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Zoo Architecture The Building Typology of Large-scale Constructions in

Zoological Gardens

Conference Paper · May 2018

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 Zoo Architecture
The Building Typology of Large-scale Constructions
in Zoological Gardens

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Natascha Meuser x

Hochschule Anhalt x
Anhalt University of Applied Sciences x
Dessau, Germany x
[email protected]
http://www.nataschameuser.com

Abstract—In this research, zoo architecture is mapped out in a examined and analogies between zoology and architecture
systematic manner which has not been in evidence until now. On carved out. That Which Unites Architects and Zoologists,
this basis, the development of this building category is firstly whereby specific terms are viewed in context. The
-examined by addressing theoretical, historical and typological development of zoo architecture over the past 150 years is
aspects. It may be noted that large-scale constructions in
outlined in the section From Colonialism to Democracy. How
-zoological gardens can be seen as an autonomous building
typology which, in common with any other category, follows the the Relationship between Man and Beast has Changed
societal trends and scientific findings of the respective -epoch. A throughout Architectural History. Here, the focus is on the
selection of thirty historic buildings from the past 200 years helps completed building. Design parameters for a typology of zoo
to raise the profile of this architectural category. In addition, this buildings are established in the section From Prisons to Stage
research defines ten design parameters which may serve as a Construction. These may serve as a future reference and be
reference guide for the planning of zoo centres. The categories aligned with the evolving role of wildlife in a post-industrial
defined specifically within the framework of this research are set society. The compositional principles are examined here.
out in the concluding -analysis of each of ten contemporary large- The content of this research is based on an evaluation of the
scale constructions for -elephants, primates and large cats. The
scarce literature devoted to this subject and a collection of
results show that the methodology of the theoretical approach,
historical architectural chronology and identification of building documentation – thus all the more extensive – on zoo
typologies followed by the elaboration of strategic planning buildings which has been published in periodicals and
recommendations is well-founded. architecture-related Internet portals. Only completed
buildings, but not projects or competition tenders, are subject
Architecture, Zoology, Building Typology, Building History to analysis. The primary source of the explanatory texts
introducing the buildings is primarily attributed to textual
I. BUILDING FOR ANIMALS material provided by zoo administrators or architects for the
THE STALKING OF A RARE CATEGORY
purpose of this -research project. Editorial amendments have
The aim of this work is to address a gap in research. Since the been made to the building descriptions written by architects in
dissertation by Hellmut Heinsdorff in 1967, an academic order to adopt a uniform style. However, content and meaning
synopsis of building for animals has not yet been published have not been altered. All buildings depicted herein are pre-
which fathoms the complexity of this issue. In more recent sented in both general and detailed terms. The contemporary
years, only Philipp Goldschmidt has presented a paper on projects of the second main chapter were realised primarily -
constructions tailored to large cats in 2010 with a focus on between 1995 and 2015.
surface analyses and spatial arrangements. This work has thus Buildings have been chosen following a repeated critical
set itself the challenge of presenting a comprehensive manual examination and represent a personal selection, corresponding
and informed planning resource, almost half a century -after to the objective of this research. These do not reflect the
Heinsdorff. Research here has a sole focus on accessible large- significance or benchmark status of individual architectural
scale constructions which have been masterminded by styles and specific floor plan options. Several projects have
architects. Garden and landscape architecture is only - been incorporated since these manifest rare spatial -
accorded peripheral mention. Similarly, the overall urban arrangements or combinations. This research seeks to deliver
planning concept behind zoos is examined merely briefly an appraisal of typifying examples. An empirical analysis and
since this is relatively trivial in terms of the design parameters thorough documentation of all large-scale constructions in
of high-rise structures. Notions of architectural theory are European zoos is thus unable to be drawn up.
 II. LEARNING FROM CHARLES DARWIN a mere showpiece to an entity with rights. The individual
THAT WHICH UNITES ARCHITECTS AND ZOOLOGISTS periods of time reflect political, zoological and design aspects.
Although architects lent the most frequently constructed Although the first three generations of zoo architecture may be
building types a framework composed of thoughts and words clearly assigned to the fields of politics (I: Buildings in the
right from the outset of architectural theory, the niche -topics Colonial Style), zoology (II: Barless Structures) and design
of design and construction are largely met with muteness. (III: Functionalist Buildings of the Modern Era), politics and
During the course of the research relating to the subject of this zoology are intertwined in the fourth generation (IV: Land
work, one inevitably stumbles upon theoretical writings on Recultivation and Landscaping). In contrast, the fifth and thus
architecture from the mid-nineteenth century that have been youngest generation combines the aspects of design and
