Interactive Animal Show of the Ice Age, Nyíregyháza Zoo

Architect: Attila Gáva
Text: Kristóf Mánya
Photos: Zsolt Hlinka

Most of the buildings belonging to the Nyíregyháza Zoo Park were designed by Gáva with his architectural firm Gav-Art Studio. Over the years he has acquired a unique expertise in the genre. His architectural team won the competition to design the Ice Age Interactive Animal Show. The final result shows careful attention, precise expertise, a well-conceived and elaborated concept as well as a narrative shaped by conscious design choices and decisions. The building complex covering a total of 10,000 square metres had to contain a complex architectural programme. Most of the animals whose ancestors once lived in the Arctic zone are housed here. They need precisely designed living spaces. Attila Gáva was well aware of all these needs and requirements, and it is therefore no mean feat that he has succeeded in creating a coherent architectural product that, in addition to meeting the needs of human aesthetics, also entirely realises the artificial recreation of millions of hectares of natural habitats for animals. The architectural space visible to visitors makes up just over 60% of the entire complex area. The rest has been used for mechanical engineering, the personal space for the animals and the ‘secondary’ spaces that allow the zoo-keepers to work in the background.

General planning: Gav-Art Stúdió
Lead architect: Attila Gáva
Fellow architects: Zsolt Brezina, István Kertész, Miklós Győri, Enikő Lázár-Tóth, Boglárka Mikita, Viktória Széchy, Anna Mártha, Dóra Kohán-Piskóti, Zita Linzenbold
Interior of the restaurant: István Szenes, Csilla Ungvári – Szenes Design Stúdió, Attila Gáva – Gav-Art Stúdió
Structure: István Kácsor – Bemp Ltd.
HVAC: Géza Rácz – Vill-Terv
Weak power, fire alarm: Gábor Kiss
Escalators: Alpár Krisztián – Otis Elevators
Accessibility, kitchen technology: Gábor Finta – Health Design Studio Műhely
Roads, public utilities: Károly Bíró – Bíró and Co.
Soil mechanics: Balázs Móczár Dr – Geo-Expert
Bird net steel structure: Gyula Galaskó Dr – Galaskó Engineering
Glass structures: György Stocker, Szilvia Bánsági – Stokplan
Client: Municipality of Nyíregyháza
Main contractor: KE-VÍZ 21