Primate Canopy Trails is a 35,000-square-foot outdoor expansion to the Primate House at the St. Louis Zoo in St. Louis, MO. The $13 million exhibit consists of new outdoor homes for primates and includes climbing structures that allow guests to explore the forest canopy next to the animals. This new exhibit is like a jungle gym for all primates, both zoo animals and human visitors. Creating a first-of-its-kind zoo experience, it is an outdoor playground that brings a sense of joy and freedom to all who venture there.
Decorative Concrete Conveys Story
Overhead mesh tunnels connected to the Primate House lead to tall, preexisting live trees and other outdoor habitats with spaces for the animals to climb and perch. Four tunnels lead to the Primate House, and four lead to the Primate Care Center. There is even a see-through tunnel that guests can walk through to get a panoramic view of the animals. Inside the care center, windows provide the primates with a view to the outside, which they didn’t have at the original Primate House. Two custom-built boxes in each habitat provide shelter from the rain or just a place to spend some alone time. In the winter, the caretakers can add a heating pad to transform the boxes into a warm zone. Each habitat also has custom shade sails and a cool mist fan for warm or hot days. While down below the paving placed by Musselman & Hall allows guests to wander beneath the trees surrounded by jungle. Bomanite Imprint Systems custom decorative concrete has the ability to tell a story as well as to enchant the eyes and stimulate the senses.
Sam Kroesen of Bomanite licensee Musselman & Hall Contractors worked with the designers from PGAV Destinations to develop a hardscape that would not only impress guests but would also mimic the natural habitat of the animals. Musselman & Hall craftsmen placed integrally colored concrete with “Dried Mud” textures and then imprinted the surface with actual jungle leaves and anatomically correct footprints for several monkey species to accurately represent the gait pattern of each species.
All of the Musselman & Hall work was capped with the jewel of the project, a 17-foot diameter medallion that used stenciling and three colors of Bomanite Color Hardener before being imprinted with an “Embedded Stone” texture to create a large-scale graphic that would hold up to the heavy foot traffic. Bomanite Imprint Systems are cast-in-place concrete flooring and paving that adds a distinctive architectural touch to any project, together with the durability to stand up to the toughest traffic loads and environmental conditions.
You Dream It, We Will Make It Happen
Bomanite Bomacron is a textured version of the original Bomanite Imprint decorative concrete, and is also cast-in-place, colored and imprinted, but provides the added dimension of texture and relief between the joint lines. The multitude of available patterns simulates a wide variety of natural materials including slate, granite, limestone, sandstone, wood, and cobblestone. Of course, as in the case in this project, if none of the existing patterns fit your specifications, custom patterns are in reach of your imagination. You dream it, and our network of Bomanite licensee’s will make it happen.
Bomanite Licensee Exceeds Expectations
Bomanite licensee Musselman & Hall Contractors is unsurpassed in the industry for their ability to handle difficult logistics and unusual specifications scenarios. They are well known for delivering projects that far exceed the expectations of their clients, easily meeting the challenges of budgets and timelines, and providing innovative solutions that specify the best product for each application. This project is an example of their highly qualified craftsmanship and ingenuity. Visitors of all ages to the St. Louis Zoo, and even many more yet-to-be-born generations, will be enchanted by their work of concrete art.
