The Brno Zoo will have a new entrance area

Brno - The Brno Zoological Garden will have a new entrance area. It will consist of two buildings, set into the terrain, which will house not only the ticket offices but also the largest marine aquarium in the Czech Republic. There will also be a parking lot for 300 cars and ten buses. The total cost will be 200 million crowns. If funding is secured, construction will begin this year, said zoo director Martin Hovorka to ČTK today.
    The zoo has been open for 55 years. Its current entrance is inadequate. There is a parking lot for 15 cars in front of it, which does not meet current needs. Zoo visitors are forced to park in the surrounding streets and at shopping centers.
    Therefore, the zoo wants to build a new entrance. Fifteen companies showed interest in the architectural competition for the project. It was won by the design office Arch design from Brno, as according to Hovorka, they were able to sensitively integrate the building with the surrounding structures into the landscape.
    The new entrance will be located where the zoo borders the Brno district of Kníničky. A park will separate the development from the zoo parking lot. From there, visitors will access an administrative building shaped like an eye. The buildings will open to the south with a view of the surrounding area of the Svratka River.
    After purchasing tickets and touring the aquarium with a coral reef and sharks, visitors will cross a pedestrian bridge over the road to reach the current area of the zoological garden.
    "By April, a project will emerge from the study. We hope to secure funding from European Union funds. If the plan does not succeed, the new entrance area would have to be developed in phases," the director added.
    The Brno zoo houses 800 animals of 200 species. Last year, it was visited by 320,000 animal lovers. Interest in it is growing.