戴安·弗西基金会 & 艾伦·德詹尼丝园区丨卢旺达丨MASS Design Group + TENxTEN

The Ellen DeGeneres Campus for the Dian Fossey Fund | MASS Design Group + TENxTEN

项目陈述

PROJECT STATEMENT

气候变化与城市化正加速生物多样性丧失，预计将导致超过一百万个物种面临灭绝风险。卢旺达的极危物种——山地大猩猩对此尤为敏感。

位于中非维龙加火山山麓的戴安·弗西基金会-艾伦·德詹尼丝园区，其建设目标包括：为大猩猩研究提供先进设施，开展公众教育与启发性展示，并测试以生态为导向的保护技术，用于生物多样性保护、生态复育与森林重建，覆盖构成大猩猩栖息地的五类非洲山地生态系统。该园区同时作为“活实验室”和户外课堂，培养新一代非洲本土自然保护人才。

The loss of biodiversity caused by climate change and urbanization is expected to lead to the extinction of over one million species. The critically-endangered mountain gorilla of Rwanda is particularly susceptible to these threats.

The Ellen DeGeneres Campus for the Dian Fossey Fund, situated at the foot of the Virunga Mountains in Central Africa, is designed to provide state-of-the-art facilities for gorilla research, educate and inspire visitors, and test ecologically driven techniques for biodiversity conservation, rewilding, and reforestation of the five Afromontane ecologies that comprise the gorilla territory. The campus serves as a living laboratory and an outdoor classroom to train future generations of African conservationists.

▲为全面支撑戴安·弗西大猩猩基金会在山地大猩猩保护、研究与长期监测方面的使命，该园区从规划到建设均为定制化打造。A purpose-built campus, designed and constructed to amplify the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund’s mission to conserve, protect, and study mountain gorillas. © MASS Design Group

项目说明

PROJECT NARRATIVE

研究驱动的园区体系

园区于2022年启用，占地约5公顷，位于卢旺达火山国家公园山麓，为戴安·弗西基金会提供了一个长期稳定的基地，用于推动人与野生动物共同参与的保护行动。该基金会是全球规模最大、持续时间最长、专注于大猩猩保护的机构。新园区的建成，使其在科研、保护、监测与人才培养方面具备更强支撑能力，同时也有助于提升周边社区的生态韧性。

园区包含科研、教育、公众传播及居住等多类功能设施。整体以本地材料建造，采用可持续施工方式，尽量减少资源消耗与环境扰动。系统整合了雨水收集、绿色屋顶、大规模生态复植以及人工湿地污水处理系统，在提升环境绩效的同时促进生物多样性恢复。

生物多样性与生态韧性

维龙加地区位于赤道附近，是三大生物地理区的交汇带，被称为中非的“生态十字路口”，拥有高度多样的生境类型。园区位于维龙加山地体系边缘，同时也作为卢旺达政府公园边界外扩计划的先行试验区——拟沿公园边界整体外扩1公里，以增强生物多样性保护，并减少人类活动区与大猩猩栖息地的重叠。

设计将原本被外来桉树侵占的农用地，逐步改造为本土生态主导的复合森林景观，重点恢复四类公园典型生态系统：非洲山地混交林、山地竹林、Hagenia–Hypericum林地以及山地草甸。由于当地缺乏商业苗圃体系，项目团队从关键生态区采集、繁育并栽植了超过25万株本土植物。

面向公众的保护区入口

园区设置了三条主题解说步道，引导访客以沉浸方式了解保护工作：

大猩猩花园步道：通过模拟大猩猩觅食与休憩路径，让访客从感官与触觉层面体验其自然环境特征。

生物多样性步道：展示周边山地不同生境类型，同时为研究人员在园区内持续监测植物演替与气候影响提供样地条件。

湿地步道：环绕污水处理湿地系统，通过解说工程—生态复合系统的运作机制，让公众直观看到湿地生物群落的快速增长。

步道系统结合互动展示，使访客能够从日常行为尺度理解“大猩猩的一天”。园区核心位置设置大型露天剧场，用于讲座、演示与公众活动。各建筑均设有火山石铺就的外廊与座墙，并结合定制木质座椅，既可社交停留，也可远眺山体景观。

项目的核心目标，是为自然保护相关各方——学生、科研人员、游客、合作机构与社区成员——提供共同参与的平台，从而推进大猩猩保护事业。如今，园区已成为野生动植物活跃生长的生态场所，同时也是科研与教学并行的实践基地，持续激励来到这里的研究者与学生投身保护行动。

▲园区选址经过策略性评估，位于未来维龙加国家公园扩展边界的关键节点位置。The campus location was identified strategically to sit on the edge of the future Virunga National Park expansion. © MASS Design Group

▲设计将原场地改造为以自然恢复为主导的生态系统，同时容纳教育、科研与实验测试等复合功能。The design transforms the site into a rewilded natural ecosystem alongside space for education, research, and testing. © MASS Design Group

▲整体景观系统参照维龙加国家公园的原生生态类型构建，既形成高质量生境，也提供沉浸式生态学习体验。The landscape emulates the native ecologies found in the Virunga National Park to create an immersive education experience and productive habitat. © MASS Design Group

▲各单体建筑均与周边地形与植被系统协同布局，在空间与视线上都保持与自然环境的紧密联系。Each of the buildings is designed in relationship to the landscape, integrating a physical and visual connection to nature. © MASS Design Group

