SWIETELSKY: Prague Zoo

Prague Zoo

At the Prague Zoo, we completed several construction projects in early 2024. We built stables and paddocks for Przewalski’s horses, a new pavilion for small mammals and reptiles, aviaries for manuls (long-haired cats), and traditional Mongolian ovoo cairns.

Construction work took place from October 2022 to February 2024 and was subject to specific and somewhat restrictive conditions. For example, material deliveries were only permitted between sunrise and the start of business hours, which begin at 9 a.m. At the same time, it was necessary to respect the daily rhythms and environment of the animals being raised, whose pens surrounded the construction site.

Przewalski's Horse Stables

In the new Mongolian Gobi exhibit, located at the very heart of the park, we have built stables and paddocks for Przewalski’s horses. They were built on a fairly steep slope, so the project also includes extensive reinforced concrete retaining walls. These were artistically finished with shotcrete and clad with natural stone—thanks to this, visitors have no idea what lies behind the natural-looking rock.

To give the stables’ facade a “desert” look and blend it into the overall appearance of the Mongolian landscape, it is clad with acacia planks, which have acquired a patina as they aged. Plants have been planted on the roof, complemented by stones and “parkos”—as the Prague Zoo calls the trunks or branches in the animal exhibits. Roughly one-fifth of the building consists of facilities for the zookeepers.

Przewalski's Horse Enclosures

The Przewalski's horse exhibit enclosure covers nearly 2,000 m², and during its renovation, two retaining walls were repaired or completely rebuilt. The largest construction project involved demolishing the original concrete thresholds and building new reinforced concrete ones approximately 300 m long. Their structure is finished with colored shotcrete combined with natural stone, creating the illusion of a section of the Gobi Desert.

Two new feeding stations were then created from colored shotcrete. Also new are the enclosure’s fencing, protection for existing and newly planted trees, and their artificial irrigation. On the northern side of the enclosure, two new viewing platforms were created for visitors, from which the iconic animals of the Prague Zoo can be comfortably observed.

Small Mammals and Reptiles Pavilion

Adjacent to the south side of the stables is a small pavilion dedicated to the olgoi-khorkhoi. This exhibit focuses on the legendary sandworm of the Gobi Desert, whose existence remains a subject of debate. Its model was likely the Tatar sand boa, which inhabits the new exhibit alongside other smaller desert animals.

The heptagonal pavilion measures roughly 60 m² and was likely the most complex to construct. Within a relatively small space, nine terrariums were created for more than a dozen species of animals living in the Gobi Desert—both on the surface and underground. There is also space for a museum exhibit dedicated to the return of Przewalski’s horses to Mongolia, their original homeland.

Aviaries for Manuls

Two aviaries for the long-haired feline, the manul, are 5 meters high. They consist of a steel structure covered with stainless steel mesh. The walls are fitted with glass panels mounted on brackets up to a height of one meter.

And because the manul must be protected from rodents that carry toxoplasmosis—against which it has no antibodies—the maximum width of the gap between the individual materials (glass/concrete and steel/glass) is a mere 3 mm. Rodents are prevented from burrowing under the aviaries along the perimeter by 1,200 mm deep reinforced concrete strips. The interior of the aviaries consists of a combination of plants, parkos, and stone.