HAMILL FAMILY PLAY ZOO
BROOKFIELD, ILLINOIS 2001

Located in suburban Chicago's Brookfield Zoo, this project entailed the adaptive reuse of and addition to a classic 1928 structure. As a flagship project for a larger masterplanning effort for the zoo's entire children's area, the building provides year-round hands-on opportunities for children to play with, work with, and care for animals and plants.

In observance of an overall vision for the zoo, the project seeks to engage children with the natural world emotionally at an early age, so that the empathy developed early on will result in heightened environmental consciousness later in life. Consequently, a series of spaces dedicated to fostering intimate contact with plants and animals was developed.

The spaces include areas where children can feed and role play with ring-tailed lemurs and lories, including dressing up as their counterparts. A greenhouse area affords an area where children can plant seeds, observe butterflies, help make soil mixes, and create flower art. An animal hospital area allows children to care for pretend zoo creatures, bandaging injuries, and viewing radiographs.

All photos are courtesy of Steve Hall, Hedrich Blessing. Construction Manger was McClier.

Front Entry

The front entry to the existing 1928 structure now serves as a main entry to the entire children's zoo area. Flanking the central entry are two net enclosures, on to house lories and other birds and one to house ring-tailed lemurs.

"Backyard"

The eastern facade overlooks a garden area where guests can help plant gardens, build scarecrows, carve pumpkins, and participate in many other activities with plants. The eastern entry of the building is shown in the background, flanked on the left by the greenhouse.

Insect Walk

The south garden offers opportunities for children to interact with all sorts of invertebrates. Guests can experience the display of collected insects, free-ranging insects attracted by strategic plantings and assorted insects stocked for release at certain times. The greenhouse portion of the building shows prominently in the background.

Zoo Within a Zoo

The front of the original building is dedicated to indoor/outdoor exhibits of two animals specifically - ring-tailed lemurs and lories. These areas feature adjacent play spaces for the children and the animals, allowing the children to imitate the animals and pretend to be their keepers. Children can even dress up as their counterparts.

Greenhouse

The entry to the greenhouse is seen from the Great Hall. The greenhouse accommodates indoor garden play, with its dirt floor and working greenhouse structure.

Zoo at Home

The Zoo at Home area features domestic pets and allows guests to make small animal habitats, learn how to set up fish tanks, share stories about their own pets, observe dog grooming, and ask questions about their own pets.

Great Hall

Located adjacent to the Mountain under the skylight of the Great Hall, a stage area provides a space for impromptu presentations.

The project team included the following:

Programming and Master Planning: MIG, Inc
Exhibit Design: Douglas / Gallagher
Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing and FP Engineers: WMA Consulting Engineers
Structural Engineers: Thorton-Tomasetti Engineers
Acoustic Consultant: Shiner & Associations
Lighting Consultant: Schuler & Shook