OTL’s Role:
Polk Penguin Conservation Center
LOCATION
Detroit, Michigan
OWNER
Detroit Zoo
DESIGN ARCHITECTS
Jones & Jones and Albert Kahn Associates
PROJECT OVERVIEW
- Build
- Artificial Rockwork
- Show Theming
- Artificial Ice Wall
At 33,000 square feet, the Polk Penguin Conservation Center at the Detroit Zoo is the world’s largest penguin facility, housing more than 80 penguins. Designed by Jones & Jones and Albert Kahn Associates, the award-winning exhibit is shaped like a massive iceberg angled for a natural feel. OTL built the habitat’s artificial rockwork, ice and snow theming to recreate an authentic Antarctic setting.
PROJECT
CHALLENGE
The design called for a habitat that transitioned believably from above water to underwater and from ice to snow to exposed rock, evoking Shackleton’s Antarctic expeditions. OTL needed to build this environment close to the penguins’ natural habitat while supporting a 326,000-gallon, 25-foot-deep aquatic area. Achieving that realism required expertise beyond standard exhibit construction.
OTL’S
SOLUTION
OTL worked with polar ecologist Dr. Bill Fraser of the Polar Oceans Research Group to ensure the habitat’s accuracy. OTL’s scope included artificial rockwork, ice and glaciers throughout the habitat, plus dry-side theming for the galleries. Artificial mussels, barnacles and kelp added further to the exhibit’s realism.
The Polk Penguin Conservation Center opened in April 2016 and quickly drove the Detroit Zoo to record-breaking attendance. The exhibit later won the Association of Zoos & Aquariums’ 2017 Exhibit Award for excellence in exhibit design.
