Zoo Zurich
July 8th, 2005
So I saw a clip about Zoo Zurich on TV. I’ve been trying to read up more about it. From what I remember, Zoo Zurich is one gigantic indoor zoo, complete with tropical plants and wildlife.
What was that? Tropical wildlife??
Yes. The zoo is completely enclosed by a structure lined with some translucent material that essentially turns the place into a green house, where the weather is comparable to the REAL rainforests. One problem that set the grand opening behind was HAIL. Golf ball sized hail just decimated the zoo’s ceiling, which was later redesigned for such occasions.
That’s about all I remember. Unfortunately, the website for Zoo Zurich is all in German (no offense)—I personally can’t find an English version.
I really want to learn more about the external design and specs like how big of a surface area the zoo covers, etc. If anyone can find more info, please repost!!
Who knows? With the basics behind creating tropical habitats in clearly untropical locales, maybe Antarctica can become a new summer-time retreat.
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July 8th, 2005 at 3:48 pm
I’ve actually been to Zoo Zürich. The Madagascarian Rain Forest, (Masoala Rainforest Hall), is only one part of the Zoo (which includes a petting zoo full of goats and baby elephants born on location).
The wing is pretty incredible. Very warm and humid and full of life. It did feel just like you stepped into a different world. (It must take so much energy to keep the place warm!) It was very well done, but not unlike the somewhat closer National Aquarium in Baltimore’s Upland Tropical Rain Forest exhibit.
I checked the website, and unfortunately there is no english translation. But here’s a SwissInfo article about the new wing.
July 8th, 2005 at 3:48 pm
p.s. go switzerland! _
July 8th, 2005 at 5:35 pm
i wish i could find a picture of the strucutre enclosing the madagascarian rain forest wing—i remember noticing the design features against hail were pretty neat. i also thought the warm temperature was created via green house effect from the sun. granted the environment isn’t self sustaining, it reminds me of a more glorified version of those hollow glass balls that are filled with water, a couple shrimp, and some live green plants…a mini ecosystem!...SO victorian (smirk)
July 8th, 2005 at 5:36 pm
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July 8th, 2005 at 7:07 pm
yeah, i think maybe it must take quite a bit of energy to stay cool, while heat must be pretty easy to come by.
July 8th, 2005 at 7:33 pm
ooo~ i didn’t think about that. toucher!
July 9th, 2005 at 1:51 pm
all I kept thinking was Bio-dome...
July 10th, 2005 at 9:51 am
http://www.zoo.ch/Klimatechnik.998.0.html
Hello
on this site they explain the technik but it’s on German
July 10th, 2005 at 1:56 pm
From Google’s mediocre translation :
“Heating resounds effected by means of an recirculated air system. From the central heat supply plant of the zoo (two wood shred boilers) the warmth arrives via long-distance line at the Masoala rain forest.”
I’m curious as to how they transfer the heat from the “wood shred boilers” to the air. Giant radiators?
July 10th, 2005 at 7:37 pm
There’s a similar thing in the Netherlands: one and a half hectares worth of tropical rainforest, including plants and animals, built in 1988. The whole structure is held up with cables, and a nice booth outside tells you the tension on each cable. Check out http://www.burgerszoo.nl, then click on the english flag at the lower right for an english version of the website. The Tropical forest is referred to a ‘burgers’ bush’...
July 10th, 2005 at 9:56 pm
Graham, i wonder if they pipe steam over, then a radiator. Imagine how much power that must draw!
Perhaps they use co-generation, by using excess heat from a nearby power station – that’s why dorm rooms at Yale are ridiculously hot even in the winter. But if they’re using wood-chip furnaces I guess that’s unlikely. Too bad.
July 11th, 2005 at 9:45 am
...the entire time watching the snippet of what i saw on tv, i was thinking it did all this using the sunlight—that’s why i posted…but i guess it drains a lot of energy.
would it be possible to create a self-sustained temperature gap that large (relative to the inside of the structure and the outside) through strict, structural design methods?
January 14th, 2006 at 4:23 pm
Yeah, there are precedents for very large micro-climate structures (I guess that sounds like an oxymoron).
http://www.federationsquare.com.au