It was an interview process. The zoo was looking for a firm that was familiar with public spaces. They wanted to make the entry village work as a public space.

Please describe your experience working with Field Paoli.

Early on the zoo had a "brain dumping" session with Field Paoli. John went to the Field Paoli office so both parties could get to know one another. John gave the "dog and pony" story about how the SF Zoo was changing. He also explained the general changes that were happening in zoos around the world. The trend was away from the menagerie of unusual animals and toward species preservation and protection. John also explained the relationship that zoos have among each other. At a national and international level, the zoos trade animals, support each others conservation programs and the like. It is important that the zoo be well respected among other zoos so that the above can happen.

They discussed what was happening with the origninal master plan, the uniqueness of the zoo's site, the ebb & flow of the zoo's visitor population, the ethical side of the zoo's mission.

Field Paoli staff seemed interested and excited about trying to change the run-down zoo.

Were there other zoos that you looked to for precedent?

They looked to the Seattle Zoo. John thinks that zoo is comparable to the SF zoo in terms of scale and climate. The Seattle Zoo is also about 15-20 years ahead in their renovation process. They thought it would be a good idea to look to them for ideas about phasing projects.

When was the last time the SF Zoo was renovated?

The last large-scale investment was really in the 1930s as a WPA project. Another investment was made in 1967 for the African exhibit. In the 1970s and 80s the zoo added Gorilla World.

How did you choose O'Brien Kreitzberg?

There was an interview process. They chose O.K. for their quality and ease of understanding of their presentation. In some sense they chose O.K. because of the personalities. The Zoo Board felt that Bob DeLiso, who would be the project manager, had a particularly level head and a soothing way. They knew that this would be completely necessary in the process of rebuilding the zoo. O.K. did not have any zoo experience. John was put on the team to keep them updated of zoo issues.

How is the project organized at the level of the Zoo?

John himself reports to Bob DeLiso. Although this is somewhat unusual because John hired Bob, the zoo has to have a single point - a single person in charge. Paul Maijka is the first contact for Zoo Street in particular, but he is not as familiar with Zoo operations as John is, so sometimes Field Paoli will call John directly if they have issues that would be more quickly resolved talking to a long-term zoo employee. Reciprocally, there are other projects happening, such as the native plant landscape project on Zoo Street, of which John works to keep Field Paoli informed.

How has the process been?

One of the biggest problems has been with animal disturbances. Not only do they have to protect the animals from noise and construction, but they also have to prepare all the animals for design team visits. To accomodate this problem, there has been an elaborate schedule established for the moving of animals during construction.

How has the zoo staff reacted to this project?

There is actually a whole history to the culture of the zoo staff. The Zoo used to be a city institution. All of the employees were civil servants, and the zoo was severely underfunded. This lack of funding created an adversarial relationship between administration and the staff which persisted for years. When the Zoological society took over, the relationship was both helped and hurt. The Society was able to gather some funding for the zoo, but the staff didn't always understand the philosophy of allocation of these monies.

Were you able to get public opinion on the project?

Yes, they had a series of monthly public meetings. They were presented as open forums. Some members of the public came to these meetings, but the zoo did not find out anything too new. They knew a lot of the opinion already from zoo surveys. In general though, the meetings were not well-attended. Those who did attend were zoo docents, animal activists, a children's advocate who voiced her opinion about access to the zoo for kids. The results of these meetings were given to the architects during the planning process. A few years ago the zoo received a NSF grant to look at visitor needs by ethnicity, neighborhood, age, etc. All this information was entered into a database, but the database turned out to be very difficult to use.

How has the design process been?

Mostly it has been smooth. There have been a few bumps, but mostly from the zoo's lack of understanding of its own program. Food service consultants from San Diego and LA zoos helped the zoo to understand the food and retail aspects of the whole site. Field Paoli has been extremely patient during the whole process. They have responded well to the challenges presented with the master plan.

Before the bond, planning looked at the master plan to develop a "strategic plan" as to what aspects to pursue. This made the zoo come to grips with the programming issues.

Is the zoo happy with the outcome of the project so far?

So far the zoo is fairly pleased. They would be happier, of course, if all projects could have been better funded. In terms of the Panorama Cafe, Field Paoli has made a good interpretation of the California Coastal style. They would have like the original (before value engineering) building, certainly, but Field Paoli responded to the budget needs very well. John feels that the project has benefitted because there were no egos involved in the design process. If a change needed to happen, Field Paoli would make it work.