Tianyang Wang

Zootopia: Re-designing Shoushan Zoo in Kaohsiung, Taiwan

The design thesis exposes the contemporary relationship between people and nature, and arouses reflection on the future.

Modern urban zoos are designed from the perspective of people and rarely consider the experience of animals. Most people understand nature by visiting the zoo – essentially removed from and out of touch with nature. Zoo built lacks deeper educational significance and interaction. Even today, nothing has really changed and we still keep animals in enclosures even if some better-designed ones are a little bigger and mimics the animal’s habitat.

In this thesis, for animals, aims at using existing environmental resources and climate to build micro-eco climate through changing topography and flora, and to build specific sequence through behavioral preferences of fauna.

For human beings, on the basis of protecting the animal sense of domain, visitors are guided from the traditional "going to the zoo to see the animals" to "visiting the animals' home", which increases the interaction and educational significance.