Having doubled the number of species and exponentially increased the number of animal meals being prepared, the animal nutrition center at The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium had out-grown the current square footage.

The goal of the addition and renovation was to reconfigure the space to increase work flow and minimize cross contamination, along with increasing the storage capacity.

A clearly defined produce prep area and a meat and seafood prep area were designated. Within each zone the coolers and freezers were readily accessible. The browse cooler was expanded and a new produce cooler was added. The meat cooler was relocated to be directly accessible from the meat and seafood prep area. A new pre-weigh freezer directly accessible from the meat freezer and prep area was also added.

A separate dish washing room near the loading dock was added to eliminate dirty equipment from being tracked through the center, thereby further increasing the flow and minimizing cross contamination.