Giraffe House

Practice : GPA and Monk Mackenzie
Location : Auckland Zoo
Status : Completed 2013

Growing giraffe numbers led Auckland Zoo to commission a new giraffe-breeding shelter. Two dens and a keeper area were required and opportunities were seen in the disparity in scale between ruminant and human occupants to accommodate a number of functional and operational overlaps. The resulting shelter has an understated exterior with an overall mass that is playfully broken down through intersecting roof forms that articulate the junction between the two dens and accentuate the collision of human and giraffe scales. Due to the changing functional and physiological needs of the giraffes, movable doors and walls were incorporated to allow the space to be flexibly arranged. Sliding doors open to different yards that can be configured as separate roaming areas. Working to a tight budget, the project showed that a bespoke, fit-for-purpose shelter could be produced using a simple palette of locally sourced materials and vernacular construction methodologies.