International Center for Care & Conservation of Giraffe

Developed with animal care experts

CSNA worked closely with Zoo animal care experts to develop every aspect of the Center. We directed the work of structural, air conditioning, lighting, and specialty engineers. We coordinated their work with a large team of specialists including landscapers, rockwork artisans, earth bank engineers, food service equipment providers, interior designers, and artists.

This project began as an effort to create a modern, advanced giraffe exhibit to replace the existing one. Representatives from the Zoo, the general contractor, and CSNA Architects toured leading zoos in Europe to ascertain the current state of the art in giraffe facilities, with the goal of superseding them with the most advanced giraffe center possible. The effort was successful, with a number of groundbreaking new contributions to the building type.

A mountainside legacy

Imagine the early 1900s, when mining and railroad fortunes were being made in Colorado. Spencer Penrose was one of the mining magnates and railroad tycoons making his mark. An eclectic collector, he amassed artifacts associated with the Wild West, local Native American communities, carriages, and early road racing vehicles. These would become the nucleus of the Penrose Heritage Center Carriage Museum.

Penrose also developed The Broadmoor Hotel and the Pikes Peak Highway to the summit of Pikes Peak. His collection included animals. He was gifted a bear, then a couple of penguins and then some more, which roamed The Broadmoor Hotel grounds until Penrose decided to move his menagerie up the hill, toward the base of Cheyenne Mountain. This was the start of Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.

At 6,714 feet above sea level, it is the highest zoo in North America. In 2026, USA Today ranked it the #2 Best Zoo in the United States. It is renowned for the reticulated giraffe herd it safeguards and enjoys a reputation as the most prolific giraffe-breeding zoo in North America, having bred over 200 of them since the mid-1950s.

A new standard for giraffe care

From an animal care perspective, the new giraffe living room sets an example, with a variety of feeding opportunities for the giraffe: from zoo patrons feeding them lettuce grown on site in hydroponic farms, to aerial baskets of browse (soft tree branches) and grain that can be programmed to raise and lower, enticing the giraffe to move.

Engineering a more natural environment

The roof of the giraffe center is a first: it is the largest ETFE (ethylene tetrafluoroethylene) roof on an animal care facility in the Western Hemisphere. First used at Burgers’ Zoo in Arnhem, the Netherlands, over forty years ago, it is a relatively new material to the United States.

Translucent, it provides the closest thing to a natural environment possible for giraffe living in nurtured captivity. When the sun begins to rise, the giraffe living room begins to brighten. When the sun sets, the living room darkens. At night, it is illuminated by moonlight.

We designed the long-span tube steel roof in response to a very tight site and the need for rapid construction. Its simple form keeps the visual emphasis on the giraffes. The giant tube steel members supporting the ETFE roof were the first of their size to be rolled in North America. Standard calculations for them were not even available in guidebooks. Now complete, the Center demonstrates giraffe care and housing that sets a new international standard.

At home in the Center

The animal care team was delighted that in the first days after the Center opened, the giraffe ran from their north yard into their new living room and enjoyed being in it.

The result is a spectacular new zoo experience, completed to coincide with Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s 100th anniversary.