by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
Imagine slowly strolling down a winding path lined with exotic plants and flowers. Relax on a bench with a view of a placid reflective pond filled with lotus blossoms or meditate in an authentic Asian pavilion before you explore a mist-filled garden of bamboo.
By next summer, that experience won’t be a world away, it will be part of the latest addition to the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens when the Asian section of the zoo’s botanical garden opens to the public.
”It will be the first permanent thing in North Florida that has anything to do with Asian culture,” said architect Tri Vu, who is designing the pavilion as well as a bridge for the garden.
Vu added the design will not be specific to any particular Asian country, but will embrace the cultures of the entire Asian community in Jacksonville. The architectural design includes a pavilion that will be built with traditional Asian materials and techniques, including a lot of open space and exposed bamboo construction.
Vu said while the pavilion will appear to be very simple from a distance, “When you look closer, you will discover an incredible level of detail in the design.”
While he is creating the structures for the garden, landscape architect Cindy Tyler of Terra Design Studios in Pittsburgh is designing the planting areas and water elements of the project. She also designed the garden that is part of the zoo’s giraffe exhibit.
“It’s not going to be a formal garden. We’re going to create the feeling of an Asian village in a mountainous region. The topography will be unlike anything else in Jacksonville,” said Tyler.
She said the plants will include many species from China and Japan, including two types of bamboo and several varieties of lotus in the ponds to take advantage of the nature of water.
“Water is very important in this design because it has a very reflective and contemplative quality.”
There will also be many flowering trees on the site, “But mostly peaches because Jacksonville is too far south for cherry blossoms,” said Tyler.
While an Asian garden is traditionally a quiet, spiritual space, it is after all at the zoo, so several elements will be included that will offer an active experience for children.
“There will be a bamboo forest with water misters for the kids to run through and cool off and a sculpture intended for climbing. It’s going to be very tactile,” said Tyler.
“The garden will be a wonderful transition for the planned Asian animal exhibits,” said Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens Director Dennis Pate. The first phase of the project will introduce Komodo Dragons to the zoo when the garden opens, with future plans to include a tiger exhibit, Asian birds and primate species.
“Each element in the garden has its own meaning. We have really challenged the architects to design a Pan-Asian garden because that will reflect our local Asian community,” said Pate.
Pate also said the Asian Garden is a $2 million project and Jacksonville’s Asian American Alliance is leading the fundraising effort to contribute part of its culture for everyone to enjoy.
Vu said the project offers the local Asian community a chance to help create a gift Jacksonville’s residents and visitors can enjoy for generations to come. It also gives him a chance to put his own trademark on the installation.
“Asians tend to be very quiet people. I’m just the opposite, so I’m going to try to change that.”