The Bicentennial Pavilion and Promenade at the Indianapolis Zoo provides 40,000 sf of weather-protected space for up to 1,000 seated guests. The open-air special events facility can host concerts, picnics, and private events. The Zoo’s newest bird exhibition, Magnificent Macaws, is also located under the new pavilion and includes a custom-designed stage and perch.
The pavilion was inspired by a lush rainforest and comprises eleven 35-foot-tall steel tree-like “pods” created mainly from natural materials. Each pod consists of 63 individual wood beams that range from 83 feet long and 19,000 pounds to three feet long and 25 pounds. Sunlight can filter through to the ground level via translucent roofing materials. The “forest” of pods is held together with 6,424 bolts and lag screws. A hearth of roughback quarry block limestone serves as a visual centerpiece and provides warmth during colder weather.
Photo: Susan Fleck.
Rainwater is collected 100% on-site and percolates into an aquifer. When rainwater contacts the Pavilion’s canopy, it is funneled into the pods, down their rain screens created from custom-designed weathered steel, to a sunken, plant-filled bed. From there, the water travels through a water quality unit and into a 14-foot-deep water detention bed of free draining stones, designed to accommodate 100-year flood events. Each bed contains plants that can thrive in saturated environments with water intake pipes that are raised above grade to encourage natural percolation through the soil.
Photo: Susan Fleck.
The Bicentennial Pavilion and Promenade was designed by RATIO Architects and used a $10 million grant from the Lilly Endowment.
Photo: Susan Fleck.
Photo: Susan Fleck.
Related Stories
Events Facilities | Mar 7, 2016
Experts pessimistic on Chicago’s $650 million McCormick Place expansion
Developers and city officials envision $250 million of annual growth, but the figure assumes that a new arena will lure conventions and draw full houses for basketball games.
Architects | Jan 15, 2016
Best in Architecture: 18 projects named AIA Institute Honor Award winners
Morphosis' Perot Museum and Studio Gang's WMS Boathouse are among the projects to win AIA's highest honor for architecture.
| Jan 14, 2016
How to succeed with EIFS: exterior insulation and finish systems
This AIA CES Discovery course discusses the six elements of an EIFS wall assembly; common EIFS failures and how to prevent them; and EIFS and sustainability.
Events Facilities | Oct 2, 2015
Louisville convention center to undergo $180 million renovation, expansion
The facility, which reopens in the summer of 2018, has already booked events it wouldn’t have gotten as a smaller venue.
Giants 400 | Sep 17, 2015
CONVENTION CENTER SECTOR GIANTS: Gensler, AECOM, Turner top rankings of nation's largest convention/events sector AEC firms
BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest convention/events sector design and construction firms, as reported in the 2015 Giants 300 Report.
Office Buildings | Jul 31, 2015
Design unveiled for Apple HQ visitor center
A glass-walled single-story building alongside the main office building in Cupertino, Calif., will be used as a visitor center.
Events Facilities | Jun 19, 2015
4 ways convention centers are revamping for the 21st century
Today's convention centers require more flexible spaces, the ability to blend virtual and in-person events, and meaningful sustainability, writes Skanska's Tom Tingle.
Modular Building | Jun 10, 2015
London debuts business complex made from 50 shipping containers
London's newest business complex, Pop Brixton, will support local entrepreneurs, create jobs, and is made entirely of shipping containers.
Cultural Facilities | Apr 20, 2015
Jean Nouvel loses court battle against Philharmonie de Paris over alleged design ‘sabotage’
Nouvel boycotted the January opening of the facility and asked for his name to be removed from all references to the work.
Cultural Facilities | Mar 30, 2015
Designs released for new entertainment center in Lubbock, Texas
Amenities of the facility include a performance venue that seats 2,220, a smaller one that seats 425, a 6,000-sf multipurpose room, and a bistro café.
