Elephant house, Dresden Zoo
A predilection for the exceptional is a sign of mediocrity.
(Denis Diderot)
The structure of the elephant house is formed from two basic architectural elements: an elongated building following the line of the road, and an elliptical animal house.
The simple combination of these two forms results in a complex which both creates and defines space, and which draws its architectural presence – which is partly conditioned by its function – from its inclined elliptical structure, which creates a first impression of the zoo.
The glass façade, caesura and use of open space all accentuate its location near the main entrance.
The concept which underlies the use of the elliptical elephant house as an introduction to the zoo is of a building whose function is immediately apparent and which retains a clear separate identity within the whole.
The restaurant and animal enclosures are spatially integrated without any detriment to functionality.
With its many entrances, the animal house is integrated into the network of footpaths throughout the whole zoo. Its spatial design, dovetailed as it is with the restaurant area, is characterised by openness and transparency. Its terraces and crags, and the curved flight of steps leading up to the café, constitute a spacious natural ensemble of considerable diversity, where one is inclined to linger and enjoy the many viewpoints which it affords.