M&T Bank's Rainforest Falls--Buffalo Zoo

Established in 1875, the Buffalo Zoo is the third oldest zoo in the USA. The M&T Bank’s Rainforest Falls Building was phase II of the $75-million overhaul, and with a $16-million budget the biggest project in the zoo’s redesign.
The goal for the new building was to create a year-round attraction that would generate attendance for the zoo even in the icy-cold Buffalo winters.

The building design employs a new roof technology used for the first time in a USA zoo. Two layers of plastic membranes form pillows that are constantly kept inflated by low-flow pumps. The membranes are made of EFTE (Ethylene Tetrafluoro-Ethylene) which is a better insulator then glass but also allows UV light to pass through. The UV light is not only beneficial for plant growth, it is also crucial for the mammals, birds, and reptiles in the exhibit. The production of vitamins like vitamin D is dependent on full-spectrum sunlight. The membrane roof will diminish the reliance on nutritional supplements that are usually necessary for animals kept permanently indoors.

The rainforest hall is anchored by a rockwork plateau 7.6 m (25 feet) high, which is modeled after the mysterious tepui mountains in Venezuela. The plateaus of these table-top mountains are isolated by the sheer rockwalls surrounding them and are home to specialized endemic species of plants and animals. The frequent rain that feeds their watery eco-systems washes down the cliffs in waterfalls hundreds of meters high. The highest of these waterfalls, and the highest free-falling waterfall worldwide, is Angel Falls with 979 m (3,212 feet). Angel Falls was the inspiration for the waterfall in the center of the rockwork wall. The waterfall feeds a river snaking through the exhibit. Exposed sandbanks with overhanging roots signal that this is the dry season where the water dropped and laid bare the surrounding landscape that is now inhabited by land animals.