The Queens Zoo Education Center expands and modernizes the educational facilities in the Zoo’s domestic animal area. The existing one-story North Barn will be replaced with a new classroom building designed to support the Zoo’s growing educational programs and community events. The South Barn will be renovated and expanded one floor, improving spaces for staff, visitors, and animal care. The South Barn’s concrete block walls and timber framing will be reused to limit waste. Both barns will be clad in new, red fiber-cement siding paired with dark bronze and wood details, ensuring a durable, low-maintenance exterior in keeping with the existing barnyard character. Interiors will receive new finishes, modern furnishings, upgraded building and fire-suppression systems, and integrated AV/IT networks with advanced presentation and audio capabilities.
The new North Barn will serve as a flexible hub for learning and gathering. Two classrooms with independent restrooms and a shared kitchenette will be divided by a flexible partition wall, allowing them to operate separately or open into one large space. A teaching porch brings activities outdoors, while new skylights will introduce daylight deep into a space previously limited to small windows.
The South Barn will be reorganized for greater accessibility and efficiency. The original classroom and restroom locations will be swapped to align the classroom with the approach path. The original restrooms will be replaced with a gender-neutral, ADA-compliant facility to provide more stalls and support an inclusive environment. The ground floor will support animal care and keeper functions, while the addition of shed dormers will expand the second floor to accommodate staff communal areas, open and enclosed offices, and amenities including a kitchenette and single-user restroom. The attached silo will be converted into a special staff lounge on its upper level and the Zoo’s first public lactation room on the ground floor. A new vestibule at the rear will provide access to new stairs and an LU/LA lift to the second floor.
The project is targeting LEED Gold certification under NYC Local Law 86 through the reuse of existing structures, responsible material sourcing, energy-efficient systems, and rooftop photovoltaic arrays. These measures reduce environmental impact and align with the Zoo’s mission of education and conservation.
Client: Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).
Agency: Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).
Program: educational.
Size: 1,300 SF (North Barn), 3,000 SF (South Barn).
Team: Structural Engineering: TYLin. Mechanical Engineering: Loring Consulting Engineers. Civil Engineering: Leonard J. Strandberg and Associates. Energy: Steven Winter Associates. AV/IT & Acoustics: Trinity Consultants.