Back in December of 2020 I began a project the size of which I could never have predicted. I set out to recreate the Antwerp Zoo (Belgium) in Planet Zoo. Almost three years later now and I'm about 75% done with the zoo, but I began running into some issues. Because I didn't really plan out the buildings and habitats and just built step by step, my scale was off in some places. This resulted in the fact that the last quarter of the Antwerp Zoo doesn't actually fit in my recreation of it. So, I decided to bite the bullet and start all over again in a new save file, this time using a map projected on a billboard to guide me along the way. And while I'm at it, I might as well keep you guys updated on my progress in this little forum thread. So without further ado, let's dive right into it.
In this first update, I decided to tackle the northeastern corner of the zoo. It includes the Moorish Temple which houses Okapi, the Rotunda Building including African penguins and a wading bird aviary, a Macaw aviary, two exterior habitats next to the small monkey house, a building housing koalas and tree kangaroos, a Flemish garden and the Latteria. In this update, I will be highlighting my favorite spots in this section of the zoo.
1. Rotunda Building (African penguins)
The Rotunda building was originally constructed in 1878 and designed by architect Charles Servais. It was built as an aviary until in 2014 the African penguins moved in. On one of the sides, there is still an aviary housing a small collection of European wading birds. The Rotunda building was one of the first buildings I made in my original recreation attempt, so it definitely needed an overhaul. I decided to completely start from scratch, resulting in a more accurate version of this building.
2. Moorish Temple (Okapi)
The Moorish Temple was originally built in 1871 and designed for ostriches by architect Charles Servais. In 1895 it was torn down and redesigned by Emile Thielens. The building is a prime example of Orientalism in European zoos. The nature of the building compliments the mysterious history of the Okapi and is one of my favorite buildings in the Antwerp Zoo. When I originally made this building in January of 2021, I didn't have the tiles from the Africa DLC yet, but the main outline of the building was still pretty accurate. So for my rework I decided to just update the façade and replace it with the tiles. The variety in colours takes this building to a higher level and even though the building is really simple in terms of piece count and detailing, it still looks very accurate to real life.
3. Flemish Garden
The Flemish garden is relatively more recent compared to the previous two entries. It was added in 1937 to complement the latteria building ('melkerij' in Dutch) which itself was built in 1898 and designed by Emile Thielens in a Flemish neo-Renaissance style. Until 1934 you could actually buy milk in the latteria. This milk was produced by cows which grazed on the zoo's grounds. The Flemish garden and the surrounding area is a really nice spot to relax, have a pic-nick or a deep conversation with a friend or stranger. In my original attempt (January 2021), my interpretation of the Flemish Garden was very flat and structured and it did not reflect the wild nature of the real garden well enough. So for my rework, I decided to let go of nicely ordered flower beds and gave the garden a more wild look. I was able to keep the latteria and Koala buildings intact since their scale matched up pretty accurately.
That's all for today! You can check out more detailed updates on my YouTube channel, which is in my signature. If you go back to the early video's on Antwerp Zoo, there's a lot more historical information too, if you're interested in that kind of stuff!
In this first update, I decided to tackle the northeastern corner of the zoo. It includes the Moorish Temple which houses Okapi, the Rotunda Building including African penguins and a wading bird aviary, a Macaw aviary, two exterior habitats next to the small monkey house, a building housing koalas and tree kangaroos, a Flemish garden and the Latteria. In this update, I will be highlighting my favorite spots in this section of the zoo.
The Rotunda building was originally constructed in 1878 and designed by architect Charles Servais. It was built as an aviary until in 2014 the African penguins moved in. On one of the sides, there is still an aviary housing a small collection of European wading birds. The Rotunda building was one of the first buildings I made in my original recreation attempt, so it definitely needed an overhaul. I decided to completely start from scratch, resulting in a more accurate version of this building.
The Moorish Temple was originally built in 1871 and designed for ostriches by architect Charles Servais. In 1895 it was torn down and redesigned by Emile Thielens. The building is a prime example of Orientalism in European zoos. The nature of the building compliments the mysterious history of the Okapi and is one of my favorite buildings in the Antwerp Zoo. When I originally made this building in January of 2021, I didn't have the tiles from the Africa DLC yet, but the main outline of the building was still pretty accurate. So for my rework I decided to just update the façade and replace it with the tiles. The variety in colours takes this building to a higher level and even though the building is really simple in terms of piece count and detailing, it still looks very accurate to real life.
The Flemish garden is relatively more recent compared to the previous two entries. It was added in 1937 to complement the latteria building ('melkerij' in Dutch) which itself was built in 1898 and designed by Emile Thielens in a Flemish neo-Renaissance style. Until 1934 you could actually buy milk in the latteria. This milk was produced by cows which grazed on the zoo's grounds. The Flemish garden and the surrounding area is a really nice spot to relax, have a pic-nick or a deep conversation with a friend or stranger. In my original attempt (January 2021), my interpretation of the Flemish Garden was very flat and structured and it did not reflect the wild nature of the real garden well enough. So for my rework, I decided to let go of nicely ordered flower beds and gave the garden a more wild look. I was able to keep the latteria and Koala buildings intact since their scale matched up pretty accurately.
The moorish temple is also one of my favorite buildings and the new version looks so much better ! The Africa Pack door frames are so perfect for it. The rotunda building and flemish garden are also better now. It was already looking good before but the rework was definitely worth it !
Can't wait for more.