Special Applications
Artistic Merit

Location: Woodland Park Zoo, Seattle

Owner/developer: Woodland Park Zoo

Project team: Synergy Construction, general contractor; Jolly Miller Landscape Construction Co., concrete contractor; The Portico Group, architect; Jerry Howe, structural engineer; Stoneway Concrete, ready-mix supplier

Woodland Park Zoo’s Jaguar Exhibit is built around a giant fallen Kapok tree created from shotcrete. Visitors first encounter the tree’s stump at the exhibit’s entrance.

The stump stands 28 feet tall and its roots spread more than 30 feet through the entry landscape. It was designed with a simulated burned interior, giving the appearance it was struck by lightning. A fog machine creates a mist that flows through the center of the stump.

As visitors exit the hollow, they walk through a naturalistic archway formed of simulated wood and bark.

Visitors then encounter the fallen section of the Kapok tree, where the jaguar resides. This 110-foot section of the tree was made with steel and rebar framing covered with artistic shotcrete.

A limestone “cliff” made of hand-sculpted and painted concrete forms the southern boundary of the jaguar enclosure. A waterfall on the cliff serves as both an aesthetic element and a source of sensory stimulation for the jaguar.

The exhibit also includes a cave, live fish pool, and a holding building with three indoor animal dens. Finishing touches include over 1,500 trees, shrubs and groundcovers.

Finalists in the category included the Dexter Lake Union stair walk project in Seattle and the University Place Skate Park.