The architecture firm of Ohio State University faculty members Jason Kentner and Karen Lewis, Influx Studio design a vertical Urban Zoo Skyscraper with 240 meters tall for a 2009 competition.
With wide expanses to comfortably house animals stacked on top of each other, Influx Studio has created a completely original zoo design that makes wildlife accessible in the city.
The project, proposed for Buenos Aires, Argentina, seeks to increase the awareness of the earth's diversity of ecosystems by placing a diverse array of wildlife in the unusual urban context.
Within the structure is a giant ferris wheel that visitors ride, making the structure as a whole a functioning safari experience. The enormous wheel is comprised of cars where visitors ride and view the animals close up in their separate sections.
The wheel turns very slowly, fully completing its circuit every hour. At the top stop of the observation wheel, visitors can exit onto a sightseeing level to admire the view, eat, shop, or participate in educational activities.
