Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge is a unique luxury resort designed to transport visitors into the myth, magic, and mystery of Africa's pristine wilderness, ancient civilizations, and vast landscapes. The horseshoe layout of the hotel echoes the shape of a Zulu Kraal, which encloses an animal park of roaming giraffes, zebus, emeus, exotic birds, and other African wildlife. This park is visible from guestrooms, public overlooks in the hotel and a promenade along the hotel. When entering the main lobby at the third level, visitors command a view of this 33-acre savannah as if from a protruding outcropping of rock.
Design challenges included translating African animal and landscape traditions into built form and art, achieving the effects of African topography and long views on a 75-acre flat site, and providing the comfort and familiarity of vernacular materials like mud and thatch using new materials. Fiber thatch 'shingles,' synthetic rock 'kopje,' and a fiberglass 'lamella' ceiling structure serve as clean, safe alternatives to vernacular African construction. Varying roof heights, materials, and textures disguise the extensive size of the hotel, as an 'elephant in the bush.'
(Completed by 4240 Architecture staff while part of UDG, Inc.)