THE BIOME SAFARI | Ose Etomi

Zoos, as they exist today, are a dying breed. Animals crapped in small spaces for the sole entertainment of humans is a thing of the past. The zoo of the future will focus on the comfort of the animals and place humans at the fringes of their habitat, to cause as little interference as possible. To achieve this zoos of the future would be arranged biometrically. Biomes are regions where specific types of plants and animals exist. By arranging zoos according to Biomes it will be easier to care for the animals as like creatures with similar needs will be together. The Biome Safari aims to recreate a mini Biome, mimicking the natural habitat from where the animals are from originally. In the case of the Barcelona zoo the Tropical Biome was chosen as the weather conditions were a close match.

The word Safari in Swahili means journey and the architecture aims to transport the visitors to a different world within the zoo. There is a lifted walkway that separates the humans from the animals, so the animals can roam free with limited constraints. At various points the walkway dips underground to observe the hippos and elevates to view the pride of lions. The watering hole in center of the site creates a visual spectacle with all the animals gathering around it to cool down throughout the day