The Auckland Zoo, in conjunction with Auckland City Council, has completed this new $4m animal care and research facility within the zoo grounds. The single-storey building comprises education and administration spaces, clinical rooms for diagnosis, research and surgery, accommodation for recovering and isolated animals, and a zoo visitor enclosure where the public can view activities inside. The public education component is viewed as essential to the design and function of the new building. As well as meeting the day to day healthcare requirements of the parks inhabitants, the facility is intended to promote the zoos involvement in the wider issues of endangered species preservation and the ways in which the health of wildlife and human populations are interlinked.