The history of the new building
The Städt. Grundstücksgesellschaft, a branch of the Städt. Wohnungsbaugesellschaft, owned by the town Bremerhaven, bought the zoo incl. the estate in 1999 and established the Zoo am Meer Bremerhaven GmbH taking over the management of the zoo. Builder for the new zoo was the Städt. Grundstücksgesellschaft. The Senate of the Freien Hanse- stadt Bremen and the town council of the town Bremerhaven agreed that the zoo should be planned as an integral element of the then drafted “Ocean Park”.
However the zoo it- self should already be a touristic attraction in case the project “Ocean Park” should fail. This is how it happened. But in the meantime there had been many building years with a lot of work and complications, planning, organisation and difficult workmanship affected by rain and storm. The Hannover architecture office Herwig, Jaenisch, Wittig and Partner was ordered in the year 2000 to work on the zoo planning.
This rough copy was submitted to the committees of the town Bremerhaven in the spring of the year of 2000. The Bremerhaven citizens being faithful and interested visitors of the Zoo had been integrated in the planning process by intensive publicity. Here it became obvious that the taken road were considered to be right by everybody. After some intermediate accommodation had been established for some animals in the year 2001 the building work for the first period could be started.
At last in November 2002 is was accomplished: the chimpanzees, polar-bears, Arctic foxes and seals could move into their new hedges. There had been transition quarters for the other animals and the second building period started in March 2003. On March 27, 2004 the zoo was festively opened. Upon 3 years the doing was completed. The result is worth seeing under the aspects of a zoological garden, architecture and town-building. The estimated building costs were adhered to despite the difficult conditions. The financing of this project being very important for the touristic development of Bremerhaven was guaranteed by public subsidies.
The rough copy of architecture
Today we are visiting a zoo not to see exotic animals in cages like in former times but to find a complete and entertaining as well as informative leisure time event which can also be presented to our children with a good conscience. A walk through the municipal park has replaced the safari tour.
The rough copy of architecture realized in the Zoo am Meer is based on this knowledge. Accordingly the visitor looks at the animals in Bremerhaven but in Canada, Tierra del Fuego, Spitsbergen or Siberia : in their original living space. To produce this illusion the corresponding landscapes had to be rebuilt true to nature. At the same time the visitor should not realize the complicated water technics and the extensive zoological service areas.
He only sees the animals living in the same landscape he is walking through at this moment. Confinements between the animals or between animals and humans being zoologically necessary should remain unnoticed for a visitor notifying a hedge as it is will not think about the animal husbandry or the animal behaviour. To create the impression of animals in free preserve the animals are presented in the background of the open sea. So there is the impression they could swim away at any time.
The view on these created landscapes is possible on different levels: from the hill, from the plain, from the valley or even under water. So to speak you look on the North Sea and by chance you see a seal diving by. At the side where turned to town this barren rock formation gets a special effect. Here the people have formed the existing landscape in the way of a sculptor: the rocks ground – refined like diamonds and hereby having made a token.
René E. Herwig
HJW + Partner
Architects + Engineers
