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educational exhibits and insight into the staff spent weeks with biologists and The idea emerged to let the beavers carve
elaborate machinery required to preserve veterinarians in order to gain insight the wood themselves, which was then
the facility’s delicate ecosystems. into the species’ swimming patterns. To dried and used to line the interior of the
provide an authentic feel to an observation space.
A learning process point where visitors can observe beavers “Before you can even begin to design
Before designing a new pool for the in their natural habitat, the firm studied in an environment with living species
facility’s resident penguins, KANVA the architectural prowess of the beavers. all around you, education and a notion
of humbleness are required,” explains
Bebawi. “We take basic assumptions about
ourselves for granted when we design for
other human beings, but designing for
an otter or a sloth requires that you re-
educate yourself.”
The entire experience has enriched
KANVA’s journey as an architectural firm.
The educational process has advanced
their exploration of how buildings,
rather than being barriers to external
forces, can be rendered more permeable
as harmonious cohabitations between
humans and nature.
“We need to reconnect people with
the environment, and the Biodome does
that in a refreshing way that we are proud
to have contributed to,” adds Bebawi.
“This project has provided us with six
years of invaluable knowledge, preparing
us for new and innovative approaches
to future projects, where architecture
becomes a tool to promote and facilitate
environmental change.” dw

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