In its 100th anniversary year, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo will have something big to celebrate: a new home for its most celebrated animal.

The International Center for the Care and Conservation of Giraffe will open this summer — a $40 million project meant to benefit the hooved residents and human visitors who have long fed them by hand.

It will all begin from the zoo’s entrance, which has been under transformation while the state-of-the-art center has been rising above the giraffes’ familiar yard. From the entrance, guests will now walk into a newly landscaped plaza of trees, boulders and giraffe sculptures. They will follow the path into a new, sleek gift shop and cafe.

The path then goes into a sweeping complex said to be unlike anything else in the world. The sun shines through a roof that doesn’t look like a roof, the sky in clear view through a “pillow” material more common in Europe. Now giraffes will be able to experience the sun and moon cycles, when previously at night they were transferred from their open-air yard into a barn.

The International Center for the Care and Conservation of Giraffe’s 12,000-square-foot barn expands the herd’s interior space, complete with a heating and “rain” system. And the zoo reports the giraffes’ outdoor space will grow by 25%; they can freely walk outside to a reimagined “habitat.”

The concept is “about choice for giraffes and guests,” the zoo has explained.

Guests will still be able to feed giraffes nose to nose. But now they will move across 11 zones, including a platform above the giraffes. Or they will take a path down toward the hooves — allowing the possibility to feed babies for the first time.

The possibilities will continue outside, where giraffes previously limited to flat ground will have the option to go uphill — what promises to be another new, memorable sight for visitors.

But it’s not just about visitors, the zoo has emphasized: “The goal is to fill each giraffe’s day with positively reinforcing activities, such as exploring new spaces, munching on leaves and twigs, or taking advantage of some quiet time.”

The center was designed in collaboration with the zoo’s staff of behaviorists, trainers and veterinarians who have continued to build a rare knowledge base since the 1950s. That’s when giraffes were introduced and started growing families at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.

The center was designed to improve their well-being — and provide insight that could be shared far beyond Colorado Springs, explained Bob Chastain, the zoo’s longtime president and CEO.

It’s all about continuing and spreading a 100-year mission here, he said: “Giving animals a home worthy of being in human care.”