‘Sexuality is an often-overlooked aspect of animal welfare in the zoo. That is why we find it relevant to investigate what the meaning of sexuality and gender could be for zoo design,’ says Kuang-Yi Ku. In addition, De Zeeuw wonders: how, as a designer, do you deal with responsibilities that come with locking up an animal, and how do you give animals a meaningful existence while also taking the zookeepers and the public into account? ‘I aim to achieve the highest possible standard of welfare for the animals and provide them with room to experience their sexuality freely and enjoyably, while at the same time reproduction is very carefully regulated in a zoo. These are sometimes conflicting interests,’ he says as we continue walking toward the false gharials’ enclosure.

What does the zoo look like if we let go of the concept of the singular species, what if multi-species become the norm. What insights can we draw from the discourse of de-colonisation in redesigning the zoo of the future?

‘We’re staying with the trouble… anywhere in the universe.’ What can the extremes of outer space tell us about our own nature? How does a zoo look like if we redesign zoo nature for extra-terrestrial future on earth? Unearth sets out to explore the new frontiers of our understanding, of the beginning of life in our universe.

What does a zoo look like where you are emphatically invited to use your intuition; a zoo where risk and wildness make you aware that your body is equal to the animals, the plants, the earth, the air. Wilding the zoo invites you to taste, sniff, feel, connect and discover yourself being part of nature.

What happens if we take the zoo out of it's bounds and review the way we live in the city? “The City as Zoo” proposes to replace 10% of the cities streetscape with a series of linear parks that open up the asphalt and let the urban soil thrive again.

Glossy #01 concludes the first phase of an on-going research and design project and functions as a carrier of stories, ideas and images towards the next phase.

On the 26th of November 2017, we invited a group of researchers, artist, students, sjamans, scholars and designers to Sexyland in the north of Amsterdam to discuss the role of the zoo in the anthropocene. What followed was an unforgettable day inside a primate habitat: video's, poetry, kava-kava rituals, talks, fermented foods and an interesting discussion at the end.

After spending a summer visiting zoo's, Bart de Hartog delved deeper into the zoo and went from architectural taxonomies to urban metaphors, finally building a diorama blending the boundaries between zoo and city.