PROJECT DESIGNER
Inspired by the site's memory of the original outdoor elephant and pygmy hippo habitats, the Smithsonian's National Zoo's Pachyderm Plaza creates a gathering space and much needed respite for visitors as they proceed along the Zoo's steepest section of the main promenade, Olmsted Walk. With a limited budget, the central design element became the 128' long serpentine bench which I developed with landscapeforms' Studio 431. Another feature of the project was the plaza's donor walls which included bronzes formed from a mold we took of our elephant's footprint created collaboratively with the Zoo's exhibit fabricators and elephant keepers.
