Creating a new "cage-free" immersive zoo habitat for the long-tailed macaques

Abstract

As the times progress and people’s awareness of ecological protection has increased, the design of the zoo has gradually changed. The zoo used to be an animal cage. Animal managers displayed animals in small cages. At the same time, they would force the animals to perform to attract the attention of the audience. But the current zoo design is slowly transforming into an immersive exhibition. The transformation emphasizes "atmosphere creation, empathy, and immersion." At the same time, the immersive design turns the entire zoo park into a home for animals through space design, hidden barriers, and enrichment design. This kind of design helps create a "going to the animal's house" experience for visitors. This design project also established a "cage-free" immersive zoo habitat for the long-tailed macaques by learning, researching, and applying the principles of immersive zoo design. Through site research and environmental analysis, the designer selected an abandoned site adjacent to the Indianapolis Zoo. A "cage-free" immersive zoo was designed to achieve four goals - (1) Effectively use the original resources of the site to create an immersive zoo and integrate it with the Indianapolis Zoo, (2) Establish a "cage-free" immersive zoo habitat to improve the life of long-tailed macaques, (3)To ensure the safety of visitors and provide them with an immersive experience through immersive zoo design, and (4) Create a cage-free immersive zoo to draw closer the relationship between people and long-tailed macaques, and increase people's awareness of the protection of long-tailed macaques. Because the design of the immersive zoo needs to achieve natural effects, the designer used vegetation and landform design to simulate the primitive ecological environment for the long-tailed macaque. This new immersive "cage-free" design connects to the current Indianapolis Zoo over a busy existing street via an elevated tramway. This project will improve the life of long-tailed macaques by establishing a "cage-free" immersive zoo habitat. The designer used a combination of landform design, planting design, water feature design, barrier design, and viewshed design to establish a safer, more comfortable, and less stressful environment for the macaques. The project uses natural barrier (e.g.-dry moat) to protect the safety of visitors. The combination of natural obstacles and man-made obstacles design not only ensures the safety of visitors but also reduces the pressure on the macaques. Then, the purpose of zoo design (to protect and educate) is clarified through good storytelling and the establishment of educational display equipment. The project proposed to use these designs to subtly influence public awareness during the tour, increase visitors' interest in macaques and strengthen people's attention to nature. The designer investigated various design factors of the site (e.g.- site surroundings information, long-tailed macaque living characteristics and existing vegetation types) to design "cage-free" immersive zoo habitat for macaques. This project can serve as a model for other zoos wanting to establish a "cage-free" immersive zoo. It will be important, however, for those zoos to conduct thorough research and analysis of their site conditions and desired animal species so the redesign efforts align well with intended goals. At the same time, others can refer to the artificial barrier design (glass boardwalk/ fence) and natural barrier design (water body, vegetation community, dry moat, and boulder) of this project to design. When using artificial barriers, people need to consider how to soften the impact of artificial facilities and try to seamlessly integrate them into the natural environment (e.g.-use colors close to nature, add vine vegetation, and hide man-made facilities through space design, etc.). In the end, through the research and design of this project, the designer hopes that the “cage-free” immersive zoo can convey the idea of protecting nature and animals to more urban residents and guide the public to pay attention to nature.