Bangkok-based architectural studio VMA Design has won an architectural competition to design a new zoological building for the Orientarium Zoo in Łódź, Poland.
The multi-level, 6,000sq m building - entitled the House of Elements Pavilion - houses a range of animal habitats, and tells the story of how the elements have shaped life on earth. It features six zones: Earth, Ice, Water, Fire, Air and Future.
Visitors will start their journey by descending into a sunken Earth zone, before gradually ascending along a continuous spiral ramp which wraps several times around a central sea lion pool.
Along the route, visitors will encounter bear enclosures, Antarctic penguin habitats with underwater viewing windows, and large-scale manatee aquariums. The upper levels of the bamboo-clad building house volcanic giant tortoise enclosures set beneath an ETFE canopy, double-height habitats for spider monkeys and tree kangaroos, and a canopy-level aviary.
The journey will end in the Future Zone, which features moss walls, reflective surfaces, still water, and capybara habitats.
“The building has to work as a story and as infrastructure at the same time,” said VMA founder Vichayuth Meenaphant. “Every animal has specific environmental needs — temperature, humidity, acoustics, light. The narrative gives visitors a reason to move through the space, but the architecture has to quietly solve all of those conditions along the way.
“The story is what you experience. The system is what makes it possible.”
The pavilion was developed in response to an international architectural competition organised by Holding Łódź, which called for a building structured as a sequential journey through six thematic zones. The House of Elements follows the Orientarium — Łódź Zoo’s Southeast Asian wildlife complex completed in 2022 — as the zoo’s second major development.
VMA’s winning proposal, titled One Seed — A Thousand Growths, is based on a single generative architectural logic that adapts to varying spatial, environmental, and programmatic requirements across the site.
Here VMA Design co-founder Vichayuth Meenaphant talks us through the plans
What excites you most about this project?
The idea that a zoo building can be a story you walk through, not just a container for animals. The whole pavilion is one continuous journey through five elemental zones. You descend into the earth and rise to the treetops. That kind of spatial narrative is rare in any building type.
Is this the first time you have designed a zoo building? How did you meet the needs of both animals and visitors?
Yes, it’s our first zoo project. That was part of the excitement. Every animal has very specific environmental requirements: temperature, humidity, acoustics, light levels. So the architecture has to quietly solve all of those conditions while giving visitors a reason to keep moving through the space. The narrative is what you experience. The infrastructure is what makes it possible.
What was the biggest challenge with this project?
Making the building work as both a story and a piece of infrastructure at the same time. The sea lion courtyard, for example, is the emotional centre of the building. But sea lions are incredibly loud. So we needed four layers of acoustic mitigation at what is also the spatial heart of the whole pavilion. Every zone had that kind of tension between atmosphere and technical performance.
Why did you choose the materials that you did?
Our design sits between human craft and computational design. This project was a chance to bring what we learned working with craft in Thailand back to Europe. The facade uses high-density engineered bamboo cladding that reads as natural and warm but performs at a high technical level. Green roofs extend the landscape onto the building. The materials follow the same logic as the concept. One system, adapted to each condition.
Do you have favourite part of the design?
The moment you come up from the Earth zone and the spiral path reveals itself. You’ve been underground, in these dark soil passages, and then suddenly there’s sky and water and noise, and you can see the full journey ahead with the sea lion show at the centre. That contrast is the heart of the building for me.
