Completion: October 2012

Objective: Recreate a rainforest environment at the zoo, providing proper temperatures, humidity, and brightness conditions suitable for 300 animals and 24,000 plants.

Work Completed: Zoo Leipzig needed to implement an indoor environment maintaining a temperature between 68°F and 107°F, with humidity levels up to 80 percent, depending on the exhibit. Johnson Controls helped to create this tropical rainforest environment in the zoo’s new Gondwanaland Hall. Data from various building systems are collected by 15 subsystems that feed into a Metasys building management system, which may be accessed using any mobile device. In addition, the roof has a foil covering, providing natural heating to reduce operating costs, and a ventilation system is integrated with the Metasys to transfer the heat and regulate ideal temperatures throughout Gondwanaland.

“The building management system at Gondwanaland provides a realistic habitat for the plants and animals in the most efficient way possible. When building systems work together, the result is saved money, reduced energy, and happy residents — regardless of the species.”
- Felix Colsman, vice president, service and technology, Johnson Controls

Publication date: 11/12/2012