Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/178290
COURTESY GROUP2 ARCHITECTURE ENGINEERING LTD. Polar Extremes Arctic Shores Exhibit – Edmonton Valley Zoo by Stacey Carefoot hen the Edmonton Valley Zoo opened in 1959, the entire project cost $500,000. Admission was a dime for kids and a quarter per adult. With a 2005 master plan that was accepted by Edmonton City Council, the zoo has plans to transition from the original Storyland Valley Zoo into an innovative institution on the leading edge of conservation, community engagement and creative environmental education. The irst phase of The Polar Extremes project is the $16.7-million Arctic Shores exhibit. With its close proximity to the future entry and The Wander (a new public circulation, environmental education and play space), Arctic Shores marks the irst development in the master plan. Guests approach the animals' habitat along a winding trail that simulates the permafrost ground patterns of the Arctic. Interpretive signage informs them about life in this northernmost part of the world. Small-scale pingos and ice wedge polygons dot the landscape as the trail leads towards the Arctic ground squirrel enclosure on the left and adjacent to that the new home for the zoo's pinnipeds. The main animal care and night quarters building, known as the Winter Retreat, connects to an outdoor habitat where visitors can watch the animals. "We approached this part of the project with the attitude that the insertion of a building into the exhibit's richly crafted landscape must be a sensitive one, where the building does not overpower or distract from the Arctic-based theme of the exhibit," says Chris Woodroffe, project manager with Group2 Architecture Engineering Ltd. "The primary design concept was to create the building as an extension of the landscape." The design team conceived of a building with two sides built into the earth, and the surrounding landscape lowing over the building in the form of a green roof. "The roof shape is derived from a language of simple folds and cuts, extrapolating from the natural geological formations of the earth," says Woodroffe. The Winter Retreat is clad with reclaimed wood siding. Glulam beams and exposed wood decking provide an element of warmth. "This was important to us because so much of the interior of the building is cast-in-place concrete to facilitate animal care and cleanliness, and we wanted to make sure the interior wasn't too austere," says Woodroffe. The interior of the 4,305-square-foot Winter Retreat will be visible with a main pool close to the glass and an Encounter Rock where staff can bring animals out for short educational presentations. Towards the rear of the building, a quarantine W Polar Extremes Arctic Shores Exhibit – Edmonton Valley Zoo p.84-85Polar Extreme Edmonton.indd 85 pool, complete with its own iltration system and adjustable elevation panels, provides modern care for animals. "The project includes pools large enough to sustain a thriving population of up to 10 animals, viewing areas which will educate and engage visitors, and a saltwater iltration system that provides the best possible habitat for the animals while utilizing an innovative gravel bio- ilter to reclaim water that would otherwise be wasted," says Tannia Franke, project coordinator with The City of Edmonton. Arctic Shores' outdoor exhibit features a 74,259-square-foot pool that is 16 feet deep and is accessible to the animals year-round from the Winter Retreat, as well as space for the animals to lounge on the beach or on top of a simulated ice loe. Additionally, visitors will be able to see a family of Arctic foxes wandering the beach with the pinnipeds, underlining the rich biological diversity that can be found along these northern shores. "One of the components that added a complexity to this project was the design and construction of the outdoor pool," says Chris Woodroffe. The pool structure and surrounding simulated landscape features were created through the use of artist-molded and carved shotcrete. Acrylic viewing panels were inserted to provide viewing of the animals in their underwater home. The largest viewing panel in the outdoor exhibit is 40 feet long, nine feet high and four inches thick. It weighs four tons and had to be shipped from Japan and trucked from Seattle to Edmonton. Studio Hanson|Roberts, with more than 30 years of experience bringing visitors and animals together, has been a driving force behind the concept. Led by partner Becca Hanson, the exhibit design team created an environment that marries education, fun and engagement. "We wanted the landscape to become a fascinating setting for discovery, a focal point for the story of this place and these animals," says Hanson. A special part of that story that most guests won't see is the transformation of the existing zoo landscape from grasses and weeds to an Arctic bliss. "In a lot of our work, there is fairly standard research," says David Brown, principal landscape architect with EIDOS Consultants Incorporated. "This project was interesting because we were establishing something unique. Through extensive research we were able to achieve an interpretive landscape." Aside from the animal enclosures, the key exterior features include a pingo, a whale-bone play structure and a vertebrae seating area. "Pingos are a naturally occurring phenomenon: basically a small-scale ice mountain that slowly pushes its way out of the earth due to hydrostatic pressure," explains Brown. "We tried to establish a truly Arctic experience." The whale-bone play structure and seating area will provide enjoyment for children while giving parents a break. This addition was manufactured by Calgary-based F&D Scene Changes. F&D also created the sculptures of the Northern fur seals and Arctic ground squirrels. "Helping the Edmonton Valley Zoo with its long-term dream has been really exciting to be a part of," says Dana Schnirer, head scenic artist at F&D. ■ LOCATION 13315 Buena Vista Road Edmonton, Alberta OWNER/DEVELOPER City of Edmonton ARCHITECT Group2 Architecture Engineering Ltd. CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT PCL Construction Management Ltd. MECHANICAL/ELECTRICAL CONSULTANT Williams Engineering Canada Inc. CONCEPT DEVELOPER / ANIMAL EXHIBIT & VISITOR EXPERIENCE DESIGNER Studio Hanson|Roberts INTERPRETIVE CONSULTANT Aldrich Pears Associates LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEMS CONSULTANT T.A. Maranda Consultants Inc. LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT EIDOS Consultants Incorporated TOTAL AREA 175,000 square feet (four acres) CONSTRUCTION COST $16.7 million APRIL 2012 /85 3/26/12 3:04:26 PM