An Immersive Habitat and Visitor Experience
Seal and Sea Lion Exhibit
Seal and Sea Lion Exhibit
We renewed and expanded this popular exhibit to create a natural, sustainable habitat as well as an immersive visitor experience. The landscape evokes the animals’ coastal Pacific habitat. A winding path, is fully accessible for persons with disabilities and navigates the site’s dramatic grade changes to provide a variety of animal viewing opportunities.
In addition to the exhibit itself, we led the expansion and renovation of the building and systems that sustain the National Zoo’s seal and sea lion populations. The revitalized facility includes cutting-edge life support systems within multiple exhibit and holding pools that provide increased animal enrichment.
We tried to create a little piece of the West Coast. You might think you’re in Oregon.
Close Encounters
We embedded windows into the sea lion pool structure to allow visitors to feel immersed with the animals in split-level and underwater viewing areas. The rock work in these areas encourages animal activity, enhancing the connection between visitors, the animals, and the environment.
Accessible to Everyone
We reworked the adjacent American Trail to create a universally accessible path along the steep and sloping site. We added over 300 linear feet to the trail to lower the grade to no more than 5%, creating an accessible path over an 80-foot elevation change.
State-of-the-Art Habitats
Two pools—300,000 gallons and 125,000 gallons—provide salt or fresh water and are supported by wave machines that provide animal enrichment. A new filtration system improves clarity while reducing water consumption by 75%, and adjustable shades protect the animals’ eyesight.
Updating Vital Infrastructure
We carefully expanded the 42-year-old life support systems building to enable a comprehensive systems retrofit while minimizing the facility’s apparent size. The building’s stepped form mimics the surrounding hillside, and its new cladding contributes to the exhibit’s Pacific Northwest vocabulary.