influenced by the findings of naturalists. This was the period zoology (V: Branding through Large-scale Constructions).
of intensive research journeys (Charles Darwin in South Any such systematisation in terms of built architecture in
America as of 1831; David Livingstone in Africa as of 1849), zoological gardens has not yet been elaborated, -although the
but also the first foundations of zoos, such as those in Berlin history of the zoo has been described countless times in the
(1844) or Stuttgart (1846). Architectural theory at the time meantime. Consequently, it is risky to refer to a historic
was marked by late-classicist matters of style and romantic evolution of a building type and its -appearance. Nonetheless,
analogies to nature. Building types such as theatres and both this historical overview allows for an -understanding of the
art and cultural historical museums abounded, as well as the development of building forms and spatial concepts prevailing
intellectual analysis of these. It speaks for itself, therefore, that today. It is illustrated how modern the structures in zoological
the debate on architecture produced a theory of zoo buildings gardens were during their respective periods, -although a
as early as the nineteenth century, since the requirements for complete account of the architectural history of the zoo has
prisons, theatres and museums are at one with this type of been omitted in this research. Rather, the focus is essentially
construction task. on the contextualisation of zoo architecture in the respective
It may be determined, however, that a fundamental theoretical epochs of their creation. In this research an attempt has been
review of architecture in zoological gardens came about only made to prove that zoological gardens were an experimental
approximately 100 years after the first zoo centres. The ground for a new building type.
Berlin-based architect Heinz Graffunder and the Basel-based A. The First Generation of Zoo Architecture:
architect Arthur Dürig play a key role in this regard, as - Exhibition Structures in the Colonial Style
attested to by numerous articles and lecture notes authored by
The first generation of zoo buildings emerged around the
them. However, the theory of zoo architecture is not only
mid-nineteenth century. It is marked by a heterogeneous
predicated on the basic research of Graffunder and Dürig. Its
architectural vocabulary and colonial influences. Large-scale
origins are traceable to the philosophy of Georg -Wilhelm -
constructions for exotic wildlife, which had been -imported
Friedrich Hegel, the architectural theory of Gottfried -Semper
from foreign countries as living trophies, provide the
and the art-historical contributions of August Schmarsow. In
architectural backdrop for these “exhibits”. It is also striking
addition, the zoological findings of the time and their
to note the stylistic links between zoo buildings and
terminology are incorporated into the discussion of this
contemporary archaeological research on the sites of ancient
research. A theory of zoo architecture would be incomplete civilisations.
without an examination of the terminology applied to both
architecture and zoology. B. The Second Generation of Zoo Architecture:
Barless Structures amid a Panoramic Landscape
III.
It was only circa 1900 that an impetus in zoo
FROM COLONIALISM TO DEMOCRACY
architecture could be defined for the first time owing to Carl
THE EVOLUTION OF ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY
Hagenbeck’s panoramic zoo which rid the hitherto existing
The architectural history of zoos is a reflection of Western animal enclosures of their quaint pavilion-like appearance
humanity’s relationship with animals. Christian values, aca- and liberated these to form an autonomous architectural
demic emancipation and political power are key factors in this. landscape. Animals were no longer separated from spectators
Developments always crystallised in the form and reform of but, as it were, visually freed from their cages and presented
architecture. In common with general notions of appealing on a “natural stage”.
architecture, humanity’s relationship with architecture and
animals also changed. Therefore, the respective understanding C. The Third Generation of Zoo Architecture:
of what an architecture accepted by society – and thus Formalism and Functionalism
considered appropriate – constitutes for zoological gardens If zoo architecture was marked by Hagenbeck’s idea of the
was permanently subject to change. The zoo evolved from a domination of landscape over architecture from the beginning of
collection of living trophies and a museum with live exhibits the twentieth century into the 1920s, today modern designs
to an amusement park with a moral duty. To date, five arising from functionalism are ushering in a new era. The shift
generations of zoo buildings may be identified which are away from landscaping is characterised by formalism, the
based on a temporal chronology and illustrate the ever- eschewal of exotic ornamentation and a minimalist architectural
changing perception held by humans regarding wildlife – from vocabulary (for example, Diergaarde Blijdorp in –Rotterdam).
D. The Fourth Generation of Zoo Architecture: and creative execution of the buildings in the zoological
The Landscaping of Buildings and the Enclosure of Nature garden is examined. Therefore, the focus is placed upon basic
With the emancipation of zoology in the second half of the research into zoo architecture. Since this has been examined
twentieth century, architecture too set out to embody a from the point of view of individual aspects in its history, it
conscious orientation towards nature. As of the 1970s, the has not been possible until now to establish a comprehensive
landscaping of architecture on the one hand and the typology of zoo buildings.
methodical enclosure of nature on the other are common A highly succinct repertoire of design guidelines could be
