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Green Synagogue | |
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Multi-Elephant Housing by Foster | |
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Modern Prefab by Marmol Radziner | |
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Colin St. John Wilson - Two Houses | |
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Multi-Elephant Housing by Foster The heated floors of the stables are covered with half a meter (one-and-a-half feet) of sand. Walking around the enclosure after hours, zoo biologist Jens Frederik Broch describes the old elephant house, with its concrete floor, and explains that the new building is one of the only elephant facilities in the world with a sand floor. Now that it has been tested in Copenhagen, and the elephants clearly really like their sandy floor, perhaps it will be used in other zoos. Broch explains that the elephants use it for creating valleys that they lean against and sleep in together. The sand is also is good for their feet, working like sandpaper, massaging them and keeping their toenails trim. When it is hot outside, the elephants have a natural urge to toss sand on their backs, a protective measure that would fight off sunburn in the wild. Safe Haven The zoo's animal care strategy keeps the elephants at arms length, in a protective, rather than full-contact, relationship. This helps encourage more natural behavior. The massive mammals also necessitate the inclusion of safety features to protect their human caretakers and visitors. The building features 300-millimeter- (11.8-inch-) thick reinforced concrete walls in all areas the elephants have access to — strong enough to withstand the 15-ton load exerted by a charging five-ton elephant, which could destroy an average concrete wall. Broch adds that the male elephants are not very good zoo animals: they are antisocial, poor tempered, and get bored easily. Safety grating in the males' enclosure is designed to prevent them from kicking through the bars, while still allowing wide enough gaps for humans to squeeze through. Habitat for the Herd The landscaping is a huge part of the project, improving the animals' quality of life in captivity and providing a way for visitors to feel like they are observing the animals in the wild. The large 2,500-square-meter (17,000-square-foot) landscaped outdoor area resembles a dry river bed, complete with water puddles and mud holes. The elephants enjoy submerging and bobbing in a pool three meters (ten feet) deep and 60 meters (200 feet) long, which separates their outdoor area from onlookers. Broch reports that all the elephants enjoy swimming, something that wasn't possible in their old building, where they had only a wheelbarrow of water for washing. Reinforced concrete pillars dot the landscape, continuing inside the herd stables. "The pillars provide the elephants with shade in the sharp summer sun," explains Stig L. Andersson, the landscape architect for the project. "The pillars function as a barrier between the elephants and the visitors, and they refer to the forest as the original habitat of the elephants." Early designs show a much more public concept for the Elephant House, with the roof between the domes conceived as publicly accessible, allowing views down through the glass roof and into the animal enclosure. But the built design seems to be more about the elephant's comfort — a balance between public and private that succeeds in both visitor experience and animal environment. The building is still very new, and the landscaping has yet to reach maturity, but the open, light, airy environment seems a clear and immediate advance over common closed-form elephant facilities. In Copenhagen, the elephants are the new kings and queens of the jungle. Terri Peters is a writer and designer based in London. More by Terri Peters Project Credits Architect: Foster+Partners
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