Captain Callum's Zoo Builds

[Captain Callum]

Lincoln Park Zoo: East Entrance

Along with the powerhouse, the east entrance has more or less completed development


Lets remember what the actual zoo entrance looks like in real life:

and heres my recreation of it:

Front view of the entrance shows the modern design of the canopy. A mix of wooden slats, metal rods and that new world metal leaf pattern piece. The use of the brick path and rustic stone walls allows to bring some classic feel to the entrance

A closer look at the canopy over the entrance

Inside the entrance we see the visitor center a bit better along with the full span of the canopy, 2 of them are basically attached to each other by opposing forces

Inside the visitor center, just a basic modern room for the info stands. The generic planet zoo video plays in the background since i couldnt find the one the real zoo uses

A better view of the second canopy and the view of the powerhouse chimney

We also have a nice map for the entrance aswell

and finally heres an above view of the entrance

 

[Captain Callum]

Looking incredible so far, I aspire to build with this level of realism, I know it's a recreation but still, very inspiring.

thanks queencinna! Building these recreations is how i learned to build with this level of realism, i know often people think oh i just copying a real zoo it aint that hard! But when getting into proper recreation work where the scale, building materials, animals collections and everything has to match the expectations of locals to the zoo, it really can be as hard as making a normal creative zoo. Practise makes perfect, always keep pushing yourself each time you build a new habitat or new shop as each little bit of experience adds up and of course im always happy to hear my work inspires others

 

[QueenCinna]

Lincoln Park Zoo: East Entrance

Along with the powerhouse, the east entrance has more or less completed development


Lets remember what the actual zoo entrance looks like in real life:
View attachment 350160

and heres my recreation of it:
View attachment 350161

Front view of the entrance shows the modern design of the canopy. A mix of wooden slats, metal rods and that new world metal leaf pattern piece. The use of the brick path and rustic stone walls allows to bring some classic feel to the entrance
View attachment 350163

A closer look at the canopy over the entrance
View attachment 350165

Inside the entrance we see the visitor center a bit better along with the full span of the canopy, 2 of them are basically attached to each other by opposing forces
View attachment 350166

Inside the visitor center, just a basic modern room for the info stands. The generic planet zoo video plays in the background since i couldnt find the one the real zoo uses
View attachment 350167

A better view of the second canopy and the view of the powerhouse chimney
View attachment 350168

We also have a nice map for the entrance aswell
View attachment 350169

and finally heres an above view of the entrance
View attachment 350170

Wow you did a great job, the canopy looks fantastic and the garden edging is just spot on.

I am glad I joined the forum, it definitely helps me think more about what to build and how to achieve it

 

[wowman]

this is spot on. I can't wait to see more

 

[Captain Callum]

Lincoln Park Zoo: Endangered Species Carousel

Another day another reason we need carousels and other kinds of zoo rides ingame. Lincoln park zoo has a really nice setup for their carousel compared to most zoos, we have a carousel covered by a large canvas tent and an education center right below the carousel itself making for a rather complex build. Below we have the entrance to the carousel which sits right next to the entrance, im still working on perfecting my custom signs but im quite pleased with the final result

There is a junction here for the paths, to the left/up the ramp is the way to the carousel while to the right is the education center. Of course the education center is empty and serves no function

A closer look at the education center, lots of one way windows and some small decorations make a nice lower level to the carousel area. From here we can get a good view of the supports for the large canvas protecting the carousel from the elements.

Heading up the carousel path we reach the top and find the ticket booth for the carousel

We can also see the parking lot for the zoo from up here. My custom perimeter fence works really well, some of the only pieces of the twilight dlc that i have found useful

Also from the parking lot there is an entrance to the education center. A large green sign points to the entrance to prevent guests getting confused where the entrance may be

Back to the ticket booth, we turn around and see the carousel and the sheer size of the canvas tent. As many of us know, making large circles in game for roofs is a hard and usually rough finish

Inside the tent cover we see the carousel up close with the ticket entrance. Note i did not make the carousel as im too lazy for that , thank the wonderful creators on the steam workshop for the realistic carousels

Looking at the exterior of the carousel complex, the education center spans the entire bottom level providing a nice finish with the curved window panels. We can also see the plenty of support columns here however for the nicer finish there are twice as many present compared to real life. The concrete area to the right is going to be the exit path when i reach that part of the zoo

And finally heres the above view. I know its not a 100% perfect recreation but still some of my best work for a static area in the zoo

 

[DarthQuell]

Cool carousel.
Imagine if we were to get them in an update, but we can customize the animals that are on it

 

[zoosaurus]

wow!!! I know it's a recreation but tackling an actual powerhouse is so unique!!
Also this entrance is one of the most beautiful zoo entrances irl and deserved to be recreated! Super good job

 

[Captain Callum]

wow!!! I know it's a recreation but tackling an actual powerhouse is so unique!!
Also this entrance is one of the most beautiful zoo entrances irl and deserved to be recreated! Super good job

Thanks zoosaurus!

 

[Swiftie_Midnights_]

it looks SO good! oh my god! really love what you are doing there, can't WAIT to see more! it looks insanely good!

 

[Captain Callum]

Mixing classic with modern... a night picture for now

 

[QueenCinna]

Ah it's looking fantastic

 

[Captain Callum]

Lincoln Park Zoo: Kovler Lion House

Finally some animals have been brought into the zoo and what better way to start the zoo with a habitat for a pride of lions. While the habitat looks pretty good for a city zoo, the lion house and the guest viewing areas is really where its at. This is no simple lion habitat, lincoln park zoo went all out to design a modern habitat to allow guests to get real close to the lions. We will be able to see the lions at all times because there isnt much actual privacy for these big cats unless they are sleeping right above our heads.

So heres a daytime picture of what i showed off yesterday (night to hide the surroundings of course). The star of the show of course is the curved brick roof which was the most challenging part of constructing this building. Lots of windows, a limestone floor cosplaying as a carpet floor and all these modern viewing areas for the lion habitat. The left wall doesnt really have anything going on apart from 2 custom media screens about zoo conservation.

These modern viewing cubes are really odd for a zoo experience but funnily enough they do look half decent. These allow to get a nice close view of the lions when they decide to grab a bite from the food tray placed on the rock.

Real life comparison time! Heres the entrance to the best part of the lion habitat

Enter the lion loop is get closeup views of the lion habitat on both sides and even spot a lion right above your head through one of the skylights. The lion loop is pretty much made of primitive rectangle pieces to create the modern look. I have just noticed the picture is a little... grainy joys of editing pictures with shadows in them

Also in the lion loop we get some nice clear view of the habitat, there are 2 viewing areas per side of the habitat

Heading back outside we get a nice view of the habitat, fake trees occupy the bottom habitat while the top habitat is more rocky. The habitats are split by the lion loop which forces the lions to move on top of it allowing for the closeup views of the lions and yes we can hear the lions very well

Of course there is custom barriers keeping our lions away from the guests. A typical modern curved mesh fence was built alongside some nice garden plots along the habitat. Use of the painted brick and breeze block trim allows for realistic path curves while i cry about how hard the pathing is on a CURVED PLAZA

Also i cant forget the entrance itself. The view from the visitor center building is looking really nice now, the curved viewpoint for the lion habitat along with the line of trees right next to the habitat works really well. I guess next up is gift shop time as the opposite building from the kovler lion house will be a nice gift shop before venturing into the birds area. I will leave the outdoor portion of the lion house empty for now as that will require a huge amount of pathwork for an area i have no intention of touching yet.