About us | How we work | Principal partners | Associate consultants
About us
Pangea Consultants is a design team specializing in the planning and design of wildlife based projects. Our studio is led by two principal partners, Laura Yanez and Gustavo Collados who are personally involved in each project. We easily work in English, Spanish and French.
We plan and design projects which enable people to be in close touch with nature.
Among these facilities are zoos, zoological gardens, safaris, botanical gardens, arboreta, aquaria, ecotourism projects and wildlife parks.
Our services include the whole planning and design process, from site analysis, concept planning and master planning to detailed design and construction observation.
We understand the complexity of meeting and balancing the highest standards for all the "stakeholders" in the project. We aim to create fascination for visitors and a healthy environment for animals and plants while ensuring that operators, educators, keepers, managers and administrators are able to work safely and effectively.
How we work
Our experience in developing countries give us an understanding of projects that are seeking high quality but are constrained by tight budgets.
We usually work as consultants in cooperation with a client's team or a local architectural firm. This way the client obtains know how at a relatively low cost and the project has input from the local design specialists to incorporate key cultural and environmental aspects. We use a workshop format composed of client representatives and our team. If the project's scope of work is big enough we are able to locate a local firm.
Both Laura and Gustavo are personally involved in each project. We create a focussed and effective team of consultants which we select from specialists in fields such as master planning, exhibit design, lighting design, soundscape design, zoology, animal health, ecology, botany, finance, interpretation and education. In the case of an already existing team we are often asked to join and consequently strengthen different areas through the use of our consultant specialists.
Principal Partners
Laura Yanez, Principal Partner
Architecture, Zoo Planning & Holding Building Design
Laura is Principal Partner of Pangea Consultants, a specialist zoo design
firm based in Mexico City and Santiago de Chile. She was a founder and principal partner of Sherman Yanez Mikami, Inc, Seattle and Mexico City. She has also worked as an Associate with the Portico Group, Jones & Jones and Cihan Anisoglu Architects in Seattle, Washington, Dunning, Kuroda & Wolken Architects, Pennsylvania and CRYLSA Constructora y Restauradora, Mexico City.
Her clients include wildlife based projects from the Night Safari in Singapore to the Chapultepec Zoo in Mexico City. She has worked on master planning, exhibit design and the total planning and re-development of zoos.
Gustavo Collados, Principal Partner
Landscape Ecology, Landscape Architecture, Zoo Planning & Exhibit Design
Gustavo Collados, Principal Partner
Landscape Ecology, Landscape Architecture, Zoo Planning & Exhibit Design
Gustavo is Principal Partner of Pangea Consultants, a specialist zoo design firm based in Mexico City and Santiago de Chile. He was a Partner in the Laura Yáñez /Gustavo Collados Design Office in Mexico City and collaborated with Sherman, Yáñez & Mikami, Inc, Seattle and Mexico City.
He has worked on exhibits, feasibility studies, master plans and construction observation in a range of zoos, including Singapore Zoological Gardens, Chiang Mai Night Safari in Thailand and Temaiken Wildlife Animal Park in Argentina.
Associate Consultants
Bernard Harrison
Professional Zoo Management & Zoology
Bernard Harrison is the 'zoo man' behind the success of the Singapore Zoological Gardens (SZG) & the Night Safari. He joined the SZG as Curator of Zoology in 1973, & swiftly went to positions such as Assistant Director, Executive Director, Chief Executive of the SZG & Night Safari, & finally, Chief Executive Officer of Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS). When the WRS Consultancy was set up under his leadership, Bernard was involved in the planning & development of zoo projects in China, India, Indonesia, Cambodia, United Arab Emirates & the Seychelles. He set up Bernard Harrison & Friends Ltd in 2002 as a consultancy firm specializing in zoo design & management. Long involved in the internationally zoo scene, it is a roll of posts that he holds today. He is a member of the WRS Animal Welfare & Ethics Committee, Executive Board member & Immediate Past President of South East Asian Zoos Association (SEAZA) & member of IUCN's Conservation Breeding Specialist Group (CBSG). World Council Board Member of International Association of Theme Park & Attractions (IAAPA), World Board Member of International Species Inventory System (ISIS). He was also on the Council of the World Association of Zoos & Aquariums (WAZA), & subsequently became its Secretary & Vice President.
Tina Lim Long
Commercial Management & Retail
Tina is the ideal consultant in retail, commercial management, advertising, public relations, broadcasting & hotel management. She excels in concept & image branding, merchandise selection & operations training of managers and their teams. She conceptualized, planned the facilities & syllabuses, & directed the operations of the regional training centers at both Christian Dior & Club 21 respectively. She has worked with The Body Shop Far East, Grant Kenyond & Eckhard, Shangri-La Hotel, Ewing Communications & the Singapore Broadcasting Corporation. When she was Head of Corporate Communications at The Body Shop Far East, she managed the 'Values & Vision' portfolio & was their spokesperson publicizing their campaigns & conservation messages.
Simon Corder
Lighting Design
Simon is a leading member of the theatrical lighting design fraternity in Britain and presently runs his own company - Simon Corder, in London. An avant-garde lighting designer, his
experience in opera and theatre lighting as well as outdoor theatrical productions has enabled him to provide economical and original solutions to problems with lighting zoological displays. As lighting designer for the Singapore Zoo’s Night Safari, he incorporated many theatrical principles into the specialized lighting of the Safari, so as to heighten the drama of nocturnal encounters with wild animals.
Nigel Frayne
Soundscape
Nigel has worked as sound engineer in the USA, Europe, Asia and Australasia. With a background in rock and classical music, sound engineering and theatre sound design, he has developed a unique blend of design and technical skills in sound design and electro-acoustic soundscaping. He has created several aural environments, such as the Baboons of Ethiopia, Fragile Forest Journey and Elephants of Asia, at the Singapore Zoo. His
portfolio includes museums, zoos, aquariums, science and shopping centers as well as arts and leisure precincts. His services include inception to post installation, support and maintenance.
Kazuto Mikami
Architecture, Zoo Planning & Holding Building Design
Kazuto is a registered architect in Seattle, WA USA, and has been working in the zoo field for more than 30 years. He was a founder and principal partner of Sherman Yanez Mikami, Inc, Seattle and Mexico City. He has also worked as an Senior Associate with Jones & Jones for 18 years. His working experience includes many of the most important zoos in North America, including San Diego Zoo, Woodland Park Zoo and Point Defiance Zoo. In Asia, he has worked in zoo projects in Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. His skill in master planing and specially in designing holding buildings and the mechanical details for these facilities makes him a key consultant for a zoo project.