Toronto Zoo is about to open its CA$18m (US$13.6m, €12.1m, £10.7m) Wildlife Health Centre – a brand new high-tech zoo hospital and laboratory with visitor facilities for the public.

The zoo held an official opening ceremony for the 50,000sq ft (4,645sq m) centre on 26 June, with the facility opening to the public on Saturday (1 July).

Once open, visitors will be able to access a public viewing area, which offers a glimpse at the zoo's veterinary procedures, with rooms on view including Diagnostic Imaging, Treatment, Surgery, Clinical Lab and the Endocrinology Lab.

In addition to offering healthcare services for the zoo’s 5,000 animals, the centre is also home to the zoo’s reproductive physiology lab, conservation breeding programmes, Amphibian Rescue Centre (ARC) and high school co-op programme. The centre will also host research projects with universities, colleges, government and non-government agencies, and a veterinary zoo residency training programme.

Diamond Schmitt Architects partnered with DesignLeveL on the project, with the designers working closely with the zoo to meet the health centre’s necessary specifications. In addition to providing animal healthcare facilities, the building also uses leading-edge sustainable construction techniques, and includes a cooling roofing, insulated foundation walls, LED lighting, heat recovery systems and bird-friendly glazing. Gilliam Group were general contractors for the build.

According to the zoo, the new centre “lays the foundation” for its mission of ensuring its animals remain healthy and that it can improve its reproductive sciences and conservation research.

“Each year, zoo staff conduct more than 5,000 procedures including exams, treatments, sample collection, medication administration, processing, immobilisations and surgeries,” said Dr. Chris Dutton, head of Veterinary Services at Toronto Zoo. “Visitors will now be able to see firsthand some of this great work that has historically taken place behind-the-scenes.”