♡ Rachel Sim

THE aim of this project’s design brief was to re-interpret the concept of an eco-lodge and successfully translate it into a form that could be used for camping with a certain level of comfort. What I had initially noticed about Mandai Zoo was that there were obvious barriers, either tangible or intangible, that defined the relationship between human and animal. Humans were given the role of the clear dominant, while animals were the clear subdominant or captive species. This has led to the formation of a hierarchy that always ranks humans above animals. The resultant psychological effect in these animals is that, barrier or not, they would intentionally place a distance between themselves and the human species, because humans rank higher in the social dominance hierarchy.

​

My design intent seeks to mitigate this effect and reshape the levels of dominance between primates and humans, with primates being the species of choice simply due to the Darwinist similarities in both species. Through an inverse in the relationship, the opposite effect could arguably be achieved, in which animals start to perceive themselves as higher up in the dominance hierarchy as opposed to the usual anthro-zoological interaction predetermined by zoos. The less fear that animals have around humans, the less they shy from interaction, which could potentially lead to a possibility in the coexistence of the 2 species within the same habitat. Over the course of the project, I have come up with 4 design parameters or spatial rules that shape my design process and translation of my concept: (1) Domination through Hierarchy; (2) Domination through Territory; (3) Domination through Ease of Accessibility to Food; (4) Domination through Ease of Navigation.