The Downfall of Immersion Part 1 (The case of Woodland Park Zoo)

Im doing some writing about the current trends in zoo exhibit design and I thought people might appreciate if I shared it with you. This likelly will be quite long and indepth, but hopefully it will be of some interest. Im going to start by looking at the example case of my local Woodland Park Zoo. At one time it was a revolutionary force redefining what a zoo is at its core. Rather than brute creatures to be ogled at in a cell they were exhibited as one with their environment, or at least as close to this as possible in captivity. WPZ in conjunction with Jones & Jones Architecture and the revolutionary David Hancock's had created the first immersion exhibits starting in 1976 with the infamous gorilla exhibits, a concept now found throughout western zoological institutions. Over the following decades the WPZ added immersion exhibits one after another:

One of the two gorilla enclosures in question:


The Africa area has no weak points, this is the African Savannah exhibit with clever sight-lines hiding the hippo barrier in the foreground:

Huge Lion Exhibit with no obvious barriers and tall grass to lie in:


The fantastic Asia trail area (Orangutan):


Grizzly bear exhibit, part of the PNW trail, all the exhibits are large and barriers hidden:

River Otter with Mountain Goat in the background:


These were the up years, the pursuit of immersive educational exhibitry was at its finest hour. However over the past decade it has taken leaps and bounds backwards, a worrying trend away from these positive advancements in zoo design. I think the designer of the gorilla exhibit that started it all David Hancocks puts the recent developments in zoo design perfectly:

"Eventually zoos found their own version of “Landscape Immersion” with exhibits that look sort of natural, but most decidedly aren’t. Typically, now, zoo gorillas are held in exhibits that cost many millions of dollars more than the $500,000 gorilla exhibit we built in Seattle, which was then the largest in the world (but ridiculously small by wild gorilla standards).

Nowadays too many gorillas are still confined in spaces much too small, with no contact with living vegetation, and absolutely nothing to interact with except huge clumps of fake rockwork and vastly expensive concrete trees that are of zero value to them. So I think my Landscape Immersion experiments have essentially been largely a failure.”

I would like to believe that he is mistaken in it being a complete failure, he has surely achieved a great deal in shaping the zoos we know and love today, but he has a serious point. In recent years I have found myself appreciating those old exhibits which do immersion justice more and more, whilst being continually disappointed with the supposed "modern" zoo exhibits being unveiled in recent years, even at the Woodland Park Zoo.

The self described "zoo's most ambitious new exhibit project in nearly two decades" Bayan Wilds, a southeast asian complex featuring new Tigers and otter exhibits, as well as the slightly renovated sloth bear grotto's and a small aviary holding no new species. This strayed far and to the side of the design pillars they established in 1976, gone were the hidden barriers and immersive design. In with fake ranger station viewing windows, ugly fake trees, and gaudy black mesh fencing towering higher than the exhibit is wide and erasing any semblance of immersion:


This replaced the outdated grotto they previously occupied, but added barely 2-3000 sq ft with less hiding spots, less foliage, and no covered area like they enjoyed with the old grotto. Infact nearly every time I visit they are hiding from visitors right by the entrance to their holding area.

Old grotto replaced in 2015:

Size comparison:


The clawed otters were the only new species, and while the exhibit is fine, it makes no effort to hide the fencing unlike the river otters above, infact they highlighted them with a curved wavy steel design which added nothing to the exhibit, but surely added significantly to the price-tag!


Lastly and IMO the most damning was the renovations they undertook on the sloth (and former sun) bear exhibits. These are a pair of old grottos, and while not fantastic, they were decently sized and used to have extensive foliage and climbing opportunities. The renovations? To diminish the size of the exhibits by building a viewing window hut between them, and replacing the old trees and foliage with concrete trees and ghastly new fake rock which clashes with the old.

How it looked before:


Aaaand how it looks now:


Just some of my thoughts on the current trend of exhibit design, feel free to chime in. I was going to make this a post all about the trend as a whole, but I got sucked in with this case study so Im going to make a part two later on which covers more of the general trend with comparative examples. My point is that not all progress is good, it seems that zoos in the 21st century feel compelled to put out a new exhibit every few years to keep the public eye, no matter the quality of the display. Just because the bars and moats have been replaced with fresh mesh and wire doesn't mean that it is any better for the animals or the visitors, infact often to the contrary.

 

Somehow I forgot to mention that the Bayan Wilds area (tiger exhibit with some window dressing) cost 15 million dollars, somehow.....

