What:
Woodland Park Zoo will host a two-part workshop series to provide zoo neighbors, members, and visitors a unique and fun opportunity to weigh in on design issues for the zoo’s planned parking garage, from aesthetics and operations to traffic access and safety. Meet zoo staff, consultants, and representatives of KPFF Consulting Engineers and Hewitt Architects, the team heading up the garage design.

The first workshop is Saturday, January 7. “Garage 101” will kick off the workshop with a presentation about how parking garages work, key factors to consider during the design process and the unique characteristics of this project. Participants will then join a series of interactive breakout sessions to identify ideas and issues important to them and influence the early design work.

The second workshop is Saturday, February 25. This will be a chance to see how the design team applied the workshop findings to early conceptual ideas. Participants will work with the design team to refine and discuss their initial concepts.

Garage design open houses will be scheduled later in 2006.

When:
Saturday, January 7, 9:00 a.m.-noon
Saturday, February 25, 9:00 a.m.-noon.

Where:
Woodland Park Zoo Education Center at N. 50th St. & Fremont Ave. N. Free parking.

Info:
To help us effectively plan the workshops, RSVP by Wednesday, December 21 to Maris Sovold at 206- 615-0395 or maris.sovold@zoo.org. We urge you to attend both events for the entire three hours since the workshops work best as a series.

The proposed parking garage is a major component of the zoo’s planned solution to the current traffic and parking problems caused by insufficient parking on zoo grounds. The parking garage will displace the current employee surface lot and administrative offices in the northwest part of the zoo, providing approximately 700 visitor parking spaces and increasing the zoo total to approximately 1,360. It will be built entirely above ground, with one level at grade and three levels above grade.

Accredited by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association, award-winning Woodland Park Zoo is famed for pioneering naturalistic exhibits and setting a standard for zoos all over the world. With conservation, education and excellent animal care at the core of the zoo’s mission, the zoo is helping to save endangered species in Washington state and around the world including tree kangaroos, snow leopards, red-crowned cranes, African wild dogs, western pond turtles and Oregon silverspot butterflies. By inspiring visitors and others to care and act, Woodland Park Zoo is making a difference in our planet’s future.