's still at Jones & Jones.

Also: I know of one landscape architect in Europe who has spent a couple of decades trying to get zoo jobs. Apparently it is very difficult to get European zoos to see the need.
 
ollielloyd said:
Yeah of course I want to hear! :P
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Okay, from an animal perspective;
1. The enclosure looks like a simple show-pool. Why not venture a little more "out of the box" and design something with a little bit more structures and things like islands and a decent sand bottom and a bit more "lagoon" like (see Harderwijk's exhibit in the gallery).

2. The lay-out doesn't allow easy splitting of the group, specially not when the medical pool is occupied. If it's occupied, there's hardly any means to switch animals between indoor and outdoor pool. Interlinking the pools better would make this easier.

Cost-perspective
1. If the medical pool is heated, or better, heated more then the rest of the pools, then it's more cost-effective to put it inside. Medical pools in colder climates (like in Harderwijk) are usually heated.

That's it for now, still, it's far better drawn then i'd ever could and a very decent effort at least :)
 
Ok cool thanks! Yeah I would venture further from the typical show pool, however the actual shape of the main pool is commonly used for dolphins not only because its ideal for a show pool, but also because it gives them long swimming lines with easy turns at the end.

Re the moving animals from pool to pool - if you see where the show pool meets the square shaped pool with the rocks, theres 2 small squares, those are basically tiny "pools" so say one is A and one is B. Dolphin needs to move outside, but dolphin on the outside cannot mix with dolphin on the inside... Dolphin on outside moves into pool gate A, dolphin inside moves outside through pool gate B, and then dolphin from the outside, moves into the inside! :) There would also be a gate at the small "harbour pool" on the left hand side.

I tried making the slideout more natural, by basically having a shallow (less than 1 meter) area all the way around the show pool, which would have rocks scattered on it.

The indoor square pool would only be viewable from below the surface, and would be similar to the beluga pool at the georgia aquarium - deep with lots of heavy rock work. The idea is the pools move through the coast - from the deep ocean on the right, to the shallow coastal water (main pool), and then the shallow harbour on the left, which has a sandy beach, a boat, and a observatory area that also looks over the main pool.

I have thought about other designs, I may post a few if I develop them :)
 
Yes, I agree. Many European zoos only work with architects. Landscape architects are seen as an unnecessary expense...As I said before, that is the case of the Zoo of Lisbon. My external advisor, who works there as a biologist, told me that they only hire a landscape architect now and then for the maintenance of green spaces, never to exhibit design.
And since I am a woman, and I´m just 23 years old, I think I´m not ready to go alone to the EUA or Australia or some other country where there are more opportunities in this field. So for now it has got to wait. =(

=) Once again thank you for your response.
 
Hi again,

Ok. I´ve found the book. It´s called: Landscape architectural graphic standards and the author´s name is Leonard J. Hopper. This pdf.file is a chapter of the book and was written by Jones and Jones people.
You can search it on Google´s Book section. There you can read it. It´s missing a few pages because they can´t put it all online but it has many pages for someone to see if interested.
I have to thank to Google because it allowed me to view over 50 books in this subject. If it wasn´t for them I would not have found the information I did.
Enjoy!

=)


Here is a list of books that I´ve used on my work (they are on Google´s Book section, some of them in Zoolex and others in the Jon Coe website):



 BARATAY, Eric; -HARDOUIN-FUGIER, Elisabeth - Zoo: A History of Zoological Gardens in the West – Reaktion Books Ltd., London, 2004


 BIERLEIN, John - Exhibit design and the aesthetic of nature; Woodland Park Zoo; Seattle, Washington; 2003

 BOLEN, Eric G.; ROBINSON,William L. – Wildlife Ecology and Management – Third Edition, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1995

 BOLEN, Eric; RODIEK, Jon - Wildlife and habitats in managed landscapes – Island Press, Washington D.C.,1991

 BROWN, Robert; GILLESPIE, Terry - Microclimatic landscape design: creating thermal comfort and energy efficiency – Wiley & Sons Inc., New York, 1995

 COE, Jon Charles – Deep green design for zoos and aquariums, EAZA News, European Association of Zoos and Aquaria; Healesville, Victoria, Australia; 2007

 COE, Jon Charles – Landscape immersion – Origins and concepts; AZA Convention Proceedings; American Zoo and Aquarium Association; Bethesda; 1994

 COE, Jon Charles – Mixed species rotation exhibits; ARAZPA Annual Conference; 2004

 Coe, Jon Charles - Naturalistic enrichment; ARAZPA Conference Proceedings; Australia; 2006

