The architectural process for every building we design includes an intensive focus on the user. In schools, we want to create spaces that foster effective teaching and learning. In hospitals, we want patients to feel calm and informed. In offices, we want employees to enjoy ample light and an environment that enhances productivity.

But our design team has never focused on the user quite like we have with one of our latest projects—designing the sea lion exhibit at the Tulsa Zoo. Here, the protection and safety of the animals is paramount. The sea lions in the new Helmerich Sea Lion Exhibit will soon have a state-of-the-art environment that includes a 75,000-gallon salt water tank, natural rock formations, an isolation tank, and a medical recovery tank, along with underground viewing caves and a walkout viewing platform for visitors.

Sea lions have many of the same needs that people do. They thrive in a controlled temperature environment. They enjoy sun, shade, and water. (We did extensive shade modeling for the new exhibit.) They’re social, and enjoy playing together. Sea lions like some variety in their surroundings, but also the chance to feel at home. Their new setting will feature six different environments within the overall animal area, where they will encounter natural habitat that spans the diverse ecology of the 1,200 miles of their natural range.

Context is vital, not only for the sea lions but for zoo visitors as well. Designing zoo settings requires careful exploration of the surrounding environment. How will the sea lion habitat fit in with adjacent animal areas? How can people best view, hear, and interact with the animals? How will we keep both animals and people comfortable and safe? It has been an interesting design process.

I recently attended “Waltz on the Wild Side,” the Tulsa Zoo Foundation’s annual fundraiser. The food vendors’ stations were precariously arranged around the sea lion exhibit construction zone and the exhibit became the topic of many conversations as I walked through the crowd to enjoy the sampling of food. As I made my way to the Dewberry-designed Chapman Event Lodge, the occasion inspired an appreciation for the ambitious work completed, underway, and planned for the Tulsa Zoo. I thought about these exuberant creatures and how much they have taught us about the importance of the connection between our surroundings. I’m looking forward to seeing the sea lions, Briney and Dorsey, back at home in their new habitat, just as the Tulsa Zoo Friends are anxiously awaiting their turn to see the exhibit.