The NSW government has approved the lease for a new zoo in western Sydney. The 16.5-hectare zoo, the first in 100 years since Taronga Zoo opened, is masterplanned by Aspect Studios with buildings by Misho+Associates and will be located at the 216-hectare “super park” at Bungarribee, masterplanned by JMD Design.
“The zoo is designed with the desire to connect it with the broader landscape of the surrounding park,” said Kate Luckraft, studio director of Aspect Studios. The zoo will have the appearance of being free of fences, with enclosure devises concealed in the landscape elements. It will allow people to be in close proximity with the animals while at the same time employing best practices in animal welfare.
African grasslands at the proposed Sydney Zoo masterplanned by Aspect Studios.
Image: Courtesy Aspect Studios
“The zoo is designed to be a very large park, so the landscape design is very important,” Luckraft said. The new privately operated zoo will feature over 30 exhibits showing popular zoo attractions, from various regions around the globe as well as native Australian wildlife. It will also feature elevated boardwalks over African grasslands home to lions, cheetahs, zebras, elephants, giraffes and rhinos; an underwater glass view facility for hippos, crocodiles and aquatic life; and a native fish aquarium with freshwater bull sharks.
Aspect Studios’ strategy is to relate the zoo to the broader park context which has a strong Australian character, by locating the tropical zoo exhibits in the centre, graduating out into exhibits with drier climatic regions towards the edges.
South East Asian Tropical enclosure at the proposed Sydney Zoo masterplanned by Aspect Studios.
Image: Courtesy Aspect Studios
The $36-million zoo is a partnership between the Western Sydney Parklands Trust, Blacktown Council and the newly founded Sydney Zoo. Once open, it is anticipated to attract around 745,000 people per year.
Sydney Zoo is preparing to submit a development application for the site. If approved, the new zoo is expected to open in late-2017.