 COE, Jon Charles – Plan ahead for behavioral enrichment; AAZPA National Convention; American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums, Toronto, 1992

 COE, Jon Charles – Twenty-first century management systems for twenty-first century zoo exhibits; AZA Convention Proceedings; American Zoo and Aquarium Association; Bethesda; 1998

 COE, Jon Charles – Why are we here and where are we going? ; 1991 (não foi publicado)

 COE, Jon Charles – Zoo animal rotation: New opportunities from home range to habitat theater; AZA Annual Proceedings; Wheeling; 1995

 COE, Jon Charles – Towards a co-evolution of zoos, aquariums and natural history museums; AAZPA Annual Conference Proceedings; Wheeling; 1986

 COE, Jon Charles; MENDEZ, Ray – The unzoo alternative. Australia: ARAZPA Conference Proceedings, 2005

 COE, Jon Charles – Entertaining zoo visitors and zoo animals: An integrated approach. Bethesda: AZA Convention Proceedings, 1997

 COLLADOS, Gustavo; HARRISON, Bernard; YANEZ,Laura – Visitor circulation in zoos. Australia: SEAZA/ARAZPA Joint Conference “The Art and Science of Zoos”, 2005

 COLLADOS, Gustavo - El rol de los zoológicos contemporâneos: Trabalho final da licenciatura em Ciências e Artes Ambientais. Chile: Universidad Central de Chile,1997

 DEMAREST, Jack; DURRANT, Barbara; GIBBONS, Edward - Conservation of endangered species in captivity: an interdisciplinary approach‎ -State University of New York Press, New York, 1995

 DOLINS, Francine Leigh - Attitudes to animals: views in animal welfare – Cambridge University Press, London, 1999

 EBENHöH, Monika - Improvements in zoo design by internet-based exchange of expertise; Tese de Mestrado em Arquitectura Paisagista. Athens: University of Agricultural Sciences, 2000

 ELTON, Charles Sutherland – Animal Ecology – University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 2001

 FIBY, Monika; WORSTELL – Developing a zoo master plan: Why is master planning particularly important for zoos? ZooLex Zoo Design Organization, 2003

 FIBY, Monika - Trends in Zoo Design - Changing Needs in Keeping Wild Animals for a Visiting Audience - Topos 62 , 2008

 FIBY, Monika - The International Review of Landscape Architecture and Urban Design - Landscape Architecture and Zoo Design - Vienna, Austria, Topos 62, 2008

 FRASER, David - Understanding Animal Welfare: The Science in Its Cultural Context – UFAW Animal Welfare Series, Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford, 2008

 GALHARDO, Leonor – Congresso de Ciências Veterinárias, Oeiras, 10-12 de Outubro, Parques Zoológicos: uma area em expansão no bem estar animal; Oeiras: 2002

 GIBBONS, Edward - Naturalistic environments in captivity for animal behavior research – First Edition, State University of New York Press, New York , 1994

 GRANDIN, Temple; JOHNSON, Catherine - Animals Make Us Human: Creating the Best Life for Animals – First Edition, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009

 HANCOCKS, David – Future and ethic of zoos. Australia: Museums Australia National Conference, 2007

 HANSON, Elizabeth - Animal Attractions: Nature on Display in American Zoos; New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2002

 HICKMAN, Cleveland P.; ROBERTS, Larry S.; LARSON, Allan - Integrated principles of zoology - McGraw-Hill, Nova Iorque, 1997

 KISLING, Vernon N. - Zoo and aquarium history: ancient animal collections to zoological gardens – CRC Press LLC, Florida, 2001

 LOZANO-ORTEGA, Iván - Managing Animal Behavior through Environmental Enrichment with Emphasis in Rescue and Rehabilitation Centers – 1999

 MARVIN, Garry; MULLAN, Bob – Zoo Culture – Second Edition, Library Congress, United States of America, 1999

 MILLER, Harlan B. , WILLIAMS, William H. - Ethics and Animals – The HUMANA Press Inc., Crescent Manor, 1983

 ROTHFELS, Nigel - Savages and beasts: the birth of the modern zoo‎ - The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 2002

 TRESZ, Hilda – Behavioral management at the Phoenix Zoo: New strategies and perspectives and perspectives. Phoenix: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc., 2006

 TUDGE, Colin - Last animals at the zoo: how mass extinction can be stopped – Island Press, Washington D.C , 1992

 WISE, Steven M. - Drawing the line: science and the case for animal rights – Perseus Books Group, Cambridge, 2003

 WOLFHEIM, Jaclyn – Primates of the World: Distribution, Abundance and Conservation – First Edition; University of Washington Press, Seattle; 1983
 
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