The Japanese Gardens originally setup at the bottom of the zoo have been relocated in the Western Springs Park. They are bigger and better and feature amenities the public can use: a stream with a stone bridge, a fresh water pond and a tea pavilion for a relaxed seating by the water. The architectural features, rock placements, choice of materials and plants are heavily influenced by the Japanese. Indeed the architect who designed the original garden was involved again in this project and travelled to supervise construction while well over 80 years of age. Japanese carpenters were brought it to build the entrance gates in a traditional manner
Following on from the re-development of Pridelands, the Zoo extended its Australia exhibit giving it an architectural theme evocating the Australian outback.
This was the last design of architect and acclaimed artist Andrew Logan, who unfortunately passed away before seeing the completion of the project.
The exhibit features a partially walk through aviary, a stream and pool for turtles with a clear acrylic front wall, a pit for giant monitor lizards and a display box for giant stick insects to name a few.
The public benefits from close encounters with the animals.
The African Savanah at Auckland Zoo has been rebuilt and features a walk through aviary, a waterfall, stream and watering hole, a fully glazed pavilion for turtles, enclosures for the meerkats and a boardwalk and viewing platform for close encounter with the giraffes. The new exhibit brings the public in much closer contact with the animals and the animals themselves benefit from a much more natural environment.
The aviary steel mesh is suspended off a network of catenary cables attached to a series of guyed and cantilevered posts.
The turtle pavilion features minimal structural elements and connections, the watering hole is a concrete shell suspended on piles due to the poor quality of the ground.