As conservation and education facilities, contemporary zoos strive to provide an immersive experience, offering visitors the chance to observe and learn about animal and plant species – in their own habitat.

This was the starting point for the upgrade and extension work undertaken by the zoo in Łódź, Poland’s third largest city. But with average sub-zero temperatures in winter, designing a large, tropical sanctuary catering for the needs of Southeast Asian flora and fauna was always going to pose a challenge. 

The Orientarium is a new 35,800 square-metre multi-purpose habitat encompassing three pavilions and different outdoor enclosures by Arup with architects Szlachcic Architekci and contractor Mosty Łódź. We were involved from inception to delivery providing several engineering services including structural, mechanical, electrical and public health design. Our engineers provided concept and detailed design, building permits as well ‘author’s supervision’ under Polish code. We delivered the entire project in BIM (Building Information Modeling) to facilitate collaboration and productivity to develop highly accurate models for this demanding project.  

The biggest challenge was delivering a fit-for-purpose home for 30 different species with exacting temperature and humidity requirements, all while optimising costs. Our engineers designed systems specific to zoos and to various enclosures: for example, keeping humidity levels at around 70% throughout the property, and for the fish tanks' Life Support Systems (LSS) – since aquariums must meet extremely specific conditions for the different species to thrive.  

Unique structural design solutions for delicate ecosystems

The Orientarium’s elephant pavilion features some unique design solutions including a see-through paddling pool with an artificial waterfall, which allows visitors to witness how these giant creatures swim. There is also a stunning, column-free 40-metre diameter indoor enclosure topped with a timber structure inspired by the design of the plumeria flower. The enclosure is covered by a lightweight membrane weighing just 1% of the glass equivalent, which allows sunlight to penetrate while trapping solar energy for heating, to keep temperatures and lighting levels stable.  

Elephant enclosure

The elephant pavilion features some unique design solutions including a see-through paddling pool with an artificial waterfall, which will allow visitors to witness how these giant creatures swim.

Designing for strong elephants, temperamental bears or clever orangutans is not something that most systems engineers contend with during building design. All installations were specially encased in plastic or stainless steel to avoid ambient corrosion, while ensuring that all the exposed parts such as light switches were protected and safe from manipulation.  

Creature comforts are important. Engineers ensured that the noise and vibrations generated by HVAC installations are not harmful or irritating to animals. To protect the tropical plants and greenery from cool air, ventilators needed to provide thermal and scent comfort for visitors were placed strategically.  

Underwater tunnel

The underwater tunnel allows you to closely observe more than 2000 different varieties of fish.