Case study: Zoo Atlanta

Posted on September 1, 2011

Zoo Atlanta has an interesting history, going from blight of the city to pride of the South East in a surprisingly short amount of time. It has pushed itself forward as one of the premiere attractions in Atlanta. However, a recent visit has convinced me that now may be the perfect time to push even further.

To back up a bit, 1984 was a low point. The site had been allowed to deteriorate over time due to general neglect, and because of the deplorable living conditions for the animals, the

zoo lost its accreditation and was named one of the ten worst zoos in the country. Since that time, Zoo Atlanta has made an massive turnaround, recreating itself from top to bottom, from highly trained staff and community involvement down to the physical design of the park. It became clear it was not enough to put animals on display with no concern for their emotional well-being. In 1986 the Zoo board commissioned Ursa International to design a master plan for the property with careful focus on new enclosures for the animals, ones that more nearly matched their natural habitats.

Major areas of the zoo

Asian Forest: Pandas Ford African Rain Forest: Gorillas African Plains: Elephants KIDZone: Petting zoo & small rides

Zoo Atlanta has won several awards for its habitats since completion in the late 1980s, and over the years has expanded beyond its original plan to include more enclosures, more pavilions and an entirely new area called KIDZone. The current layout looks like a backwards P with small paths and islands jutting out from its side. Before the KIDZone expansion, the backwards P created a loop all the way around the park. With all this expansion under its belt, the zoo can now shift some focus back to its guests to help make the experience even more engaging. Because of the organic nature of the additions to the park, Zoo Atlanta outgrew itself and now faces issues of orientation, navigation, and future expansion, all of which, I believe, can be solved with one move. Issues OrientationUpon entering the zoo and walking into Flamingo Plaza, a person is met with a few choices: either turn left and head into the African Plains, turn right into the KIDZone, or go straight along a central spine running up the center of the property. This is problematic as it requires people just entering the park to make major decisions about how they would like to proceed before they have a chance to orient themselves. A commonly heard phrase at Flamingo Plaza is, Ok, come over here and look at the flamingos while mommy figures out where we need to go. The entryway, an area of high traffic, is not the

ideal stopping point for a family to try to get things moving, both for that family and others trying to get going themselves. Ok, come over here and look at the flamingos while mommy figures out where we need to go. Following the flamingos, in many cases the first animal encounter a person has at the Zoo is with the elephants, one of Zoo Atlantas three big-ticket attractions (the other two being gorillas and pandas). Ideally it is best to hold back elements that draw large crowds, reserving them as destinations rather than entry points, allowing the anticipation to build as a guest moves through the park. Instead, a guest walks right into the sights, sounds and smells of big-ticket #1 and either spends too much time there, making things that immediately follow feel like a bit of a letdown, or moves too quickly past to see what else the zoo has to offer. NavigationWhen navigating certain areas of the park, many people tend to head in directions they shouldntmaintenance areas, dead ends or simply places where they have already beencausing them to have to backtrack to get on the correct path. This occurs because unclear or mismatched visual cues in the design of the park lead to incorrect interpretation. When this happens too many times, a person in the zoo will become frustrated (often with themselves) and mental fatigue will turn to physical fatigue, hurting the overall experience and reducing the likelihood of a repeat visit. The opposite is also true. Sometimes people can miss an entire area of the zoo simply because the pathway leading towards it was not distinct enough. This is particularly problematic in the Asian Forest as winding pathways can give mixed signals. Discoverability is important, but it must always be clear that there is something to discover. ExpansionCurrently Zoo Atlanta is considering expansion, but is hemmed in on three sides by roads, making any plans for expansion very limited. The only option for extending its borders is into the adjacent Grant Park, directly out and through the current entryway. Any future expansion will likely mean a need to tear down the entrance and rebuild it elsewhere, with the same process having to be repeated in the future should the zoo need to expand again. Solutions

So how do we solve these problems? What can we do to allow Zoo Atlantas story to unfold along a natural progression, to ease navigation and create room for expansion? A simple change in perspective may be the answer

Case Study: Zoo Atlanta 2

Posted on September 2, 2011

Please read part one of this look at Zoo Atlanta In 1986, Zoo Atlanta began to reinvent the idea of what a zoo could be and set out on a massive redesign. Because of this, the park eventually outgrew itself and now faces problems in the areas of orientation, navigation, and future expansion. With all of these issues, guests are forced to think about the design of the environment rather than just moving from place to place and enjoying the zoo. A simple change in perspective will help. By moving the entry point from the Northern edge of the zoo (shown on the bottom edge of the park on Zoo Atlanta maps) to a controlled path leading from the West directly into the center of the park towards a central plaza, orientation, navigation and expansion concerns are all addressed.

The proposed layout, much simpler than the current one, is based on a path that offers guests things to do while keeping them focused on moving forward into the zoo. Designers can use the proposed Interactive areas to direct traffic so that a day at the zoo effectively begins at the center of the park rather than at the edge of it. Solutions

OrientationAltering the entryway and refocusing so that it does a better job orienting newly arrived guests to Zoo Atlanta solves many problems. The idea of creating an entirely new entry point for the zoo might seem easier said than done, but Zoo Atlanta actually already has an entrance on its West side, used primarily for moving large groups in and out. Making this the primary entrance would not be too much of a stretch. Creating a single path that controls sight lines and guides foot traffic towards a central hub allows the zoo to unfold in a much more organized fashion as visitors can be gradually introduced to the experience. The walkway leading towards the center of the zoo becomes a preshow, gradually getting guests ready for the day. Without the need to make major decisions, guests can move forward gradually, becoming acclimated to their environment so they can delay decision making until they are both mentally ready and are in the best physical place to do so.

