Ape Enclosure Zoo Basel

Based on the natural habitats of apes, the enclosure aims to facilitate an attractive and impressive encounter with these close relations of man. The realised concept is founded on the decision to turn the outdoor grounds of the enclosure into space-saving net-covered areas. Since the normal living environment of most primates is often a densely structured forest, the aim was to give visitors an impression of such a “jungle-like” habitat. This is achieved by means of large-leaved trees, bushes and shrubs calling to mind tropical vegetation, as well as climbers and twiners, which coat parts of the outer net envelope with leaves all the way up to the top. Together with trunk-like supports – so-called “tridigits”– this green coat forms a kind of tree space. The artificial component of the structure is hardly discernible. Thanks to its transparency and the pervasive foliage, the structure blends with the park. Gaps and framed window openings in the vegetation-covered envelope simulate forest clearings. These permit visitors glimpses of the net-covered areas from various perspectives.