A tropical rainforest in the heart of Oklahoma City? Who ever heard of such a thing? Nonetheless, one exists... at Great EscApe. The pride of the Oklahoma City Zoological Park, this exhibit- a natural habitat for gorillas, orangutans and chimpanzees- delights visitors of all ages with a simulated rainforest experience... Oklahoma-style. A world-class primate presentation that combines state-of-the-art animal housing with innovative landscaping, the concept of the Great EscApe exhibit became a reality when city voters passed a 1/8-cent sales tax to fund the project. This extremely popular exhibit was designed by the Philadelphia-based landscape architectural and exhibit design firm Coe, Lee, Robinson and Roesch (CLRR)- working in conjunction with HTB, Inc. Architects- at a total cost of $6.6 million. CLR (now CLR Design, Inc.) principal Jon Coe partially attributes the firm's history of successful zoo exhibits (75% of their work deals with zoos, botanical gardens and aquariums) to its practice of helping the client visualize what the exhibit will look like, not just after installation, but twenty years down the road. Coe reminds us, "The value of a building depreciates over time, yet the value of plant material appreciates through the years." This philosophy of visualization played a primary role at Great EscApe, where some of the most interesting aspects of the project are not found in the landscape alone. The design immerses the viewer into its multi-story jungle, forcing visitors to search for the primates amidst the landscape. Designers took this strategy of landscape immersion even farther, hiding the animal holding building behind the visitor viewing building; therefore, the view is directed out onto the landscape and into the jungle experience. Another dimension of landscape immersion was used at a different Oklahoma City Zoo exhibit- Cat Forest-- where visitors enter a bamboo grove, walking on Fibar mulch as they find their way through the bamboo to the tiger exhibit. The design team chose to use a mulch in planting areas to provide a comfortable soft ground for a total immersion experience. Visitors to Great EscApe are surrounded by the exotic sights and sounds of a tropical rainforest. "This exhibit [serves as] an adventure for people to find the animals in their exhibits from various vantage points," Zoo Curator of Horticulture Pearl Pearson states. "In fact, the natural barriers are not evident, and people will be able to view the animals closer than they ever have before." Hidden moats provide a barrier between the public and the animals without obstructing the view of the primates, surrounded by the varying degrees of mist (artificially produced) found in a natural rainforest. Primates enjoy all the comforts of home at Great EscApe. Large day rooms (or, as Coe describes them, "rumpus rooms") and night rooms give the animals a choice of climate, ensuring year-round comfort. Behavioral enrichment is provided by a "browse" garden planted in the public area. Each day the animal keepers harvest the fresh vegetation and distribute for the animals to enjoy. Many favorites are represented, including mulberries, mint, strawberries and basil, and special "foraging" food is included as well. Featuring three-and-a-half acres of authentically reproduced tropical forest. Great EscApe includes a chimpanzee meadow habitat, an orangutan habitat and two gorilla lowland habitats (one for each gorilla troop). Each habitat forest is characterized by closely spaced, young trees growing through dense undergrowth of shrubs and herbaceous materials. In the wild, gorillas inhabit clearings in a successional forest while orangutans "hang out" in the forest canopy, and chimpanzees are found at the successional forest edge. "At Great EscApe we have tried to imitate as closely as possible each animal's environment," remarks Jack Grisham, Zoo General Curator. "The plantings are more dense in some areas and lighter in others to enhance the effect." Zoo staff can easily move animals from one side of the exhibit to the other using a network of walkways out of the public view. Lighting and hardwood benches furnish special areas of the exhibit, which can be rented out for events, and are complemented by an unusual choice of planting materials. Over 12/000 plants were provided, consisting of more than 350 large trees reaching a height of twelve- to eighteen- feet, and more than 1,300 smaller trees were planted underneath. Shrubs, vines and ground cover complete the simulated forest. To add to the overall ambience, a cascading waterfall and fog machine produce varying degrees of rainforest mist. Coe notes, "We generally place plants much closer together than would typically be done in park work, in order to achieve a 'jungle