Pritzker Family Children's Zoo at Lincoln Park Zoo

Citation of Merit

  • architectureisfun, Inc.; Luckey & Company
  • Lincoln Park Zoo
  • Architect of record: EHDD Architecture
  • Consultants Red Box Studio (Specialty Fabrication); Alejandro Romero; Klein & Hoffman Structural Engineers
  • Division Institutional
  • Location Chicago, IL
  • General contractor Pepper Construction

Photos

(Click each for a larger version)

Pritzker Family Children
Photo: Doug Snower
Pritzker Family Children
Photo: Doug Snower
Pritzker Family Children
Photo: Doug Snower

Overview

Jurors enjoyed what they called a "sophisticated" approach to re-creating a natural setting indoors. Children can play inside the trunk of a shingled tree, watch zookeepers' demonstrations from their seats on stylized tree stumps, and interact with turtles, birds and other animals. It's a kid-centered view of the animal world, yet it's not a cartoon-derived aesthetic. Instead the space pays homage to the overlapping views and wandering curves often found in the real thing: nature.