 

I'd like to make a few points:

• Reading your interesting analysis I feel that you need to define what you mean by "immersion exhibit." In context it appears that you simply mean densely planted exhibits. This is not the definition that David Hancocks or Jon Coe would use. (see Landscape Immersion and Beyond also A short rant about the i word)
  
• And I also must point out that it is inappropriate to refer to David as "the designer of the gorilla exhibit." That would be the Jones & Jones team working with David.
• Just as zoo's notion of immersion exhibits has changed over these decades, so has David Hancock's thoughts about zoos and exhibits.

There is more to these changes than you acknowledge. If you are serious about understanding it all you need to dig a lot deeper.

 

No thoughts on Woodland Park's Humboldt Penguin Exhibit?

 

- By immersion exhibit I mean an exhibit which strives to replicate the species natural environment as best as possible in captivity. This means hidden barriers, no sight-lines to other viewing points, structures and foliage which mirror their natural environment (as close as possible with climate differences), and an extension of that environment outside and surrounding the visitors. The pinnacle of what an immersion exhibit could be is one where the visitor is completely unaware of where the exhibit starts and ends. Immersed within their habitat on all sides so that it no longer feels that they are on the outside and the animals in the cage.

- If I implied that all of the exhibits I was pointing too were examples of immersion I apologies for the misunderstanding, I got caught up in the downfall of the WPZ. The old grottos for example are not very immersive, and not all good exhibits have to be.

- I misspoke, he was not the sole designer by any means. However I chose to focus on his accounts because while I dont agree with him on everything by any means he is certainly outspoken and insightful about his opinions.

- I happen to disagree with him as well when it comes to the morality of keeping most animals in captivity. However I think that when it comes to the design aspects he has made a huge contribution and his reflection on the current trends is valid.

- Working on digging alot deeper. Im not an expert by any means, I just thought it might be interesting to share my thoughts and start a conversation. Independently of any research I have noticed a distressing lack of effort and care when it comes to alot of new exhibits being unveiled these days and I am going to write a part 2 breaking this down.

Thanks!!

 

I thought about including it but I thought it would be off track. I think it is by far the best and last great exhibit constructed at the WPZ, and IMO one of the best penguin exhibits in the US (along with SDZ). That was the last real positive development at the WPZ. In 2010 they made as much noise as possible about the opening of the new meerkat exhibit, consisting of two small glass cages maybe 8x10 in the old predator building with painted concrete floors and no outside area.


This seemed to be a meager attempt at distracting the public from the closing of the nocturnal house, they claim this was for financial reasons although the lavishly expensive penguin exhibit opening the year prior suggests mismanagement. It was a huge loss because it was quite unique complex and a visitor favorite featuring 61 animals including slow loris, vampire bats, fruit bats, sloth, armadillo, owls, and more Im sure I am forgetting.

In 2013 they showed off their new flamingo exhibit, a perfectly fine exhibit but nothing special, even non zoo-nerds noticed: (Flamingos at Woodland Park Zoo).

And to add insult to injury we lost a large portion of the zoos exhibits, and some of its best when a small roof fire broke out in the fantastic reptile house Since then the zoo has no public desire to reopen either of them, for that matter according to recent google earth images they havnt even patched the hole in the roof covered with blue tarps. I understand that they are underfunded, but they seemingly threw out a large portion of the zoo and two of its largest and most educational areas in exchange for a shiny new tiger exhibit to pull in the tourists. Its disgusting and shows where their current priorities lie...

I fear this is not isolated to my zoo, and American zoos are choosing to become more and more entertainment parks glorified as education. They choose flashy star animal attractions, fake temples, and expensive gimmicks over real conservation and education about the the biodiversity extinction crisis.

 

Agree with some of this, but in “defense” of WPZ the Day/Night building rebuilding is being held up by ongoing disputes with insurance carriers. The decade-long battle over elephants also distracted and led to loss of the kind of community support needed to make major improvements.

 

@DelacoursLangur You and I are kindred spirits, as I agree completely with your assessment. Not just Woodland Park Zoo but American zoos in general. I know that for many forum members, having clean site lines and large, lush, natural exhibits is not that important. (Case in point: try criticizing the ugly gorilla playgrounds at Howletts and Port Lympne and be prepared to have the wrath of the British ZooChat contingency thrust upon you). But for me large exhibits with natural views are of the utmost importance. Some of the best zoos I have ever seen (out of over 100 visited) are those that are just built in an existing natural landscape. Two of my all time favorites (that happen to be done this way) are Northwest Trek and Le Parc Des Felins.

