South Pond Pavilion, Nature Boardwalk at the Lincoln Park Zoo

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The Lincoln Park Zoo boardwalk project successfully transforms a picturesque urban pond from the 19th century into an ecological habitat buzzing with life. In addition to the design’s improvements to water quality, hydrology, landscape, accessibility, and shelter, the site is also functions as an outdoor classroom demonstrating the co-existence of natural and urban surroundings. [paragraph break] The boardwalk winding around the pond passes through various educational zones explaining the various animals, plants, and habitats found in each. The pavilion, designed by Studio Gang, is integrated into the boardwalk sequence providing shelter for open-air classrooms on the site. Inspired by the tortoise shell, its laminated structure consists of prefabricated, bent-wood members and a series of interconnected fiberglass pods that give global curvature to the surface.

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