Singapore Zoo

Brief information

Since its opening in 1973, Singapore Zoo has built its animal displays not around cages, but around an attempt to hide the boundary between people and enclosures. Its grounds cover 28 hectares beside a forest reservoir in the central water catchment, so the idea of a “natural environment” here is connected not only with decoration, but also with the location of the place itself.

The zoo’s main idea is best understood through the structure of its exhibits. Animals are shown in open enclosures, while visitors are separated by moats, glass, and landscaping. Therefore, the important fact about its 315 species, some of which are threatened with extinction, does not stand apart from the space: the zoo tries to present rare animals in such a way that the barriers are less noticeable, but still function.

What to notice first

It is worth comparing three types of boundaries. Open enclosures are separated by moats; vegetation hides these moats, or they lie below the line of sight. Because of this, the animal may seem closer to the visitor than in an ordinary cage, although the separation remains. For animals that are dangerous and good climbers, a different technique is used: glass-fronted enclosures with natural landscaping. Here the glass does not disappear, but it preserves the overall principle of showing an environment rather than bars.

A separate detail is the landscaped areas. By 1990, the animals had been placed in 65 specially arranged areas, and this explains why the zoo should be viewed not as a row of separate pens, but as a set of scenes where terrain, plants, water, and glass work together. The nearby forest reservoir strengthens this technique: the natural backdrop becomes part of the same language in which the enclosures are designed.