The Minnesota Zoo is doing away with the old, a massive concrete arrival area near the entrance, and introducing the new: an airy outdoor plaza, exhibit space and waterfront restoration project built on hidden functional infrastructure. The $14.2 million project, which began in 2025 and is scheduled to be completed in 2026, involves removing the 50-year-old structure that had blocked views of the zoo and bringing in a more natural and inviting landscape softened by new plantings, earthworks and a spiral steel ramp.
Matthew Keenan, associate and project manager for Leo A. Daly, who designed the replacement structure, describes the demolished concrete structure as a “big brutalist ramp” with extensive retaining walls and a heavily structured hard-edge approach built directly on the edge of the lake/wetland known as Main Lake. These design features did not allow visitors to see past the snow monkey exhibit or see beyond it to appreciate the other exhibits and natural beauty the zoo has to offer.
A spiral steel ramp that connects two levels of the square is an emblematic element of the project.
Image courtesy of PCL Construction
The ramp also no longer reflected the experience zoo leaders wanted visitors to have upon arrival. Thomas Root, director of planning and construction for the Minnesota Zoo, located outside Minneapolis, says the new facility can’t be described as a traditional visitor center.
“We’re not calling it a visitor center,” says Root. “I don’t even think there’s much indoor space in this facility. It’s an outdoor plaza, an exhibition and a waterfront restaurant, so a lot of things.”
The square was designed as an arrival experience. Root says it functions as the zoo’s main exhibit; when visitors enter the front door, this is what they first encounter. The design needed to create a memorable first impression while responding to the reality of the site, which included infrastructure demands that most visitors will never see. The main functional systems are located below the plaza, including large lift stations and stormwater management equipment. This required the design and construction teams to solve visible and non-visible issues while creating an open, natural and welcoming space.
A new square incorporates vegetation and rock formations to create an airy and natural atmosphere.
Image courtesy of PCL Construction
“The main challenge was installing the lift station tank 8 feet below the existing water table elevation, as well as keeping all of the zoo’s existing stormwater lines open and drained during the installation,” says Paul Krienke, superintendent of PCL Construction. “A temporary stormwater management plan was essential and had to be thought through, and a backup plan in case there was a problem.”
The project also created 1,000 linear feet of new shoreline along Lake Main.
“We processed all the concrete waste that was generated from the project on site.”
—Paul Krienke, Superintendent, PCL Construction
“We were able to adjust that body of water to create more shoreline and make it more of a natural grade project, which they could have done years ago, but I think they just thought we’d adapt. [the previous structure] within what are our limitations. And they built it that way,” says Krienke.
The new plaza was created by filling approximately 75 feet of shoreline, creating a space in which Blanding’s turtles and other endangered animals, reptiles and insects can thrive. The environment aligns with the zoo’s conservation efforts.
“Where we restore the shoreline, there will be some upland grasses that will come down to the emergent vegetation in the water, all planted with a little deadhead and some rocks to make a good nesting site for the turtles,” says Root. “We’re also putting some trumpeter swans in there. It’s a big conservation project for us. We’re trying to make it welcoming to the native animals.”
Crews place cast-in-place concrete for the exhibit’s foundation in harsh winter conditions.
Photo courtesy of Steve Silverman for Be Remarkable Photography
The team used fill and concrete from the demolished ramp to create the new lakefront, recycling all of the concrete (1,600 m3) and 162 tons of rebar.
“We processed all the concrete waste that was generated from the project on site,” says Krienke. “We took out the rebar and then used all that material as additional fill, so we didn’t have to bring in a bunch of material and haul out a bunch of concrete demolition material.
“Now will be a time to stop and take a break, watch the monkeys hang out and enjoy the beauty of the waterfront.”
—Thomas Root, Director of Planning and Construction, Minneapolis Zoo
“They used an excavator called a muncher,” adds Krienke. “They would take all the concrete [and] smash it piece by piece into small pieces. And then they took out the rebar. And then it would be in pieces small enough for a skid loader to pick up and layer it, compact it with sand and other materials to use as fill.”
Work in areas where it could affect endangered species was carried out from mid-September to mid-April. The limited window of work to protect native animals required close coordination with the zoo.
“It was just an ongoing exchange of knowledge of what [type] the turtles were and making sure that none of them entered our construction zone and that none were harmed during our construction process,” Krienke says.
Access to the site, bordered by the two-level plaza on one side, the lake and the main pedestrian access to the zoo, was a major challenge. This stimulated the team to build a new road following the outline of the edge of the square; it is now a permanent feature.
The spiral steel ramp connecting the two levels of the square emerged as one of the emblematic elements of the redesign, an important visual and spatial feature of the project. Instead of a raw concrete ramp, the new design introduces a sculptural element set in a more natural setting. Keenan says the team incorporated trees “in the middle of this ramp, for example, and trees and plantings elsewhere.”
A worker applies shotcrete for structural rock in the snow monkey habitat.
Photo courtesy of Steve Silverman for Be Remarkable Photography
The steel ramp offers a more naturalistic look than concrete, Keenan says.
“We made a conscious decision to go from heavy concrete to light frame steel to achieve that light touch,” says Keenan.
The new plaza offers a 360-degree view of the snow monkey exhibit, which is surrounded by the plaza and is just 15 feet from the waterfront area.
“The entire exhibit area was demonstrated and expanded with new 15-foot-high curved concrete walls,” Krienke says. “The interior level of the exhibit was designed so that guests now have a straight, level view of the monkeys and won’t even have to look up to see them in the trees.”
The exhibition was redesigned to feel more like home to its inhabitants.
Crews install formwork for a cast-in-situ curved concrete wall inside a sloped excavation.
Photo courtesy of Steve Silverman for Be Remarkable Photography
“A new pond and stream and a rock shelter were added for a more natural feel to the exhibit – four large artificial trees and 30 natural trees were also added to create more green space in the exhibit,” says Krienke.
The interior of the exhibition space was also renovated, with new designs for the shelter space, access to the livestock and upgrades to HVAC and lighting systems to mimic more natural environments, he says.
Unlike the previous concrete structure, the new plaza, monkey exhibit and boardwalk are intended to be more welcoming to humans and animals.
“It was felt [previously] more like a corridor, a little corridor that you would walk through,” Root says. “Now will be a time to stop and take a break, watch the monkeys hang out and enjoy the beauty of the boardwalk.”
