Can Zoo Design Apply to People?

Geoff Manaugh of BLDGBLOG looks at plans for a zoo in France made up of simulated environments, and wonders why we don't build simulated environments for humans.

1 minute read

June 30, 2009, 2:00 PM PDT

By Tim Halbur


Manaugh: "why do we only build zoos like this? Why not suburbs or college campuses? You mold landforms out of reinforced concrete, and you install artificial waterfalls and fake rivers, and you grow rare orchids under the cover of geodesic domes. And then your grandkids can grow up in a savannah-themed suburb outside Orlando. The next town over, kids run around through giant fern trees, chasing parrots.
Perhaps themed biozones are the future of suburban design?"

Tuesday, June 30, 2009 in BLDBLOG

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I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

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