Once the Battle of Atlanta painting leaves Grant Park for its new home at the Atlanta History Center, the historic Cyclorama building will undergo a massive interior transformation.
Atlanta-based sustainable design firm Epsten Group has been tapped by Zoo Atlanta to transform the circa-1921 building into a new event space and restaurant with a viewing area overlooking the African elephants, zebras, and giraffes in their savanna habitat.
Peter Choquette, design and consulting department manager at Epsten Group, said it’s too early to announce a budget for the renovation project, but the wish list for the Cyclorama building is being fleshed out.
The completion date is set for 2018, which gives the Atlanta History Center time to construct a new home for the painting, as well as moving the giant Texas locomotive and other Civil War exhibits.
Those concerned about what Choquette calls the “postcard image” of the front façade of the Cyclorama can rest easy: the “original fabric of the building will remain intact.”
“The front façade will not change,” he said. “From the beginning, we said we don’t want to change that in anyway.”
The interior and rear of the building will be a different story.
A restaurant, kitchen, catering facility and event space will require a complex interior renovation, Choquette said. There are also plans to add an outdoor deck to the viewing area over the savanna exhibit, as well as adding a conservatory space for additional restaurant seating that will offer views into Grant Park.
“The deck and the conservatory will fit very well into the structure and offer fantastic views,” Choquette said.
He said there would be renovations to the front plaza once the building is done, and what will happen to the Zoo Atlanta administration building that sits opposite the plaza is still undetermined.
Since 2008, Epsten has worked with Zoo Atlanta on several projects, including the parakeet aviary and tiger viewing area.
“Epsten Group is focused on regenerative architecture, and we believe in Zoo Atlanta’s conservation efforts, said Dagmar Epsten, the group’s president and CEO. “We are thrilled to be engaged with them in particular on this Grant Park meeting facility with views of big wildlife of the earth’s savannas, which will give our city’s human occupants the opportunity to connect with our global animal occupants like none other.”
Shame on the zoo for yet another grab for public property. Tax payers should insist the zoo pay market rent on the 40 acres +, buildings and 10 acres of parking lots. Pay or move to Alabama.
Shame on the zoo for yet another grab for public property. Tax payers should insist the zoo pay market rent on the 40 acres +, buildings and 10 acres of parking lots. Pay or move to Alabama.