Originally from Cork, Ireland, Kieran Stanley now lives in Berlin. Here, he plans and designs zoos and leisure parks across the globe. After completing his architectural studies at Trinity College Dublin, Stanley travelled to Hannover in Germany to work for an architectural firm commissioned to develop the masterplan for the Hannover Zoo. This masterplan approach became an important milestone in the development of European zoos.
In 1999, Stanley established the dan pearlman Group, a leading brand and experience architecture group, in Berlin. Serving as CEO and creative director of dan pearlman’s experience architecture division, he has worked alongside some of the biggest brands in the world. He develops sustainable projects for parks and resorts, educational attractions, and zoos and aquariums.
Stanley is a member of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA), the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA), the German Leisure Park Association and the European Waterpark Association (EWA).
Some of his major projects include developing the masterplan for the Berlin Zoo, Chester Zoo’s ‘Islands’ project, South Korea’s first-ever Giant Panda habitat at Everland Resort, and the Rhinoceros Pagoda project at Berlin Zoo.
Discussing his approach with blooloop, Stanley said: “Designing a zoo is a complicated process since essentially we have to cater for three clients’ needs: The animals and their welfare, staff operations and the visitors. I prefer to collaborate closely through co-creative workshops or individual sessions with the curators, education team, marketing, retail or operations to get their input. That way, we can ‘bottom up’ the design, involving all the teams creating a holistic design.”
On Chester Zoo’s ‘Islands’ project, he said: “The teamwork and collaboration between all disciplines, whether zoology, education, operations or management, was very close and intense at times, but absolutely necessary in order to achieve such a result where all needs were satisfied and the visitor learns and experiences something unique.”
Nicole Srock.Stanley, the co-founder of dan pearlman Group, said: “Kieran is passionate about animal welfare. He wants to inspire people to fall in love with wildlife in order to help protect nature.”