Working closely with Taylor Cullity Lethlean landscape architects and Troppo Architects, David Lancashire Design developed the Interpretive Design for the new marine precinct Wild Sea at Melbourne Zoo – the largest development in the Zoo’s 147-year history.
The Wild Sea experience takes visitors on a journey from the familiar to the unfamiliar, through a range of different coastal habitats. A unique look at our local coastline, the Southern Ocean, and the amazing plants and animals that call this place home.
Visitors can watch the above and below water antics of the penguins and seals, and see Port Jackson sharks and fiddler rays in their tidal pool. Large floor-to-ceiling windows offer spectacular underwater viewing of the Fur Seals, bringing visitors face to face with these amazing animals.
DLD worked with lighting designers, animators and multimedia specialists using new technologies to create a contemporary immersive under-water experience – providing a very different marine perspective. An educational claymation telling stories of the creatures in rock pools was produced, as well as a 20 meter animation as a feature of ‘The Deep’, featuring a life-size Blue Whale.
Wild Sea shows us how intimately we are connected with our coast and its wildlife and how to help protect them. The interpretation of this important message is woven throughout the journey - seamlessly incorporated into built form and through sculptural elements, giving visitors a sense of drama and magic, as well as providing opportunities for exploration and discovery.
Photos © Ben Wrigley
