Grant Associates Review

 Grant Associates: Bristol Zoo Project - Masterplan and Central African Forest Exhibit.

This week I have chosen to review a project by Grant Associates. I have chosen this as I was recently researching 'The Bristol Zoo Project', as this is fairly local to me and it gained a lot of media traction a few years ago, when the zoo was relocating. I noticed that Grant Associates was involved in the design of an area of the project and thought I'd use this as an opportunity to carry out a blog review.

Grant Associates, who I am familiar with due to their large presence in the field of landscape architecture, took on a complex challenge when taking on this project, which make it a very interesting case study. The project was to create a semi-wild enclosure, that resonated with the qualities of a Central African Forest, in which to enclose Western lowland gorillas and other animals. The site already contained category A and B native ancient forest and so was to be preserved within the site. This pre-requisite called for a design that carefully facilitated the fusion of Central African forest and UK Ancient woodland - an unlikely pairing. Grant Associates took the view that the design should not seek to accurately mimic an African forest, as the validity of this would be flawed by the presence of UK native trees. Instead, they aimed to capture a sense of the gorilla's natural habitat through the composition of forest layers and canopies, using the existing vegetation and supplementing with African plants that met the dietary needs of the animals and added to the enclosure's character.

I think that this was an intelligent move from Grant Associates, as aiming to accurately recreate an entire ecosystem, in the wrong context and climate, with the wrong vegetation, would inevitably end in failure. Instead, the result appears to be a well-balanced environment that accommodates the needs of the animals, nature and also the visitor experience. 

Project found at: https://grant-associates.uk.com/projects/bristol-zoo-project-masterplan-and-central-african-forest-exhibit