Architecture Directory

Zoo Zoo Animals Exhibition Center by Hyunjoon Yoo Architects

Hyunjoon Yoo Architects have recently completed the unique Animals Exhibition building for their clients i.e Zoo Zoo in 290 Gwansang-dong, Dukyang-gu, Goyang-si, Geonggi-do, Korea. Zoo Zoo is the Animals theater center which is filled with too much content of animals exhibition hall, there are Crocodile Theater, Lion Theater, Sea Lion Theater, etc. The architects are requested by the clients to creates an enough space to accommodate all kinds of programs on the zoo within a relatively small size site. Some challenges are arise such as maximizing the use of small site, avoiding flood, and avoiding rainfall, and the architects was respond the challenges with the “piloti” concept. However piloti can cause too high building blocking the beautiful sky and scenery, so the architects had to design low height building with piloti space by utilizing underneath of sloped seats of theater.

There are two buildings in Zoo Zoo, one is a “lion theater” and the other is a “crocodile theater.” While keeping the design concept of utilizing underneath of the seats, the building shape is defined by the shape of the site. The lion theater mass is molded by the parallelogram shape site and 20 degree seats slope of the client’s requestion. Crocodile theater mass is molded by the distorted round shape island site and 37 degree slope seats. This condition produced three dimensional curve line edge at the elevation. This arbitrary lookalike masses are actually casted logically by the requested seat slope and site shape. Current Zoo Zoo architectural environment is chaotic because of complex program, too many client’s stone sculptures collection and many kinds of trees. Therefore newly constructed building has to be simple to give a visual rest, and to work as a landmark giving visitors sense of relative location within the zoo. As a solution for these needs, the architects designed the building minimal white mass of asymmetry shape.