Remaking a Roller Coaster into a Home for Birds at Lion Mountain

We’ve completed a number of unusual adaptive use projects—repurposing a storefront for the GLBT History Museum, converting a historic 1880s stone vinegar factory into offices for a nonprofit foundation, and remaking an industrial shed into a bunkhouse for artists. But we never expected we’d be asked to turn a roller coaster into an aviary.

Shishan Park Rollercoaster Aviary

Suzhou, China
Inspired by traditional Chinese ink paintings, the new form of this aviary, with Lion Mountain behind it, evokes the feeling of layered misty mountains. This project repurposes an abandoned rollercoaster structure into a 160,000 SF enclosed aviary. New programs include: wildlife exhibits, water features, walkways, and viewing platforms.
Architect to TLS Landscape Architecture