Burke, John.

How do designers simulate the experience of wild places? This thesis examines the process of zoo design to arrive at a framework for creating a successful experience of a wild place -- not a "recipe" for design, but a way of structuring a complex process. To determine the elements of the process, a case study of exhibits (including visits to six zoos) was used along with a review of texts on zoo design and landscape design in general.

Six different elements were found to be important: crowd management, sequential experience, spatial formation, spatial character, landscape details, and environmental context. Of the six categories, crowd management is the most unique to zoo design because the designer must create a solitary experience in a place intended to attract hundreds or thousands of visitors. Sequential experience looks at how the designer intends for the experience to unfold for visitors. It is divided into three parts: unity, continuity, and transitions. Space formation covers how space affects experience. The primary concern is to make spaces appear larger. Spatial character examines the surfaces which form the space, addressing color, texture, pattern, light, and shadow. Landscape details include the objects designers put into space, including plants, rockwork, water, terrain, and animals. Environmental context covers the influence of the natural sciences and the human influences that define a place. Recreating the experience of a landscape applies to more than the design of zoo exhibits, it also can apply to the restoration of a prairie or wetland or forest. This process often involves making a believable compromise, something that requires intelligent trade-offs.

This study has tried to develop a framework for understanding how to make such trade-offs in zoo design. While the process described in this study is too general to be considered an effective model for design, it outlines a way to address the problems involved. With further study, this framework may assist designers in zoo design and other forms of landscape illusion.