▲建筑入口空间通过在地定制铺装与乡土植物配置强化场地过渡界面，使室内外与景观形成连续体验。Thresholds into the buildings celebrate the connection to the landscape by integrating local, custom fabricated pavers and planting into each space. © MASS Design Group

▲园区中央设置开放式集会空间，作为各建筑与步道系统之间的核心连接节点。An outdoor assembly space at the center of the campus forms a connective link between the campus buildings and trails. © MASS Design Group

▲多条解说型步道引导访客深入了解大猩猩栖息地特征与森林恢复实践。Interpretive paths allow for visitors to explore and expand their education of gorilla habitats and reforestation efforts. © MASS Design Group

▲生物多样性主题步道通过串联不同生态节点，提供连续、直观的现场学习路径。Biodiversity trails allow for first-had education and experience by sequentially linking spaces across the campus where site ecologies intersect. © MASS Design Group

▲场地内设置多种解说设施与互动装置，用于传播保护理念并激发公众参与。Interpretive elements within the site help to education visitors about conservation and inspire unique interaction. © MASS Design Group

▲园区采用多项可持续设计策略，包括绿色屋顶、雨水收集系统以及全国首个此类型的人工生态处理湿地。The campus employs sustainable design via green roofs, rainwater harvesting, and a constructed wetland which is the first of its kind in the country. © MASS Design Group

▲科研人员与生态学家利用苗圃系统开展复植技术研究，持续优化本地生物多样性恢复方法。Researchers and biologists use the nursery to study reforestation techniques to further strengthen local methods of biodiversity regeneration. © MASS Design Group

▲项目通过劳务投入与区域材料供应链建设，为卢旺达本地经济带来约1500万美元的直接投入。The project invested $15M in the economy of Rwanda through labor and regionally sourced materials pipelines. © MASS Design Group

▲园区为学生与访客提供沉浸式学习平台，支持新一代自然保护人才的培养。The campus offers a first-hand educational opportunity for students and visitors seeking to become the next generation of conservationists. © MASS Design Group

▲园区景观共引入并繁育超过30万株本土植物，其中多数物种在当地市场原本无法获得。Over 300,000 native plants were sourced and propagated for the campus landscape, most which, were not found within the local market. © MASS Design Group

▲占地12英亩的园区作为区域性生态保护与环境教育核心节点，确立了卢旺达重要的自然保护基地地位。The 12-acre campus is a significant investment that anchors the region as a conservation hub for ecological preservation and education in Rwanda. © MASS Design Group

PROJECT NARRATIVE

A Research-Driven Campus Opening in 2022, a purpose-built campus covering 5 hectares at the base of Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park provides the Dian Fossey Fund with a permanent home to engage local communities–both human and non-human–in their conservation mission. With the construction of this new campus, the world’s largest and longest-running organization dedicated entirely to gorilla conservation will be enabled to further support, protect, and study gorillas, train the next generation of African conservationists, and increase the ecological resilience of local communities.

The campus consists of state-of-the-art facilities for education, outreach, research, and housing. The buildings and campus are built from locally sourced materials and utilize sustainable construction methods to conserve resources and minimize environmental impact. The campus integrates rainwater harvesting, green roofs, acres of reforestation, and a constructed wetland to treat wastewater and promote biodiversity.

Biodiversity and Resilience Straddling the equator at an ‘ecological crossroads’ in central Africa, where three bio-geographic regions intersect, the Virunga National Park supports an exceptional diversity of habitat types. Sitting at the base of the Virunga Mountains, the campus serves as a test for the Rwandan government’s plan to expand the park’s boundary by 1 km along its entire border to invest in the richness of this biodiversity, as well as to reduce the overlap between human and gorilla territories.

The design transforms an agricultural plot overgrown with invasive Eucalyptus trees into a reforested landscape that supports four native ecologies found in the park: mixed Afromontane forest, Arundinaria bamboo forest, Hagenia-Hypericum forest, and Afromontane meadow. In a country with no commercial plant nurseries, over 250,000 native plants were collected, propagated, and planted from key ecological zones for the campus.

A Gateway to Conservation Three interpretive trails encourage visitors to experience the Fossey Fund’s work firsthand. The Gorilla Garden trail leads visitors through typical foraging and resting movements of gorillas, allowing them to experience the sensory and tactile qualities of their natural environment. The Biodiversity Trail showcases the different habitats within the surrounding mountain range, providing opportunities for researchers to monitor the evolution of local plants and the potential effects of climate change right on campus. The Wetland Trail circumnavigates the wastewater treatment wetland, interpreting the complex engineered system and engaging visitors with the explosion of biodiversity thriving in the wetland.

The trails provide interactive opportunities for visitors to engage with the campus and experience a day in the life of a gorilla. A large amphitheater at the heart of campus provides space for lectures, demonstrations, and gatherings. Porches made of volcanic stone, with low seat walls and custom wood seating, are integrated into each building to provide both public and private-facing spaces for visitors to socialize and observe the volcanoes above the campus.

The mission of the project is to create spaces to engage the many stakeholders in conservation – students, scientists, tourists, partners, community members – to advance the goal of saving gorillas. Today, the campus blossoms with wildlife and is a living laboratory for researchers and students who leave inspired to make a difference.