NavigationOnce a guest has moved into the center of the park, navigation becomes much easier. Using clear visual cues it becomes obvious what a guest can find in each of the three directions they can proceed. Those already familiar with Zoo Atlanta know that the spine currently splitting the park is elevated about 15 feet above the KIDZone area. If the central plaza includes a way to move people up to this level (more on that later), guests would have a clear view of the distinct areas of the park. The various areas are relatively well themed, so being able to see glimpses into all three from the same location would help create clear navigational checkpoints, aiding in future understanding of how the park works as a unit. ExpansionAs stated in the previous post, Zoo Atlanta is hemmed in on three sides by roads. With the entryway reoriented, the zoo would be free to use its one flexible border to grow as needed. You might notice that the proposed layout displaces a few things, particularly the KIDZone. The area would not be replaced, it would evolve. The path leading up to the central plaza would act as excellent touch points, a place for petting zoo animals, exotics and others suited for up close viewing. KIDZone in its current form has a few kiddie rides which are generally of low quality, and while these might need to go, they would be replaced by something far more useful, and spectacular

Case Study: Zoo Atlanta 3

Posted on September 13, 2012

Please read Case Study: Zoo Atlanta and Case Study: Zoo Atlanta 2 A long time ago I began a case study of Zoo Atlanta. The plan was to write a three part post. That was the plan. I wrote the first two, butwellthe fact isI kinda forgot all about the third. Oops. So here, at long last, is part three. Better late than never though, right? Note: this post is image heavy, but I decided to leave the file sizes a little bigger than usual in case youd like to click and see the renderings a bit larger.

Without going into too much detail (please see part 1 and part 2 for that), I feel Zoo Atlanta would benefit greatly from a new entryway that funnels guests into the center of the zoo.

This change to the layout would aid in guest orientation and navigation while allowing the zoo more flexibility to expand in the future. The zoo must change in order to move forward. One way to do that comfortably (change is always hard) is by honoring the past. Zoo Atlanta has a life-sized sculpture of its most famous past residenta gorilla named Willie Bthat it commissioned after his death in 2000. This gorillas story, going from sad living conditions to finally getting the beautiful enclosure he deserved, is the personification of Zoo Atlantas history. It is fitting that he remains in the zoo in some way, however the sculpture of this proud silverback gorilla, this symbol of Zoo Atlantas resurgence, currently sits on the ground near a bathroom. Zoo Atlanta gave the real Willie B. a more fitting habitat, it may be time to do the same with the statue.

In its current form, the statue is just the bronze gorilla, however an elevated, natural platform themed to the gorilla habitat would add prominence. There are many ways to use a statue like this. Perhaps it could find a home in a new entry plaza, or maybe in the central courtyard created by the new layout.

It could be a good idea to create similar sculptures to represent the two other big ticket animals in the zoothe pandas and the elephants.

All three could stand together in a grouping like bronze mascots acting as elder statesmen of the zoo. Another use for them could be to place the individual statues down the paths coming off the central hub leading to their respective areas. This would essentially create non-verbal signage.

Whats down that way? Ohthe pandas!

Before guests have the chance to follow these paths, they must get to them. In the proposed layout, the new central walkway that leads guests into the center of the park cuts directly through the up-close animal exhibits, such as the exotic birds and the petting zoo. These exhibits would not be lost, but rather reorganized along the new walkway into a more linear experience. This walkway could offer sights, sounds, smells, perhaps a chance to see what life is like through the eyes of your favorite animal or even the start of a mobile scavenger hunt

Guests of all ages could gradually become accustomed to their new surroundings as they leave their world behind and go deeper into a new one. It is important that all of this placemaking occurs before guests reach the center of the zoo. In the new layout, the center of Zoo Atlanta would become the decision point, the gateway to adventure. Guests must be in the right mindset to properly make choices about where they would like to go so they can experience the zoo to the fullest. What is it that draws people down this central walkway? The knowledge that there are more animals? Yes, but it helps to give people a pushor maybe a pull. One thing the zoo lacks is a prominent, physical draw to pull people into the park (or a weenie in Disney-speak). It needs something that guests can see from far away that makes them say, Ok, I gotta see whats going on over there.

This fanciful vista could be the new embodiment of what it means to experience Zoo Atlanta. Its a place to become fully immersed and truly go wild, particularly around what our friend in the lower left corner is looking at through his binoculars

Maybe its a little over the top, but I would love to see Zoo Atlanta have a treehouse. This new symbol for Zoo Atlanta says come see and explore. This says adventure. Yes, the old KIDZone is disrupted by the new walkway, but an addition like this would be the perfect place to play. With the flamingo plaza moved to its base, the treehouse could contain all the things every kid (and every kid who just happens to be old) would wantvines for climbing and swinging, rope bridges and secret passageways, even monkey-powered elevators

Okmaybe not monkey-powered elevators, but I hear elephants are pretty industrious.

A long time ago I created a logo set and a mock ad for the zoo to help get me in the right mindset.

The idea of going into the wild begs us to leave our ordered world behind and come be a part of something special.

No, Im not affiliated with Zoo Atlanta in any way, but I am someone who likes to let his mind wander. I would love to see a great place become even greater, and I think that the same courage and commitment that it took to get the zoo to where it is today could push it to where it could be tomorrow. Zoo Atlanta could become the destination for people traveling to the area. Kids could play, people would come together, and my wife and I would have a new place to throw on our backpacks, go explore and go wild.