There’s about to be a new expansion of a Danish Zoo, and the main inspiration? That the animals live in “the freest possible environment for the animals’ lives and relationships with each other and visitors.”
Zoos often come under criticism for the animal’s roaming space, but the Biarke Ingels Group (BIG) are hoping to “play with the relationship between human and animal” and are designing a zoo where the animals will roam free and visitors will be restricted to a viewing zone.
The redesigned Givskud Zoo will have a large, walled plaza-like entrance to the park, which will keep people enclosed while the animals roam (relatively) freely outside. Windows and a walkway along the top of the walls allows for observation of the animals in a more natural habitat.
The project designs also outline observation buildings which are hidden into the landscape, tucked into hillsides or camouflaged in stacks of logs or bamboo.
According to design site Arch Daily, the drawings also show an aerial tram system and a bubble-like boat ride that moves people through the almost 300-acre park, home to animals like gorillas, wolves, bears, lions, and elephants.
Visitors will also have the option to take a cycle along a bike safari trail that runs through the zoo, which is divided into three continents on the plain – America, Asia, and Africa – as well as a hiking route.
The first phase of the project is due to be ready to open in 2019, with later extensions due in the following year.
Images via FastCoDesign
