The Minnesota Zoo is to begin construction on its Treetop Trail, which will see 1.25 miles of former monorail track repurposed as a pedestrian walkway. Scheduled for completion in summer 2023, the trail will see guests explore hundreds of acres of hardwood forest, wildlife, and wetlands from 32 feet in the air.

The scheme was designed by Minneapolis-based Snow Kreilich Architects, who began feasibility work on the project in 2016, including appraisals of the monorail track’s structural capacity. The architects gave particular attention to five so-called “touch-down” points from which visitors would access the trail.

“These points should hint at what will be explored on the trail and invite visitors to explore nature,” said the architects as well as serving as amenity stations with clear paths to dining, programs, and exhibits.

The design of the scheme was inspired by the New York City High Line, which saw a comparable 1.45-mile stretch of decommissioned elevated railway converted into a public pedestrian walkway. Similarly, the Minnesota Zoo project sees the repurposing of a monorail track which closed in 2013, having opened in the 1970s.

“We wanted to get those views back,” said zoo director John Frawley. “With the monorail not working, it disrupted the whole original zoo design. Even the way that the habitats flow and how they’re positioned were to be viewed from that angle, that monorail height.”

The monorail track will now form the base of the walkway, ranging between 8 and 12 feet in width, with seating incorporated at wider spans. The zoo also plans to use the walkway for wellness events such as walks and yoga classes, live music performances, and arts events.

The scheme is estimated to cost $39 million which the zoo is funding through a mix of philanthropic contributions and public support.

News of the scheme follows almost one year after architects Snow Kreilich became one of 19 architecture firms to take part in the NOMA Foundation Fellowship, which saw the next generation of architects and designers paired with architecture firms for mentorship and professional development.

Previously, the firm was also a winner at the 2019 AIA Housing Awards, and also won the 2018 AIA Architecture Firm Award. In a subsequent episode of Archinect Sessions, the firm’s founders Julie Snow and Matt Kreilich said of the accolade: “This award is great because it didn’t come to Matt and I. It came to Snow Kreilich.”