Amidst a watery African landscape, can you hear the hippos? This is the Hippopotamus House at the Berlin Zoo. Celebrate a special event under this glass dome. Here, you and your guests can watch the enormous pachyderms. They perform their weightless underwater ballet through large panoramic windows.
The Hippo House offers a unique charm. It provides the backdrop of an African savannah watering hole. The Hippo House’s other name is Flusspferdehaus. It was completed in 1996 and is still in use today.
The Hippo House features two glass cupolas. These cupolas span across the two Hippo Houses. They merge into each other in the visitor’s area. The visitor area is positioned in between both houses.
A remarkable grid shell was designed to achieve this effect. The transparency of grid shells is interesting. It makes the eye expect to see clear boundaries.
The shell spans two circular basins. One is 21 m in diameter and the other 29 m. It seems like a free-form structure. But it obeys the laws of efficiency. The Hippo House is elegant and double-curved. It’s the first building based on translational surfaces. It offers the advantage of being covered with planar quadrangular glass panes.
J. Gribl was the architect of the Hippo House. Hans Schober was the engineer. Schlaich Bergermann Partner was responsible for the structural engineering.
Many sources cover the Hippo House. You can find it in Stahlbau, v. 67, n. 4, April 1998. It’s also in Structural Engineering International, v. 7, n. 4, November 1997. It even features in “leicht weit / Light Structures” by Jörg Schlaich and Rudolf Bergermann.
The Hippo House isn’t just a marvel of engineering. It’s a place to connect with nature. It’s a place to appreciate these amazing animals. Next time you’re planning an event, consider the Hippo House. Dining here, surrounded by these gentle giants, will leave you with lasting memories.