design principles

Durrell has sought the best architects for its priority developments. Given the pivotal role of the animals and the great aesthetic values of the site and its landscape and planting, the following principles were followed: 

• All buildings must put the needs and interests of their animal occupants first
• Durrell’s pre-eminent animal staff should be a driving force in the design of the animal facilities, in the closest collaboration with architects and others 
• All buildings must deliver a stunning visitor experience
• All buildings would have pre-visit and post-visit exhibit / experience
• Each building must be memorable and striking, but not an icon for its architect, nor be monumental
• Every building must be in harmony with the landscape
• Sustainable, low-impact energy systems should be used as far as possible
• The site must provide a satisfactory all-weather and all-year experience for visitors. 

Messaging

A number of principles were established, based on research and best practice in attraction messaging: 

• The site is about wildlife conservation, but is not to be a conservation theme park
• Each exhibit, old and new, is themed to and linked with our conservation work; we have developed the concept of the world’s 200 TopSpots, which cover 18% of the world’s land surface but support 77% of the world’s rarest fauna; our established Islands and Highlands focus falls within these TopSpots 
• Effective messaging involves engagement: emotional hooks are more effective than cognitive ones of facts and figures
• Effective messaging to visitors does not require much reading
• Visitors of different categories must be enabled to be involved and engaged, and discover for themselves, not be preached at
• Our animals are ambassadors of their wild relatives, and their stories can link every animal and visitor to major environmental issues
• Our messaging is to be upbeat: around the theme at each exhibit of rarity-fragility-solutions, with much based on Trust work in Jersey and overseas
• Messages are developed from and between each exhibit in a logical sequence, so exhibits are not a series of standalone spectacles
• At the end of a tour, the visitor is left feeling “wow, what an experience; I never knew that; I didn’t know that I am affected by the fate of the gorilla and its forest home; these Durrell people are doing a wonderful job, and I wish to support them!”