Ep46 Jon Coe on activity-based design, monkeys running the monkey house, and asking 'what is the message'?

Jon has almost 60 decades of experience, and completed over one hundred sixty planning and design projects for eighty-two zoos, aquariums, botanical gardens, theme parks, wildlife sanctuaries and national parks in thirteen nations on six continents.

Jon shares with us about how fighting elephants at Boston Zoo sparked his thesis idea which would be on Artificial Habitats for Captive Animals. After receiving his undergraduate degree and his master’s degree, it still took Jon 7 years before getting his first project. Jon’s first project was working with Jones & Jones in Seattle, between 1973 – 1983. Together they invented the landscape immersion design at Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle with the idea being ‘back to nature’.

Jon went on to found CLR design in Philadelphia, from 1984 – 2004. CLR Design allowed the client to choose the subject of innovation while creating projects and designs. Jon highlights how they work FOR animals WITH people. 

In 2004 Jon founded Jon Coe Design, and gives us in depth insights on the projects, including cutting-edge ideas for other firms to develop. A few of many other projects they have completed are Zoos Victoria, Sea World Gold Coast, Bali Safari & Marine Park, Singapore and Kabul Zoo in Afghanistan.

Jon tells us how combined Jones & Jones and CLR design have gained 13 American Zoo & Aquarium Exhibit Awards all while in the USA. Jon highlights a few projects he has completed such as at Louisville Zoo, Zoo Atlanta and how they use animal rotation and activity-based design to design the enclosures. This also includes Treetop Trails Philadelphia with overhead animal trail systems so they move across the zoo freely.

Jon explains the 5 C’s and how it branches from the UK’s 5 freedoms. He tells us that the C’s stand for the animal’s right to: Choice, Control, Complexity and Change to achieve Competence. Jon also shares with us how proper environmental enrichment is the toolbox for achieving behavioural, physical and intellectual competence for animals in human care.

Jon shares with us at the end about his poems and sketches that can be found on his website and how they all started and make him feel. Jon gives a quick insight into collaborative work with Sabrina Brando on the back of house areas in zoos, and a more in-depth webinar on the PAWS platform in June 2021.

Jon ends the podcast with leaving us a closing message and answering the question what the message is, and how in an ideal world how he would reinvent the enclosures in zoos.

View Jon Coe Design website HERE

Read all papers by Jon Coe HERE

View Jon’s Research Gate HERE

View all sketches and poems HERE

Watch the latest webinar between Jon and Sabrina HERE

Listen on your favourite player or directly HERE

Become a member of PAWS HERE