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Wild, Wild World
Bill Bensley’s ambitious World Wild project fuses zoo, hotel and wildlife preserve – but not how you might expect.
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Throughout a career that has seen him design
medicine industries. “I want to set an example
some 200 projects, architect and environmentalist
in China in the areas of wildlife conservation
Bill Bensley has used hospitality as a vehicle for
and animal welfare,” Bensley writes in an open
change. At Shinta Mani Wild – a south Cambodian
letter. “I recognise that China is changing,
resort fusing luxury and conservation efforts
and I want to help fuel that positive change on
– his work sees the hotel striving to protect
behalf of the voiceless – our planet’s precious
the surrounding river valley ecosystem whilst
flora and fauna.” The initial plan involves the
inviting guests along for ranger walks to rescue
development of 2,400 guestrooms in a section
snared critters. Not content with defending our
of the 5,000-hectare World Wild Guangdong
furry, scaled, and winged friends on a local
release site, with the hotel providing a source of
level however, Bensley is expanding his efforts
funds for the sanctuary to operate. Flipping the
and taking the cause to China’s multi-billion-
zoo concept on its head, the animals will be free
dollar animal industries. Under the World Wild
to roam the dedicated sanctuary whilst guests
banner, the designer has planned a series of
are housed within one of the designer’s typically
wildlife sanctuaries in Asia, Africa and Australia
outlandish projects. Whilst not technically a
featuring high-end hotels at their core, with a
human zoo by name, any animals looking in on
vision to save and protect thousands of animals
this curious exhibit might argue differently.
from China’s roadside zoos and traditional