features among fourth-generation zoos. Architecture drawn up on the basis of three comparable architectural
disappears to a certain extent from zoological parklands. categories, the typologies of which are scientifically and
Landscape architectural elements are increasingly prevalent. generally recognised and which can also be identified within
This development can in part be attributed to the report of the the typology of zoo buildings we wish to define, namely
Club of Rome ( The Limits to Growth, 1972) and the prison buildings (security and space constraint), stage design
awareness of a more resource-saving approach to nature which (display and presentation) and museums (education and
came to the fore during that period. pedagogy). In addition, in this work three further content-
related categories have been established which facilitate a
E. The Fifth Generation of Zoo Architecture: more nuanced systematisation.
Branding through Iconic Large-scale Constructions
The trend towards the so-called adventure zoo asserted itself at
the beginning of the 1990s. Since then, many tradi-tional
facilities have been remodelled upon this basis. Thematic
archi-tecture and story-telling play a significant role in today’s A. The Aesthetics of Constraint
adventure zoos. On the other hand, several iconic buildings Zoo Buildings as Prisons
which in turn divert attention from the animals have emerged There is no doubt that the typology of zoo buildings has its
in zoological gardens. origins in prison architecture. The requirements for
imprisonment or spatial segregation have changed little. When
IV. it comes to prison buildings, the separation of individuals on
FROM PRISONS AND THEATRES TO MUSEUMS disciplinary grounds is uppermost. Although a zoo centre is
PARAMETERS FOR A TYPOLOGY OF ZOO BUILDINGS not exclusively geared to the disciplining – or even the
Zoological gardens represent a special form of cultivated - taming – of wildlife, structural requirements lend themselves
coexistence between man and beast. Animals are not kept to comparison, in particular spatial separation.
primarily as livestock, in the sense that direct economic
B. The Aesthetics of Perspective
benefit is to be drawn from this coexistence. Moreover, the
Zoo Buildings as Theatres
zoo is devoted to research, the preservation of animal species
and, furthermore, breeding programmes which allow the When it comes to building typology, the development of zoo
release of endangered species into their hunting grounds. To architecture also presents similarities with the development of
that -extent it has strayed from its original function: to provide theatre construction. The relationship between the auditorium
“gardens geared to the general public with enclosures and and stage space is at the forefront of consideration. Just as the
animal -houses for keeping and presenting – predominantly theatre has undergone a metamorphosis from a proscenium
exotic – wildlife”. One distinguishing feature of today’s zoo- stage into an in-the-round stage, a comparable conversion of
logical gardens is that humans and animals share the same zoo buildings from caged enclosures offering confined vistas
habitat. Zoos lie mostly in densely populated areas – in the to immersive spaces can similarly be traced, whereby the
broadest sense within residential developments since the zoo distance between bystanders and animals seems to diminish.
is dependent on visitors. One cannot, therefore, speak of a In common with a staged setting involving -actors, set -design
beast’s natural territory. Its habitat can however be and spectators, it is essential to simulate the scenery to be
simulated – except in the case of indigenous animals. The displayed in the zoo with artificial elements.
wildlife -remains constrained and its natural inclination to C. The Aesthetics of Knowledge
move around is restricted, in light of the need to prevent it Zoo Buildings as Museums
from escaping.
Three factors remain essential in this context: confinement, The zoo as an institution has evolved out of the natural history
presentation and, increasingly, dissemination of knowledge. museum. In terms of building typology, it initially took a
Constraint, protection mandates and controlled freedom are roundabout approach through prison and theatre architecture
the aspects discussed in the Building Typology section. This in order today to integrate elements of the museum as an
triad arguably best describes the relationship between the important constituent part within the dissemination of
captor and the captive against the backdrop of the knowledge. To that extent zoo centres of modern times display
development of construction typology. At the same time, the properties typical of museums. These may in particular
influence of the main objectives of a zoo centre – protection, include visitor guidance (individual movement within the
staging and education of the public – upon the architectural space), dissemination of knowledge (sensory perception of the
space) and exhibits (authenticity of the space).
 1) Staging of the Natural Environment
The staging is chosen to evoke a certain effect and does not
necessarily require theatrical spaces. The stage for animals in
zoos is able to manage on natural looking components.

2) Staging of the Event

In recent years, zoological gardens have become a fixture of a
city’s cultural programme. This refers not only to the zoo as
an institution that mediates between an educational
establishment and a research facility; in many places, the
zoological garden has become a location that competes with
unusual venues.

3) Staging of Symbolism
Symbolism links the building to its contents. It stands to
reason in zoos that this visual language refers to the animal
and its natural environment. However, symbolism in zoos is
still ongoing; often elements from the habitat of the individual
species are also used.

[1] Meuser, Natascha, “Architektur im Zoo. Theorie und Geschichte einer

Bautypologie,” DOM publishers, Berlin 2017

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