Monkey sky trail a winner — LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE AOTEAROA

Visitors to Adelaide Zoo are greeted by the excited chatter of Colobus monkeys scampering through their very own sky trail. Thanks to an award winning project by the city’s WAX Design studio the previously sedentary primates are able to explore the tree tops of the zoo via a series of cylindrical mesh structures.

And while human visitors get a chance to see them in their natural arboreal habitat, the Colobus get a chance to watch the watchers while hanging out above them.

The robust design achieves exceptional structural performance with enough cross-sectional area to encourage natural behaviours in the primates. Image credit: Sweet Lime Photo

WAX’s 90 linear metres of sky trail won them an excellence award in the AILA South Australia Small Projects category. Jurors noted the exhibit provides “exemplary evidence of how Landscape Architecture can deliver projects that bring delight and joy within a modest budget”.

The robust trail has doubled the space the Colobus have to roam in, as well as providing a world first in small primate exhibit design with a unique visitor experience. Jurors commended “the value small projects can generate by creating a playful outcome that has been carefully researched to ensure it delivers best practice in animal welfare and visitor experience”.

WAX says the location of the existing holding area and its proximity to the central lawn of the zoo offered a unique opportunity to connect the Colobus exhibit within the broader environment of the zoo.

The corridor identified by the Zoo for the trail contained particular challenges with dense vegetation, several large trees located along the corridor, including a significant Eucalypt that needed to be protected.

WAX initiated a 3-dimensional survey of the trees with mapping of the branch and canopy structure to enable the design. Several design iterations were undertaken until a preferred option was agreed upon that connected the existing exhibit with the central lawn.

The elevated sky trail allows visitors to see the Colobus roaming amongst the trees. Image credit: Sweet Lime Photo

The final design used a simple cylindrical mesh construction. The mesh tube provided the best structural performance with enough cross-sectional area to encourage increased animal activity, as the Colobus had become extremely sedentary. At the same time, the trail profile reduced impacts on the existing trees.

There are two separate trails, with the design incorporating operable slides to respond to the needs of keepers, improving and minimising the handling of the monkeys. The slides also mean keepers are able to separate individual animals if necessary to reduce conflicts.

The sky trails have been so successful the zoo and WAX are developing others to support a range of different animals.