Copenhagen Zoo had long recognised the need to improve the facilities for their critically endangered Amur Leopards, of which sadly only around 100 individuals remain in the wild due to human encroachment on natural habitats.
The main objective was to give more space and provide opportunities for enrichment; To this end, HMJ Design has designed and built a path system of 160 meters, which gives the leopards access to the surrounding park, by weaving up and over the Norman Foster Elephant House, splitting out into 2 separate elevated paths and bridges where they can observe a large part of the park and surrounding exhibit. From here the path extends over towards the BIG Architects panda facility.
The tunnel path has sections that are placed directly on the terrain in between tall grasses and shrubs, to provide an environment, where the animals can remain semi-hidden, but also sections that are placed high above the terrain, to provide enrichment by meeting the animals’ needs for high vantage points and hideouts.
The main technical challenge of the project was to solve the statical aspect associated with building this tunnel system on the roof of another partially subterranean building, namely the iconic Elephant House: The tunnel has to be strong and stable enough to safely support the animals, while being light enough to stay within the safe working loads of the building. This is solved through coordination of our design and engineering capability while consulting with a number of engineering firms that were originally involved in the construction of the Elephant House.
Throughout the project, extensive stakeholder involvement characterised the collaboration between Copenhagen Zoo and HMJ Design, to ensure that all relevant formal and silent knowledge was brought to the table and acted upon, with the aim to produce a facility that would fulfil the goals with respect to animal welfare, visitor experience, keeper operations and long lifecycle.
The project was based on laser scans and point cloud work, which enabled us to precisely prefabricate all the path elements to fit on-site with millimetre precision. This in turn led to a fast installation of approximately 1 week for the main elements, leading to minimum blockage and downtime at Copenhagen Zoo, which is crucial to give the guests a good experience.
HMJ Design was chosen as main contractor to drive the project forward in close cooperation with the zoo, during the different phases:
- Initial idea generation & sketching phases
- Providing architectural visualisations for awareness and fundraising
- Research concerning the safety and welfare aspects and EAZA guidelines for keeping big cats
- Interviewing stakeholders concerning functional needs → Implementation
- Planning phase, including engineering work & construction details
- Production and delivery of all materials
- Construction and installation
You can read more about the project on Copenhagen Zoo’s website here.
