3rd Place, Historic
Sitting at the heart of Lincoln Park Zoo is the 1912 historic lion house. Designed by Dwight Perkins, it has long been a revered building with its Prairie-style decorative brickwork, including arched entry and lion reliefs, as well as its Great Hall with vaulted Guastavino tile ceiling. The zoo experience has, however, changed in the last 100-plus years. The animals are no longer displayed on stainless-steel shelves in brick cages separated by two lines of barriers, and the classical entries with raised stairs are no longer acceptable for accommodating all guests.
Through a complete renovation, restoration and expansion, the new 54,000-square-foot state-of-the-art facility balances the preservation of the defining elements with the need to adapt and change. With this, the animal habitat nearly doubled in size; an improved, more immersive visitor experience was realized; and revisions to the classical entry provided equal access to the building for all.
The design team worked closely with the Commission on Chicago Landmarks to preserve, restore and enhance the architecturally significant features of the original Arts and Crafts structure, including the masonry, clay tile roof and copper gutter, along with historic wood and cast-iron windows. The team also restored the original interior and exterior color scheme. In the process, non-historic interior additions, such as the gift shop installed within the volume of the Great Hall, were removed to reopen the hall’s full volume, and views and natural light were returned to the north wall, which had been enclosed half a century prior.
The Pepper Family Wildlife Center is one of a limited number of remaining U.S. historic zoo buildings and one of a very few to retain its original function and many of its original features. The building bears the imprint of early 20th century zookeeping in contrast with more than 100 years of innovation and improvements in the quality of care of the zoo’s animals.
The habitat focuses on providing choices for the animals and enhanced wellbeing. The facility is home to a pride of four African lions, as well as Canada lynx, red pandas and snow leopards. The new lion habitat spans the full northern side of the building with the design informed by data collected by the zoo over the last several years on lion behavior and space use to understand their preferences. Large 1 1/2-inch-thick glass panels provide expansive views of the outdoor lion space. The savanna-style habitat includes detailed rockwork to introduce climbing features for the lions while providing embedded heating and cooling elements. Tree structures are made from trees certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, and food ziplines, simulating prey, provide the lions an enrichment opportunity.
Guests now have immersive, “nose-to-nose” viewing opportunities from inside and outside the building. The unique design also facilitates viewing from the Lion Loop, a sunken elliptical path leading visitors down from the Great Hall into the center of the habitat. It provides visitors the opportunity to view lions from all around—even through skylights overhead. Not only does this space provide a unique perspective of what it’s like to be with the lion pride, a meeting room included just off the walkway allows for a singular meeting experience with glass and views on two sides.
“This project demonstrates an incredible transformation of the building and its relationship to zoo science over time. Integrating habitat around and into the historic structure is quite clever and proposes the question of whether the building belongs to visitors or lions.”
Ross Welch, AIA, NOMA, LEED
Green Associate, associate, Trivers, Metamorphosis Awards Judge
Retrofit Team
METAMORPHOSIS AWARD WINNER and ARCHITECT: Goettsch Partners
EXHIBIT ARCHITECT: PJA Architects + Landscape Architects
MEP ENGINEER: Primera Engineers
STRUCTURAL ENGINEER: WSP
FAÇADE/ROOF CONSULTANT: Revive Architecture
GENERAL CONTRACTOR: Pepper Construction
LIGHTING CONSULTANT: CharterSills
ACOUSTICAL CONSULTANT: Kirkegaard Associates
Materials
GLASS SUPPLIER: Agnora Architectural Glass North America
SKYLIGHTS: Kalwall
PAINT: Sherwin-Williams
CARPET: Interface
DOOR HARDWARE: ASSA ABLOY
LIGHTING CONTROLS: Leviton
SUSPENDED CEILINGS: Armstrong Ceiling & Wall Solutions
ROLLER SHADES: Mecho
BRICK: Endicott and Ragland Clay Products
ACOUSTICAL METAL PANEL SYSTEM: USG
VINYL BASE: Tarkett
TOILET PARTITIONS: ASI Global Partitions
ALUMINUM ENTRANCES: Tubelite
