“And it now accommodates a celebrity couple with peculiar eating habits and an almost year-round animosity toward each other.”
I think that may describe the current occupants of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
8
Mr. Ingels said, "The fact is, we all collaborate with China". That is certainly not true of all people, but it is certainly true of, implicitly admitted by, Mr. Ingels and the Danish government in the suppression of human rights. And the choice of the word "collaborate" in a country so close to the land of the Third Reich should be chilling to all of us.
1
When I was a child the zoo was an exotic, wondrous place. I came in third naming the tiger in a contest; saw elephants other than in a traveling circus; and confronted my first animal abuser at five as he, at 80 years old, hit the penguins with his cane when he thought that no one was looking. I screamed and he was taken out by the police. That was real power. The zoo was shabby and not built to protect the animals.
Get over it; your kids might learn something about give and take; male and female; peace and war. High art or high aesthetics can be like the old man’s cane.
On the Danish Zoo Design
2
This "kow-towing" (sorry for cultural appropriation) to China is truly disgusting.
In terms of human rights, stealing patents, hacking, spying, ruining the environment, etc., China is one of the worst countries on earth. They're also keeping North Korea going.
My fantasy is to cut off all Chinese imports and make everything in the US. (No, I am definitely not a trump fan). They'd cost more, but they'd last the way American products used to last. I'm really tired of every Chinese product breaking in a few years.
Every country that lets China take advantage of it should be ashamed.
2
It's a prison for animals. The architect is an egomaniac.
2
So what's not to like? If this new enclosure provides a better habitat for the pandas, which is more sympathetic to their needs at different times of the year; provides a better and more discreet viewing experience for visitors; and boosts revenues for the zoo; then that's great.
Of course we'd far rather these endangered species were thriving in the Wild; but they're not. If zoos can unlock the key to sustainable breeding and start to build up numbers again, then that'd be even better.
2
When I was a child the zoo was an exotic, wondrous place. I came in third naming the tiger in a contest; saw elephants other than in a traveling circus; and confronted my first animal abuser at five as he, at 80 years old, hit the penguins with his cane when he thought that no one was looking. I screamed and he was taken out by the police. That was real power. The zoo was shabby and not built to protect the animals.
Get over it; your kids might learn something about give and take; male and female; peace and war. High art or high aesthetics can be like the old man’s cane.
1
As a famous zoo director once said The most dangerous animal in the zoo is the ARCHITECT. Oblivious of the animals natural habitat, this looks like a slapped together statement by one who either has or ignores any knowledge of the landform and needs of the animal.
Look at the work of the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum or Jones and Jones Landscape Architects to see the results of study and talent spent in designing to the animals requirements.
13
@RobDahl, the entire concept is offensive. I gasped when I fed this:
“For such an iconic animal, we needed an iconic setting,” said Bengt Holst, the zoo’s director. “You wouldn’t put the Mona Lisa in an ugly frame.”
When the happiness and health (physical and mental) of the animal is not the first priority, the project is poisoned at the root.
Those animals have no privacy, at any time. They are a tourist draw, and nothing more.
3
One day China won't be anyone's enemy...I can't wait for the younger generations to start taking over. The world is getting tired of being run by male- controlled tribes crazy for power.
11
@Lorraine Anne Davis What?? I can't make sense of this. You think China's younger generation is going to have some kind of joint Woodstock happening with the youth of other countries? And that China won't continue to be a menace to democracies and open societies? Is that what you mean? Talk about rose-colored glasses.
8
@Lorraine Anne Davis
One day China won't be anyone's enemy because China will by then be the only power in the world.
1
Twenty-four millions dollars of private money sounds like a great way to either launder money out of China or buy a bit of influence. “The fact is, we all collaborate with China — just look at the phone in your pocket,” Oooh, Mr. Ingels, that word collaborate carries a special connotation.
5
Bjarke "you're overblowing it" Ingels proves he's a friend to his Chinese patrons and keeps the hearty commissions flowing to BIG. Just keep your eyes on the "really cute animals" and you won't see what's happening to Tibet, the Uighurs, or the mass surveillance state in the making.
7
@franklau
Just keep your eyes on the what's happening to Tibet, the Uighurs and you won't see the mass surveillance state that surrounds you.
1
Ironic, this catering by a zoo to a country with the largest demand for black market poached animals and illegal wildlife products, and which nurtures the development of these markets by breeding exotic and endangered animals for slaughter:
"According to wildlife experts who spoke at the Wilson Center in June, Chinese demand for wildlife products is driving a global trade in endangered species. “Today’s tiger farms are basically feedlots where tigers are bred like cattle to make luxury products, including tiger bone wine and tiger skin rugs,” said Judith Mills, author of the book, Blood of the Tiger: A Story of Conspiracy, Greed, and the Battle to Save a Magnificent Species. Some of these operations are run as entertainment centers, where a few well cared for animals perform for tourists. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, cats are crammed into small concrete cells, bred for slaughter."
- at https://www.wilsoncenter.org/event/wild-laws-china-and-its-role-illicit-wildlife-trade
16
I would concur with the critics, this appears like pandering to the communists - the ones you know that build cages for Uighur Muslims, and do not contain their human rights abuses to their own country - The One Belt Road from South America to Central Asia to Africa, is in uproar over the human and animal rights abuses bearing down on their countries as they wake up to the shadow diplomacy of the capitalist-communists (fascists).
15
This sounds like the pandas have no privacy and all animals need a place where they can be apart from humans - is that not part of the design? This zoo has a really poor reputation in general and it sounds like they view animals as only decoration, not fellow creatures.
14
This template isn't new. As the article notes, panda diplomacy goes back to Nixon. The experiences of the Washington Zoo showed the promise of the model. Pandas can sell tickets; although the investment also isn't small. And the two countries -- China and whatever country is "renting" a breeding pair get a feel-good opportunity when they meet to welcome the critters to their new home. That's not always such a bad thing.
From this article, makes me wonder if the case is still valid. Maybe it's run its course.
2
This is the zoo that killed a healthy giraffe and fed it to the lions.
They also killed 4 health lions.
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