Ongoing
Documents for Houston Zoo’s African Forest Exhibit are now complete and being prepared to go out to bid with an anticipated ground breaking date of May 2009, and completion in September 2010.

LZI, in collaboration with the National Aquarium in Baltimore, has begun the Schematic Design phase for a new National Aquarium in Washington, D.C. The aquarium will find a new location on the Mall at the Department of Commerce.
The focus is on America’s Aquatic Treasures.

December 2008
Miami MetroZoo’s latest exhibit—Amazon & Beyond—has opened to the public this month to rave reviews. This $40M project was designed by Jones + Jones (prime) and spans 27 acres, while featuring three distinct biomes—the Cloud Forest, the Amazon, and Mata Atlantica—as well as a festive Village Plaza. LZI’s interpretive plan combines a wide range of interpretive elements including: bilingual interpretive graphics; mechanical interactive exhibits; tactile features; interactive media; and play structures—all linked together by a soundtrack providing location-specific music that conjures up the character of the species and habitats on exhibit. With a strong commitment to conservation education and the cultural ties linking south Florida with the Amazon, the interpretive exhibits provide a rich foundation for learning while having fun.

Albany, Georgia hosts the openings for three LZI projects this month: the Albany Welcome Center, Wetherbee Planetarium and Science Museum, and the Albany Civil Rights Institute. These projects were organized by Albany Tomorrow, Inc. The Welcome Center provides visitors with information on local history, area attractions, hotels/motels, restaurants, shopping, and upcoming events in Albany and surrounding areas. The Wetherbee Planetarium and Science Museum are additions to the Thronateeska Heritage Center and host a wide range of hands-on educational exhibits for children, exploring paleontology, astronomy, hydrology, and more. The Albany Civil Rights Institute chronicles the Albany Movement through detailed timelines and multimedia exhibits that utilize an extensive oral history collection, focusing on Albany’s “ordinary citizens with extraordinary courage.”

October 2008
The Trinity River Audubon Center in Dallas, Texas opens. At 6,000 acres, the Great Trinity Forest is the largest urban hardwood forest in the United States. The Trinity River Audubon Center, a joint project by the City of Dallas and the National Audubon Society, serves as the gateway to explore these amazing resources. Once visitors arrive, they can explore hands-on indoor exhibits and the Children’s Discovery Garden before accessing the outdoor trails.

September 2008
Lyons/Zaremba Inc. continues to work with Miami MetroZoo on a series of new projects. Working with Forbes Architects of Miami, and EHDD Architects of San Francisco, our team is designing a variety of improvements to Miami MetroZoo including a new themed playground, a new roadside entry sign, a new childrenís zoo, selected wayfinding graphics, and a variety of pathway improvements. The new playground will be themed with four habitat “types”: the ocean, a tropical forest, an arctic region, and a desert. Organized around a 3D compass rose at its center, the habitats will have distinct themes and characteristics that will attract end engage children, while allowing them to move freely between habitats. Children will encounter a wide variety of experiences that allow for group activities or individual play, physical/motor activities or contemplative play. Toddlers and older children alike can choose to play together or gravitate to age-appropriate experiences of their choosing. Seating, nearby food service, and restrooms will be located adjacent to this playground to make for a terrific family break while at the zoo.

August 2008
LZI is continuing its work with the US Fish & Wildlife Service on the design/build of interpretive exhibits for the Assabet River Wildlife Refuge Interpretive Center in Wayland, MA. LZI and the team of Split Rock Studios, Peace River Studio, and Paul Erickson Communications have just begun final design, with the expectation that fabrication will commence in Summer 2008. The exhibits explore the habitats that make up the USF&W’s Eastern Massachusetts Wildlife Refuge properties and will serve as a primer for exploring the nature world, while also providing insight into the history of the land and how it has been used by people over thousands of years. The Interpretive Center is due to open to the public in Spring 2008, while the interpretive exhibits will be completed in Winter 2009.

December 2007
LZI and the PBS&J Orlando have completed a conceptual design study for the Miami Seaquarium that addresses a phased implementation of several new major exhibits and an entirely new arrival and entry sequence. The program calls for the gradual facelift of the overall design and layout of the exhibit and show pavilions, and will dramatically enhance the overall visitor experience. A feature element of this transformation will be the raised boardwalk that will connect the various venues. The raised boardwalk, while developed out of necessity in order to be clear of the flood zone at this coastal site, will open up the natural terrain of the property which will feature a system of waterways, allowing visitors to venture down and engage in a variety of boating opportunities as part of their visit to the Seaquarium.