Sunday, 20 April 2008 | Levent OZLER
Budongo Primate Experience
 The Budongo Trail, a new £6m world class visitor attraction to house up to fifty chimpanzees at Edinburgh Zoo is now officially open to the public.
Designed by architects Cooper Cromar, and being billed as the new "jewel in the crown" for the zoo, this new 1400m2 facility consists of three pods, linked by bridges and tunnels which are also connected to an external enclosure. Each pod has varying degrees of temperature, light and humidity that represent different aspects of the chimpanzees natural habitat.
The public are able to get close to the chimps as a public route weaves between pods whilst an interpretation space is used to explain the conservation programme that Edinburgh Zoo is sponsoring in Uganda and a flexible 200-seat auditorium provides AV footage of the project.
David Windmill, chief executive of the RZSS, said: "We very much hope that the Budongo Trail will be at the forefront of primate research, particularly as we've tried to replicate as closely as possible the kind of conditions that chimpanzees are experiencing in Uganda."
Other members of the project team include:
Client - The Royal Zoological Society For Scotland
Interiors - MET Studio
Project & Cost Management - Turner & Townsend
Structural Engineer - Odin Engineering Ltd
M+E Engineer - RSP Consulting Engineers
Photos: Alan McAteer
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