How do you design a habitat for animals that meets the highest zoological standards while offering visitors exciting and emotional encounters with wildlife? Yukon Bay is a highly complex, immersive zoo experience.
Yukon Bay at Hannover Zoo is an immersive themed world combining storytelling, animal encounters, and innovative zoo architecture.
The “Zoo of the Future” Master Plan
In 1995, the bold restructuring of Hannover Zoo began with the EXPO project master plan “Zoo of the Future.” Over the course of 15 years, an adventure zoo took shape in the capital of Lower Saxony. The zoo takes its responsibilities as a place for species conservation, education and research seriously, but also sees itself as a leisure destination promising relaxation and entertainment.
Architectural storytelling across themed worlds
Visitors to Hannover Adventure Zoo are guided through six themed worlds with distinct architecture and landscape design, all realized in a coherent style. Yukon Bay is the most recent immersive environment to be developed in this context. The aim was to create a naturalistic habitat for the zoo’s northern species that meets the highest zoological standards while offering emotionally engaging encounters for guests. Storybuilding played a central role in the planning process. As general planner, dan pearlman was responsible not only for the architecture, landscape, communication, food and beverage services, and shop design—but also for all additional planning services.
An immersive destination with technical complexity
With Yukon Bay, we created a highly complex immersive destination. The project involved moving 15,000 cubic meters of soil, using 1,200 tons of steel, pouring 13,000 cubic meters of concrete, installing 39 custom glass panes for above- and underwater viewing, placing 200 tons of small and 400 large natural stones, and planting 200 trees and 18,000 shrubs. More than 60 construction companies worked behind the scenes, laying 10 km of communication and 30 km of power cables.
Diving into Canada’s wilderness
At the end of the gold mine trail, wolves await; right next to them, caribou graze. Not far from the imposing bison herd, prairie dogs dig their tunnels. Visitors look out over the rugged Canadian wilderness with its rocky terrain, forests, gorges, and caves.
Yukon Bay – a place with a story
Soon the once gold-rush town of Yukon Bay comes into view. In the heart of town, the marketplace buzzes with life. In the former fish hall, Mike—the child of German immigrants—serves Fish & Chips and juicy burgers to hungry travelers. At “Mama Mia,” pasta bubbles in the pots, and Luigi Amarone offers the finest Italian ice cream for dessert. In the harbor, the old cargo ship Yukon Queen lies at anchor. On one side of the harbor, sea lions play in front of a grandstand; on the other, polar bears roam. Penguins live on the ship’s deck. Yukon Bay accompanied us for nine years, from initial sketches to its opening in 2010. As general planner, we were responsible for architecture and landscape, communication, gastronomy and retail—as well as all additional planning services.
Smart use of limited space
From the start, one of the biggest challenges was the relatively small footprint of the site. In order to meet the demands of the themed environment and the animals, space had to be used efficiently and creatively. Every element serves multiple functions. The caribou enclosure sits above the gold mine that leads visitors into Yukon Bay. The rear of the grandstand—with its colorful row-house façade and ice cream and popcorn kiosks—sets the stage for the gold-mining town. Beneath the seating rows is the production facility for Luigi Amarone’s ice cream. The steam locomotive at the station and the ore cart railway are more than decorative: the former acts as a gateway, the latter as a physical barrier separating guests from the polar bear enclosure.
Architecture with narrative depth
Fourteen buildings were constructed using a variety of methods—from timber and masonry to reinforced concrete and steel. To ensure that Yukon Bay City evokes the charm of the gold rush era, all facades and visible elements were artificially aged. The facade of the Palace Grand Theatre is even an exact replica of its namesake in Dawson City. In the market hall, which now seats 480 guests, traces of the former fish auctions can still be found. Once a hub for fish trade, today only the scent of saltwater remains.
Barrier-free views into the animal world
From the harbor, guests enjoy views over the polar bear habitat—whose barriers are barely noticeable. The harbor balustrade also serves as a detailed protective construction, designed with considerations for size, strength, and agility of both humans and animals, maximum wave height, and the risk of falling objects. Elsewhere, barriers between guests and animals seem to disappear: large panorama windows offer close-up views of the wolf pack, and inside the hull of the Yukon Queen, underwater windows offer fascinating views into the sea lion, penguin, and polar bear pools.
FACTS AT A GLANCE:
Client: Hanover Adventure Zoo
Project: Yukon Bay
Services: Architecture and landscape architecture (HOAI 1-9) and general planning (Structural Engineering, M&A, health & safety, building physics, communication, F + B, retail)
Planning and construction period: 2001 – 2010
Overall planning area: 26,500 m2
Building foot print: 4,688 m2
Gross floor area: 7,072 m2
Construction costs: 36.2 million EUR
Pictures: Frank Roesner
