Equal parts design history, thematic taxonomy, site survey, and practitioner insight, this book places the contemporary zoo in the context of Disney’s astounding influence on today’s built environment and those who create it.The 1998 opening of Disney’s Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World introduced theme park design principles to wildlife display. In this book, Benjamin H. George and Dave Gottwald draw on extensive interviews with over three dozen zoo designers and professionals, landscape architects, and former Disney Imagineers to explore how, in the decades since, zoo designers have adopted and adapted Disney’s approach to theming both guest and animal experiences.Beginning with Tierpark Hagenbeck, the book also serves as a site study covering Animal Kingdom and some fifty zoos around the world which evince its influence as George and Gottwald chart the evolution of naturalist habitat design through landscape immersion. Ultimately, this book critically examines how post-Disney zoo environments combine entertainment with education, complexifying authenticity with theatricality.
Benjamin H. George is Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture at Utah State University, USA. Dave Gottwald is an associate professor in the College of Art and Architecture at the University of Idaho, USA.
Foreword by John Shields AcknowledgementsList of Abbreviations1. The Chameleon and the Tiger2. Zoos in the Twentieth Century3. Disneyland and Thematic Design4. Imagineering a Zoo5. A Walk in the Park6. The Theming of the Contemporary Zoo7. Kingdoms of Artifice8. An Indelible LegacyAfterword by Jon CoeA Note on SourcesSelected Bibliography About the AuthorsIndex
Although engaging and highly accessible in tone, this book is essential reading for anyone serious about understanding the evolution of the modern zoo and Disney’s transformative contribution to it, enriched throughout with insights and reflections from many of the leading figures in zoo and attractions design.
