Snow Kreilich, TEN x TEN, and Buro Happold collaborate on an elevated trail at the Minnesota Zoo

by Chris Walton, The Architect’s Newspaper

Published August 1, 2023

The Minnesota Zoo’s Treetop Trail will bring visitors closer to nature—and not the kind that clearly involves an actor in a bear costume. Snow Kreilich Architects, Buro Happold and TEN x TEN turned former monorail infrastructure into “the world’s longest elevated pedestrian loop” (though they may have competition on this claim).

The zoo was home to a problem-plagued monorail, which was taken out of service in 2013 after numerous incidents and 34 years of interrupted service. Conversations between the zoo and Snow Kreilich over the former monorail began in 2016, and by 2018, planning for infrastructural reuse began. As AN reported, ground broke on the 1.25-mile-long trail last year. $39 million in combined public and private funding supported the project, which opened on schedule on July 28…

Read the entire article here.