Oregon Zoo goes bananas with construction

Daily Journal of Commerce (Portland, OR), Mar 26, 2008 by Libby Tucker

The Oregon Zoo isn't monkeying around when it comes to finding builders for two new exhibits. The zoo wants to have contractors ready to begin work this spring, with the goal of having the animal exhibits ready for summer visitors.

Predators of the Serengeti will transform the former Alaska Tundra exhibit into an African savanna and bring for the first time lions, cheetahs and wild dogs to the zoo. The Red Ape Reserve will remodel the zoo's original bunker-like primate building from 1959 into a vision of Southeastern Asia to house the zoo's orangutans and mandrills.

"You'll be able to view the animals in a more natural habitat," Steve Chaney, a project manager for Metro, which oversees zoo operations, said. "It's very cutting edge for a zoo."

Underlying the exhibits' playful designs, careful and solid construction will determine the safety of animals and visitors alike. Smart and strong, orangutans, for example, will unscrew bolts that aren't welded together.

"When you look at an open mesh structure (that) a 350-pound ape is going to jump all over, it's much different than a building designed for people," Stephen Smiley, a principal with Peck Smiley Ettlin Architects, partners with the zoo's in-house design team, said.

"Material selection is so critical, it becomes the foremost thing," Smiley added. "Not too many materials hold up over time."

The need for durability means the exhibits will be made mostly of concrete, sculpted and painted to look like natural formations.

At the Red Ape Reserve, a tunnel that looks like a giant fallen tree will lead visitors into the renovated building, which will contain outdoor viewing areas as well as the primates' indoor living space.

The zoo's orangutans, which currently live indoors full-time, will have more room to swing and play in a 5,400-square-foot outdoor space under a mesh canopy that will extend over the entryway tunnel. Clear holes in the tunnel will give visitors a glimpse of the animals scrambling overhead.

Vines will hang from a large hollow tree extending through the canopy. And an underground tunnel will give zookeepers access to the inside of the tree where they'll hide treats and puzzles for the animals to find.

Looks can be deceiving, though. Those woody-looking vines will be made from rubber and rope which are easier to clean and more durable. The zoo's design team also will make its own rocks and plants, which will model the natural shapes of Southeast Asia.

"Finding something off the shelf wasn't feasible," Brent Shelby, design manager for the Oregon Zoo, said. "People-proof isn't (orangutan)-proof."

The Predators of the Serengeti exhibit also will require reshaping an old concrete building to expand viewing space and provide a new interactive area where visitors can ask zookeepers questions and meet the animals up-close. A giant "termite mound" of molded concrete will give kids a place to climb. And a giant python head outfitted with infrared vision will demonstrate how the snakes see.

The zoo's own design team will build many of the exhibits' features, but about 70 percent of the work is hard construction, which zoo staff will leave to a general contractor. The ideal builder would be able to partner with the zoo's team and work well in the hubbub of the zoo, Shelby said.

Work on the Red Ape Reserve will be awarded this week. The deadline to submit bids for the Predators of the Serengeti exhibit is April 10.