By Chen Ying (25A01C), Teo Hui Sian (25S06C), and Tay Yu Ning (25S07A)

Tucked within the lush heart of Mandai Wildlife Reserve lies Rainforest Wild Asia, a captivating immersion into Southeast Asia’s tropical rainforests. More than just a sequence of exhibits, it’s a living, breathing ecosystem — one where nature and design meet to create a sanctuary that feels both ancient and alive.  

History & Revision: Reimagining the Concept of a Zoo

The vision for Rainforest Wild Asia began in 2017 as part of Mandai Wildlife Group’s broader mission to transform Mandai into a world-class eco-tourism destination. The goal was radical: to create a park that felt less like a zoo, and more like a journey through a living rainforest.

To bring this vision to life, Mandai partnered with UK-based Grant Associates and US-based CLR Design, specialists in ecological and zoo design. Together, they imagined an environment where animals roam without visible barriers, and visitors explore as if they were trekking through a real jungle.

Monkeys freely roaming about, just a few metres away from visitors, in one of the exhibits. 

Designing with Nature

One critical principle of Rainforest Wild Asia’s design, which we learnt, was designing the park alongside nature, with habitats carefully reconstructed from natural ecosystems, rather than imposed upon them. 

“The park has been meticulously designed to work with nature, not against it.” – Minister Grace Fu, at the official opening of Rainforest Wild Asia

The Karsts: A Vertical Drama for Langurs

One of the park’s most iconic features is the Karst enclosure—a towering, craggy landscape inspired by the limestone cliffs of Vietnam and southern China. Designed to house François’ langurs, the artificial karsts are more than scenic rock formations; they’re feats of engineering. 

The enclosure mimics the vertical terrain that langurs naturally navigate — a design that’s both true to nature and visually striking. The landscape feels so convincingly wild, that you can’t help but be impressed when you realize that it’s entirely artificially created. 

The majestic karsts in all their glory.

Another thing stands out – rope bridges and walkways are seamlessly integrated into the enclosure itself, with certain points having seemingly no barriers between the observer and the animal. This is exactly the illusion the park’s design set out to create – an invisible barrier.

There are, in fact, ‘barriers’, just not in the form of fences or barricades. Instead, each cliff face is smoothed down deliberately to prevent the monkeys from climbing out. The surrounding moat also serves to keep the monkeys in, ensuring the safety of observers without the use of cages or glass.

“To design a habitat, we go against what the animals are capable of,” a ranger explained. “If a monkey can climb it, we make it unclimbable—but make it look like it could be.”

Slideshow: Spot the Monkeys! Can you find them?

The Cavern: 3D-Printed Wilderness

The Cavern is perhaps the most technologically ambitious structure in the park. Inspired by the Mulu Caves in Sarawak, the cavern was 3D-scanned, digitally modeled, and prefabricated in Johor before being assembled on-site. 

Constructed with a steel skeleton and concrete shell, the cave is filled with meticulous details—fossilized beehives, turtle skeletons, Shiftlet frog nests, and paw prints—all based on real cave biodiversity. The cave’s Oculus, a skylight that lets in a shaft of natural light, adds a theatrical moment of awe.

A collection of scenic shots from The Cavern, showing its incredibly realistic design

The Cavern’s immersive design is so convincing that it feels ancient – many of our journalists at Raffles Press initially thought that they were imported from a historical site! However, it was actually built and designed through artificial materials like a modern building, and shaped to look like a real cave through cutting-edge technology.

Flexible Habitats

The natural and barrier-less environments also enable a new type of habitat – flexible habitats – an approach that allows different species to share the same space at different times of the day, emulating how they would typically interact in nature. 

The ‘Rock Cascade’, for instance, is home to a pair of predator and prey species – the hypercarnivorous red dhole (Asian wild dogs) and the bearded pig. To make this possible, the species are strategically rotated throughout the day, with rangers actively luring the animals into specific areas with food, ensuring smooth transitions without competition over the shared space.

The red dhole and the bearded pig – predator and prey. (Source: bearded pig , red dhole)

 As compared to traditional, static enclosures, these dynamic environments are designed to stimulate natural behaviors by mimicking the rhythms of wildlife more closely – something often diminished in conventional settings.

While such an arrangement isn’t obvious to the eyes of the average, roaming visitor, it is a testament to the substantial efforts being made behind-the-scenes to design with and according to nature.

Balancing Aesthetics & Authenticity

The same thoughtfulness in the park’s habitat design also manifests in the creation of its aesthetic landscapes. There are two distinct types of aesthetics present in the park: one where the landscape is picturesque but clearly sculpted, and others where the line between design and wilderness disappears. 

At the Rock Cascades, pools of clear azure water gather between rugged rock formations, creating what feel like natural fountains. The environment is beautiful, but one can tell it’s been tailored as such. Here, you can appreciate how perfectly curated the landscape is – the composition of rugged rock, flowing water and untroubled foliage is careful and precise, and plays together to create an idyllic aesthetic. 

Cascading fountains at the Rock Cascades.

These areas, where paths are carefully carved and viewpoints intentionally framed, are enjoyed by visitors on the elevated walkways. Beneath these walkways, however, is the Forest Trek, described as a hike across the forest floor that takes adventurous visitors deeper into the rainforest. 

We set out on this path – and it doesn’t feel like a man-made trail. You pass flowing streams, stumble across fallen logs, and weave through dense greenery that hasn’t been overly manicured. This is the second type of aesthetic: the line between design and wilderness blurs, and the trail looks like it grew into place, rather than being imposed on the environment. 

Pictures from the Forest Trek.

We know, of course, that it’s been intentionally designed to feel this way—yet you almost can’t tell. At some points, you’re left with the sense that nature is simply unfolding around you—untouched, alive, and entirely by its own terms. 

There may not be as much scientific or ecological theory shaping the aesthetic side of the park, but crafting the illusion of wildness is a demanding art in itself. At times, you’re struck by how picturesque and carefully composed the landscapes are; at others, you forget someone designed them in the first place.

A Park Built on Collaboration

The concept of a wildlife park isn’t new. That is, seeing animals you’d never see otherwise, stepping into a place that speaks in roars and rustles instead of words, and unlocking an almost childlike sense of wonder and curiosity. 

Yet, there’s something exceptional to be appreciated about Rainforest Wild Asia’s architecture – more than anything, it brings visitors closer to the park’s wildlife and inspires them to appreciate the careful design that enables this connection. 

There’s something else we ought to appreciate – this remarkable feat was not the work of one mind, but the result of years of collaboration between architects, animal care specialists, horticulturists, engineers, and designers. Every detail was intentional, from the contours of the artificial karsts to the timing of animal rotations, and they reflect the precision of countless individuals working toward a shared vision.

“It’s not just one person’s vision, but the result of an extensive collaboration between designers, architects, engineers, ecologists, animal care teams… every single detail was shaped by the passion of so many talented and committed people” – Michelle Yik, lead designer of Rainforest Wild Asia

And the journey doesn’t end here. The next chapter unfolds with Mandai’s Rainforest Wild Africa — a park set to bring the landscapes of the Afro-Tropical region and Madagascar to life. Though its opening date is yet to be announced, you can be sure that it’ll be an experience worth waiting for.