Following a successful competition entry in 2015, HRA lead a design team to deliver this 8000m2 development of this new anchor attraction at Ega Park in Thuringia's capital. After a construction period of around two years the new desert and jungle house was officially opened on the occasion of the Federal Garden Show "BUGA 2021". The nature experience, which can be used all year round, focuses on water and its importance in different climatic zones of the earth.

The project houses - in addition to an event space and gastronomic offerings - a desert house and a jungle house as its main components. Here, the habitats with their specific flora and fauna will not only be presented but can be experienced.

In an integral planning approach, the indoor climate concepts were developed to optimally correspond to specific requirements of the respective climate zones. The simulation goals were to depict climate conditions as realistically as possible, to create optimal conditions for the life of plants and animal populations, to combine this with a sustainable visitor experience and also to operate the building as energy-efficiently as possible. Computer-aided dynamic simulation models were used for a detailed analysis, evaluation and optimization of the concepts.

In winter, both areas need to be heated. Ventilation systems, optimized for specific conditions in each case, ensure the necessary minimum air exchange in an energy-efficient manner. In summer, both areas are exclusively ventilated and air-conditioned in a natural way; chillers for air conditioning are not used. In the Jungle House fog systems are used to control the indoor climate and at the same time contribute to the atmosphere. The supply with natural daylight for the exhibited plants, which was also optimized with the aid of simulation models, is particularly importance to the project. In addition to the main building, a winter greenhouse will be built to replace the existing but outdated winter storage for the most sensitive plants of the park. The completed project opened in 2019.