Rhino pagoda at Berlin Zoo -
A statement in favour of species conservation
A near-natural swamp landscape has been created at Zoo Berlin on an area of around 14,000 square metres, which is modelled on the natural habitat of the rhinoceros in India. The more than 2,000 square metre house in the middle of the grounds is dominated by a 25 metre high tower that can be seen from afar and has become the zoo's new landmark.
The tower weighs 400 tonnes and consists of a plug-in system of 68 stacked elements on 18 levels. The red concrete colour of the tower resembles the Agra sandstone of the rhinoceroses' home in northern India. Specially developed ornaments, formally based on the lotus flower, are a recurring, uniform design element. In the new enclosure, which the rhinos share with tapirs and pustel pigs, the architecture, landscape design and didactics are harmonised. dan pearlman Erlebnisarchitektur GmbH was responsible for planning the building and outdoor facilities.
The signage for the facility was realised by meng. In the entrance hall of the pagoda, visitors are provided with information on species protection on 1,800 mm x 600 mm (H x W) didactic signs made of 4 mm thick aluminium. They are flanked by the ‘Flags of Diversity’. The flag banners are mounted on the wall at a distance using meng profiles. Inside the building, meng produced all the desk and wall signs for the individual habitats of the various animal species. meng also produced the didactic elements designed as circular cut-outs on 4 mm thick aluminium. Digitally printed, they also feature attached sculptures of a tapir's trunk and hoof, as well as the skin and horn of a rhinoceros. The 3D elements were realised by Artes-Theaterplastik in Berlin.
The ‘nashorn-pagode’ lettering at the entrance to the tower has a length of 3,200 mm and is backlit with warm white LED shadow lettering. The ‘RHINO-PAGODA’ lettering below has a length of 1 metre and is not illuminated. All the letters are painted gold, as are the end caps of the flagpoles, which create a special atmosphere around the system.