01
Resilient demand
More people visit zoos and aquariums each year than attend every major professional sports league combined. Attendance is local, repeat, weather-resistant and multigenerational.
Sustainable zoo architecture · Est. 2009 · Four continents
We design the zoos the next century will be judged by.
Net-positive habitats, record attendance, nineteen international awards. We believe the zoo can become the most powerful conservation tool a city owns, and we are building that future one landscape at a time.
- 19international awards
- 14zoos delivered
- 700M+annual zoo visitors worldwide
- 31%avg. attendance uplift post-opening
World Architecture Festival — Winner✦
RIBA International Award✦
Dezeen Award — Sustainable Building of the Year✦
LEED Platinum × 6✦
Living Building Challenge — Certified✦
WAZA Conservation Prize✦
AIA COTE Top Ten✦
Holcim Award for Sustainable Construction✦
World Architecture Festival — Winner✦
RIBA International Award✦
Dezeen Award — Sustainable Building of the Year✦
LEED Platinum × 6✦
Living Building Challenge — Certified✦
WAZA Conservation Prize✦
AIA COTE Top Ten✦
Holcim Award for Sustainable Construction✦
Why zoos, why now
Zoos are the most visited cultural institutions on earth. Almost nobody is building them well.
02
A world ready for it
Cities, governments and foundations are putting biodiversity and climate resilience at the heart of their plans. A zoo that can prove its conservation outcomes becomes part of the answer.
03
Fifty-year landmarks
A zoo is civic infrastructure that shapes a city for generations: a place to learn, gather and fall in love with the living world. Ours are designed to run for half a century on sunlight and rain.
“Kinship's habitats out-earned our projections in year one and cut our energy bill by two thirds. It is the only capital project our board has ever asked to repeat.”
The vision
A zoo should leave the world wilder.
We imagine every great city with a zoo that restores its own landscape, powers its own neighbourhood and sends species home. Fourteen zoos in, we know it can be done. The next chapter is building it at the scale the planet needs.
Today
The proof
Every zoo we have opened produces more than it consumes and draws more visitors than the one it replaced. The model works.
- Fourteen net-positive zoos on four continents
- 142 species reintroduced to the wild
- Nineteen international design awards
2030
A living network
Kinship zoos on every inhabited continent, sharing breeding programmes, habitat data and design knowledge as one connected system.
- A flagship zoo on every inhabited continent
- Open habitat and welfare data across the network
- Every new site restoring more land than it occupies
2050
Rewilding at city scale
Zoos become the engine of regional recovery, with wetlands, forests and wildlife corridors radiating out from every site.
- Wildlife corridors reaching beyond every fence line
- Zoos that send more animals home than they hold
- A generation raised on wonder, not cages
How a Kinship zoo gives back
Shape what comes next
We are always in conversation with people who share this vision: patrons, partners, cities and institutions who want to see the zoo reinvented. Tell us a little about yourself and one of our founding partners will be in touch.
- A private walkthrough of the projects now in design
- Visits to our completed zoos, behind the scenes
- A conversation with the people drawing them
Who we design for
Every building starts with its residents.
Before we draw a wall, we study how each species walks, rests, hunts and hides. Hover over any of them.
Selected work
Fourteen zoos. Four continents. Zero fossil-fuelled habitats.
Our approach
Designed from the animal outward.
We start with ethology, not elevations. The habitat decides the building; the building decides the energy; the energy decides the economics. It is why our zoos win awards and why they stay solvent.
Habitat first
Every enclosure is drawn from the species' home range, social structure and daily rhythm. Visitors move through the animal's world, never the reverse.
Net-positive by contract
We commit, in writing, to buildings that produce more energy, clean more water and host more biodiversity than they consume. Verified annually by a third party.
Regenerative material
Mass timber, rammed earth, reclaimed stone and mycelium insulation, sourced within 500 km wherever possible and built with local trainees.
Economics that endure
Dwell time, membership conversion and hospitality yield are designed in from day one. Our zoos average 31% higher attendance than the institutions they replace.
68%average energy reduction
142species reintroduced
1.9M m²habitat restored
6,200local jobs created
For cities, societies & developers
Commission a zoo that wins.
From master plan to opening day, we deliver zoos that clear planning faster, cost less to run and draw crowds for decades. We work with municipalities, zoological societies, conservation NGOs and private developers.
Start a conversation- Master planning & feasibilitySite, species, visitor and revenue modelling in 12 weeks.
- Habitat & building designFull architecture, landscape and exhibit design to construction.
- Net-positive engineeringEnergy, water and biodiversity systems with guaranteed targets.
- Retrofit of existing zoosPhased renewal without closing the gates.
- Partnerships & stewardshipBringing cities, conservation groups and patrons together around each project.
Careers
Build the wild with us.
A studio of 64 across Copenhagen, Singapore and Nairobi. Four-day weeks, field time on every project, profit share for everyone.
Questions we hear
Straight answers.
What does net-positive actually mean?
Each zoo produces more energy, cleans more water and hosts more biodiversity than it consumes. We commit to those targets in writing, and a third party verifies them every year.
Do zoos still have a role in conservation?
A bigger one than ever. Well-designed zoos run the breeding programmes, research and reintroductions that wild populations increasingly depend on. Our projects have helped return 142 species to the wild.
How do you put animal welfare first?
Every habitat begins with ethologists, not elevations. Enclosures are drawn from each species' home range, social structure and daily rhythm, and animals always have space to retreat from view.
Why do your zoos draw bigger crowds?
People stay longer and come back more often when they feel immersed in a living landscape. Our zoos average 31% higher attendance than the institutions they replace.
What is your track record?
Fourteen zoos completed since 2009 across Europe, Asia, Africa and South America, and nineteen international awards for architecture and sustainability.
How can I get involved?
Whether you lead a city, a zoological society or a foundation, or simply share the vision, start a conversation with us. We would love to show you what we are building next.