Reid Park Zoo

How do you keep elephants happy in the middle of the Tucson desert?

Create a habitat that mimics the elephants' native Africa while also withstanding Tucson's climate.

Olsson's Landscape Architecture Urban Planning team is currently providing landscape design services for the African Expansion and Elephant Exhibit at Reid Park Zoo located in Tucson's oldest central park. This project encompasses expanding a seven-acre zoo and constructing a new three-acre elephant exhibit. The project requires incorporating an African theme while maintaining a safe and accessible environment for the staff members, the zoo animals, and the general public.

The Olsson team is a subconsultant to PJA Architects, a zoo-design firm from Seattle, Washington. Current work completed on this project includes landscape programming, construction documents, irrigation plans, native plant preservation plan, project administration, and coordination.

Three areas of design were specifically requested:

• Finding available African Savanna plants that would thrive in Tucson
• Identifying local drought tolerant plants that would simulate African plants
• Armoring the irrigation heads so the elephants can't destroy them

These elements were successfully designed into the landscape and irrigation plans by the project team. This work included conducting a site analysis, taking an on-site inventory of native and non-native plants, preparing a preservation plan, preparing salvage and mitigation plans, and creating a landscape plan. The team coordinated with the Tucson Water Department and the City Parks and Recreation Department to develop a concept for using reclaimed water for drip and sprinkler irrigation. Using drought-tolerant vegetation is also important to this project.

After research and investigative analysis, the team was able to provide the landscape and irrigation concept plans to the City of Tucson. It is essential for the final design to incorporate the African theme and correctly portray the animals' environments. The vegetation's appearance is not only important, but plants were identified that could sustain nesting wildlife and could be used for protection or as a food source. The ability to shade animals and zoo visitors has also been a major emphasis, as temperatures can rise above 100 degrees during the summer months. Thus, the right balance of vegetation is essential to the success of this project.

The team plans to complete the project by finishing the permitting and providing services during the construction phase. The project is anticipated to be complete in the summer of 2010, when zoo visitors will be able to experience the newly designed African expansion and elephant exhibit.