effect.'" When landscaping an exhibit of this magnitude, it is important to simulate plant materials from the animals' native habitat. Other considerations include climate conditions, soil, plant survivability, established plant life and the aesthetic appeal of a plant. Research must also be done to determine whether a plant is toxic, because the animals will sample from their environment. Rugged plant life characteristic of African and Asian environments helped provide tropical habitat simulation. Acacia trees typical of African savannas are not considered winter-hardy, and so similarly appearing trees--Honeylocust and Golden Raintree- were substituted. Many plant species can be stored in the zoo's own tropical greenhouse during the winter months. "This project has been a total team effort between zoo personnel, landscapers. Landscape Architects and project consultants," concludes Grisham. "I know zoo visitors are going to enjoy their total experience... from the sheer beauty of the environment to the great apes just being themselves." GREATE ESCAPE AT THE OKLAHOMA ZOO FEATURES INTRICATELY DESIGNED ELEMENTS TO ENHANCE THE PRIMATES' NATURAL, WILD BEHAVIOR, INCLUDING TERMITE MOUNDS, CLIMBING STRUCTURES AND ROCK FORMATIONS. ABOVE LEFT: LUSH VEGATION--PLANTED IN VARYING DENSITIES TO ENHANCE THE EFFECT -- ALONG WITH ABUNDANT FRUITS AND VEGETABLES ALLOW THE ANIMALS TO FORAGE FOR FOOD AT THE SUCCESSIONAL FOREST EDGE. ABOVE RIGHT: A CASCADING WATERFALL AND FOG MACHINE PRODUCE VARYING DEGREES OF TROPICAL RAINFOREST MIST THROUGHOUT THE PRIMATE EXHIBIT. GREAT ESCAPE CONTAINS MANY FEATURES THAT MAKE IT ONE OF THE PREMIER FACILITIES IN THE WORLD. A COMBINATION OF WATERFALLS, ROCKS, FALLEN TREES (LEFT), POOLS AND THOUSANDS OF LUSH PLANTINGS IMMERSE THE VISITOR IN A TROPICAL FOREST. SHROUDED IN ARTIFICIAL MIST, VISITORS ARE TRANSPORTED TO THE JUNGLES...OF OKLAHOMA? (RIGHT) GREAT ESCAPE'S PLANT PALLETTE(SEE SIDEBAR BELOW) CONSISTS OF OVER 12,000 PLANTS, INCLUDING MORE THAN 350 LARGE TREES--REACHING A HEIGHT OF TWELVE TO EIGHTEEN FEET--AND MORE THAN 1,300 SMALLER TREES. SHRUBS, VINES AND GROUND COVER COMPLETE THE SIMULATED FOREST. All photos provided courtesy of Oklahoma City Zoological Park. A PLANT PALETTE FOR A PRIMATE PARADISE Canopy trees Alder (Alnus glutinosa) Catalpa (Catalpa bignonioides) White Ash (Fraxinus americana) ThornlessHoneylocust (Gleciitsia triacanthos var. Infrmis) Goldenrain Tree (Koelreuteria pankulata) Southern Magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora) Mulberry (Morns rubra) Sycamore (Platanus occidentalis) Poplar (Populns alba) Sawtooth Oak (Qnercus acutissima) Burr Oak (Qucrcns macrocarpa) Water Oak(Quercus nigra) Northern Red Oak (Qnercus rubra) Lacebark Elm (Ulmiis pcirvifolia) Cedar Elm (Ulmiis crassifolia) Small trees Redbud (Cercis canadensis) Hawthorn (Crateagus crus-gaUl) Bigleaf Magnolia (Magnolia macrophi/lla) Umbrella Magnolia (Magnolia tripetala) Red Mulberry (Morus rubra) Parasol Tree (Firi-iiiana simplex)* Shrubs evergreen Glossy Abelia (Abelia gnvidiflora) Wintergreen Barberry (Berberis julianae) Fragrant Eleagnus (Eleagnus pungens) Lusterleaf Holly (Ilex latifolia)* St. John's Wort (Hypericum patulum)* Japanese Privet (Ligustrum japonicum)* Northern Bayberry (Myrica pennsylvanica) Heavenly Bamboo (Nandina domestica) LeatherleafViburnum (Viburnum rytidohyllum) David Viburnum (Viburnum davidii) deciduous Devil's Walking Stick (Aralia spinosa) Sweetshrub (Calycanthus floridus) Red Osier Dogwood (Cornus alba siberica) BigleafHydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla)* Oakleaf Hydrangea (Hydrangea auercifolia)* Sweetbay Magnolia (Magnolia virginiana) Staghorn Sumac (Rhus typhina) Rugosa Rose (Rosa ritgosa) Meidiland Rose (Rosa 'Meidiland') Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis)* Japanese Tree Lilac (Syringa reticiilata)* Pussy Willow (Salix discolor) Red Mulberry (Moms rubra) Reed (Arundo donax) Golden Bamboo (Phyllostachi/s aurea) Dwarf Bamboo (Arundinaria pygmaea) Silver Banner Grass (Miscanthns sinsensis) FountainGrass (Pennisetum alopecuroides) Switchgrass (Pannicum virgatuin) Drooping Sedge (carex pendula) Yucca (Yucca filamentosa) Ground Covers Creeping Sumac (Rhus aromatica "Gro-Lo') Curly Mint (Mentha acjuatica) Meidland Rose (Rosa alba 'Meidland') Forb Mix. Visitor Landscape Common Yarrow (Achilka millefoliiim) Borage (Borago officinalis) Canna lily (Canna x generalis) Prairie Coreopsis (Coreopsis tinctoria) Crocosmia (Crocosmia x lucifera) Hosta (Hosta var.)* Cow Parsnip (Heracleum lanatum) Vines Clematis (Clematis montana) Boston Ivy (Parthenodssus tncuspidata) Wisteria (Wisteria japonica)* Trumpet Vine (Campsis radicans) Climbing Hydrangea (Hydrangea anon supsp. petiolaris)* *Toxic plants are not used in animal areas