I have two primary reasons for feeling this way. The first is that I am a photographer and my enjoyment of zoos is largely related to the opportunities for natural-looking photos. The second is that I believe the single most important reason for a zoo to exist is to promote conservation of the natural world. I do not understand how seeing animals in fake, man-made structures promotes this. In fact I think it does the opposite. If (for example) orangutans do just as well in concrete exhibits with lots of artificial climbing structures, then why would visitors care about the destruction of Bornean rain forests? We can just build artificial climbing structures for them in the plantations and towns that replace the rain forest and they will be fine!

 

Ah that makes sense. Do not misunderstand me, I still think WPZ has many of the best exhibits anywhere in the US, and am very grateful to live so near it. However I feel that my criticism is still valid surrounding their recent developments, especially the Bayan Wilds. I was unaware of the court proceedings, it makes a bit more sense now. That said been 3 years now with no updates for the countless locals (myself included) for whom it was a huge deal, they even built a fence around the entrance and seem to be sweeping it under the carpet.

 

Important thing to note here - you’re combining two things into one.

Immersion exhibit: for the visitors, making them feel like they are in the animal’s habitat. Ex: sight lines, hidden barriers

Naturalistic exhibit: for the animals. Trying to make the exhibit similar to (or attempt to replicate) their natural habitat. Ex: structures (in some cases) and foliage.

Interesting thread. I may comment more on it later.

 

I agree that every zoo exhibit should do its very best to portray the ecosystem each species is found in accurately. Each species is uniquely evolved to fit a niche in its environment, a role in the interconnected ecosystem. And while I dont have a problem morally with cages such as Howletts Gorilla Exhibit (infact they tend to prefer it), it misrepresents the species and misinforms the public about the animals and the natural world as a whole. These cages are fine and sometimes better for the animals when employed for breeding projects behind the scenes, but they do a disservice when they dont exhibit the ecosystem the species is a part of.

The pinnacle ideal of what an immersion exhibit could be is one where the visitor is placed in the ecosystem, uninterrupted and unaware of any human impact or influence on their habitat, and able to watch the surrounding non-human creatures acting as they would in the wild. While this is practically impossible to create outside of the ecosystem it aims to reproduce, it is the ideal a good exhibit should strive to be as close to.

For this reason while I respect and to a certain extant agree with your assessment of NW Trek (which I need to revisit soon) and Parc Des Felins, their exhibits dont generally meet these criteria. While they are fantastic in many respects for the animals, they make no effort to disguise or hide the barriers they employ, and in the case of Parc Felins dont replicate many species habitat. They are still fantastic in many ways dont get me wrong, worlds better than the trend towards glorified barred cages I have been observing. However in the terms of accurately educating the public on the ecosystem they are part of they fall short IMO.

So glad this thread seems to have inspired some interest from folks, I greatly appreciate your opinion and input. Thanks!

 

Huh interesting, I had no idea, they play a similar role in their application so I always thought that "Immersion" was all encompassing. Thanks for the clarification.

Seems to me maybe I need a new term for the ecosystem replicating immersion I see as the ideal exhibit. Naturmersion? Immersalistic? Eco-Immersion?

 

Try the original, Jones and Jones “patented” phrase: Landscape Immersion

 

Ah thanks, I guess I will go with that. However I am a bit concerned that the term for the replication of natural ecosystems is "Landscape" like its designing a garden rather than the natural ecosystems of which the inhabitants are a part.

 

Perhaps the best exhibit I have personally seen along these lines is Masaola Hall at Zoo Zurich. Though the enclosed roof is obviously not natural, if you don't look straight up and just look at the surrounding forest, the effect is remarkable.

 

You should take that up with landscape ecologists who study natural patterns and relationships on different spatial scales. They could probably use a publicist like yourself to bring more attention to their work.

 

I would love to visit it someday, from the pictures I have seen it looks quite remarkable in all respects, the roof allows for the natural Madagascar Rainforest they are growing so I cant complain haha. A couple of examples which spring to my mind (keep in mind I havnt traveled the world and seen most of these IRL): Andean Bear at Zurich is also fantastic, much of the Africa area at the Bronx is really good, Predator Ridge put alot more effort into its sight lines and immersion than many newer exhibits so credit where credit is due, and of course I am also quite fortunate to live minutes from the WPZ which, despite its recent shortcomings, still has some of the best exhibits in the world IMO!

 

I dont know much about the field of landscape ecology, it looks quite mathematics but also very interesting. From a quick read of the wiki page im not sure its quite for me but Im going to read more about it.

Thanks for the complement/advice? Not sure if id make a good publicist but you never know.

 

A landscape is simply a place. How one designs it determines whether it is in garden style or naturalistic style or landscape-architect-so-many-birch-trees style or....

 

Fair enough, I guess my mind just jumps to the context it hears it most in.