PATAGONIA: VASTNESS IN MINIATURE
Located at the southern-most tip of South America, Patagonia is known for its vast plains (pampas), glaciers and Andean forests. So Atelier had to find a way to recreate this feeling of immensity in the limited space of the zoo. First of all by getting rid of boundaries, in particular the vertical elements. The sight-line extends the enclosures to Daumesnil Lake. The ground is a major leverage for placing visitors in a specific atmosphere with wine-colored volcanic ash suggesting red sedum (rock plants) and black gravel and sand with their varying granularity to be suitable for the sensitivity of each animal’s hooves and their way of life. Rather like the natural landscapes of rocky coasts, the pond rocks are piled in black layers that are dark at the base and light at the top as if worn smooth by the wind. The penguin and sea-lion pools offer several permutations to favor the animals’ well-being and spark visitor interest, e.g. arches and terraces, an underwater bay-window on a huge pond enabling the animals to swim at full speed, nests incorporated into the rock, etc. All unified by dark color tones, the reaches of this biozone unfold like a long horizontal panorama that changes with each curve.