Africa Live! Exhibit at San Antonio Zoo

ESP’s San Antonio office (formerly Vickrey & Associates, LLC) provided civil engineering and survey services for the 1.5-acre Africa Live! Exhibit, composed of a nonlinear, curved structure with 300 drilled piers within a tight footprint. Design of the exhibit was especially challenging as it required demolition of 3.8 acres of existing zoo property, complete renovation of the elephant area, and design of specialized circulation and filtration systems for a state-of-the-art underwater hippo and crocodile habitat that allowed visitors to observe the animals in a simulated natural environment.

Africa Live Exhibit at San Antonio Zoo

In addition to topographic survey and staking, the ESP team was responsible for the site dimension plan for building and exhibit placement in accordance with the architect’s layout, stormwater drainage design and Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SW3P), building electrical and plumbing design, and wastewater systems. We also completed the fire and domestic water design, which included analysis for fire flow protection and domestic facility demand and required coordination with the San Antonio Fire Marshal to develop the fire access and protection plan.

2008 Best of Non-Profits, Texas Construction Magazine

Client

San Antonio Zoological Society

Location

San Antonio, TX

Size

1.5 acres

Status

Completed in 2008

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