New Bristol Zoo

With the relocation of the Bristol Zoo from its city location to its sister-site, the Wild Place Project just outside Bristol, a competition was held to develop ideas to transform the site into a world class zoo.

In collaboration with Marks Barfield Architects, URBAN presented a vision for the New Bristol Zoo to create an inspiring, compassionate, and sustainable model of living for the 21st century: A Cultivated Wilderness. The zoo will be a place where nature is understood to be a fluid continuum, where all of life is recognised as important, interconnected, and interdependent, and where humans act as stewards to care for all living things.

“Our task must be to free ourselves by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty.” – Albert Einstein

The New Bristol Zoo will demonstrate how we can save wildlife together and restore our planet, not only through its education, research programmes, and wildlife experiences, but also through the zoo’s design, delivery, and management. It will act as a microcosm of how we must live on the planet – keeping our footprint small and consolidated, while maximising room for wildlife, habitats and connected ecosystems, and caring for wildlife with humility, passion, and commitment – and it will start by protecting and restoring this New Bristol Zoo site.