Tag Archives: El Paso Zoo

Bomanite Artistic Concrete creates native habitat with Bomanite Imprint Systems for the El Paso Zoo Chihuahuan Desert Exhibit

“The El Paso Zoo celebrates the value of animals and natural resources and creates opportunities for people to rediscover their connection to nature.”

Looking for an activity to do for Earth Day, visit the El Paso Zoo and its latest exhibit, the Chihuahuan Desert. The El Paso Zoo is a 35-acre facility that houses animals representing over 220 species, including critically endangered species. Accredited by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA), the El Paso Zoo celebrates the value of animals and natural resources and creates opportunities for people to rediscover their connection to nature.

The Chihuahuan Desert Exhibit showcases North America’s most diverse desert that encompasses the El Paso and Northern Mexico regions. The exhibit tells the story of the Chihuahuan Desert giving visitors the opportunity to experience not only the land, but the animals that surround them every day such as peccaries, wild turkeys, jack rabbits and includes key mammals such as Mexican grey wolves, mountain lions, and jaguars; birds including sand hill cranes, and barn owls; reptiles such as the bolson tortoise and coach whip snake; and arachnids such as scorpions, tarantulas, and black widow spiders.

Illustrating the habitat of an El Paso Texas Backyard, El Paso Zoo director Steve Marshall states “Our central goal with the new Chihuahuan Desert Exhibit is to inspire our visitors to go explore these biomes in our nearby, fantastic National and State Parks and even their own backyards – where they can make a personal, incredible impact on conservation.”

PGAV Destinations, a global attraction and exhibit design firm, worked on this mega million-dollar project that encompasses just 2.3 acres. “One of the greatest challenges of El Paso’s new exhibit space is incorporating an expansive set of animals into just over two acres, while ensuring that it is beautiful, tells a rich and cohesive story, and is healthy for the animals,” said John Kemper,vice president PGAV Destinations. “By overcoming that challenge, we intend to instill wonder in guests at the vast biodiversity in their own backyards and inspire them to explore the nearby wilderness and take action in conservation.”

With plans in place and everyone working towards the same design goals, Bomanite Artistic Concrete & Pools worked with PGAV Destinations and the El Paso Zoo on the decorative concrete surfaces that consisted of three different styles of implementation. To achieve the desert landscape with the natural ecosystem of plants and animals, natural stone patterns and aggregates were chosen.

As Visitors enter the exhibit they come through a recreated arroyo (a dry riverbed, which in nature, floods with water during times of heavy rain), The Bomacron Garden Stone pattern with a natural English slate texture consists of varying sizes of stones that range from ½” x 1” up to 15” x 21” providing a realistic approach to replicating the desert rock riverbed landscape of boulders down to small pebbles. A total of 15,000 square feet of imprinted concrete pattern was installed using Bomanite Sand Integral Color for the base along with varying Bomanite Color Hardeners of Autumn Brown and Forrest Brown. A Bomanite Clear Sealer was applied for future protection from the outdoor elements.

Upon entrance, visitors are greeted with a striking new Mexican Grey Wolf sculpture by artist Andy Dufford. The exhibit design was carefully composed to preserve a large number of existing mature trees; which, along with ample new shade structures, make the area comfortable and inviting for visitors while maintaining their sustainability goals. The nearby prairie dog habitat offers an interactive feature for visitors to meet the animals nose-to-nose through pop-up domes and crawl spaces.

An essential part of the overall geography and lifelike scene was an implemented 45’ mountain, inspired by incredible rock features in the nearby Hueco Tanks State Park & Historic Site. To reveal the power and dangers of storms in the nearby deserts, the mountain recirculates 10,000 gallons of water every five minutes to give visitors a simulation of a flash flood. The central habitat of the mountain range is home to jaguars and mountain lions, which allows the zoo to be able to rotate animals through the exhibits and be visible from all sides. A mesh barrier separates the big cats from habitats at the base of the mountain where numerous herbivores graze among native plants, all seemingly inhabiting the same exhibit.

An additional feature of walking paths invite visitors to pass beneath two abandoned bridges that allow jaguars to cross between the mountain and their individual exhibit spaces. The native desert trail of 850 square feet was composed of a Natural Exposed Aggregate Concrete Finish that winds its way in and out of areas and directs visitors also to covered viewing bridge decks. The dilapidated designed bridges provide shade for visitors and viewing areas of many other animals such as the Harris Hawk, Thick-billed Parrot, Ocelot and the White Nose Coati. The Bomacron 6” Random Boardwalk pattern was used with Autumn Brown Color Hardener and a Walnut Brown Bomanite Release Agent. To give it that worn aged look accents in Forest Brown were added and then the 717 square feet of textured and imprinted concrete was given a final seal.

El Paso Zoo Chihauhuan Desert Exhibits with Bomanite Imprinted Concrete Systems using the Bomacron 6” Random Boardwalk pattern that resembles wood plank for the viewing bridge decks.

Bomanite Imprint Systems is a cast-in-place concrete that adds a distinctive architectural touch to any project, that also incorporates durability to stand up to the toughest traffic loads and environmental conditions. You can choose from many natural textures including slate, granite, limestone, sandstone, cobblestone, used brick and wood to upgrade plain concrete or asphalt, or alternatively reduce the cost and maintenance of natural paving materials and simulate real world habitats.

“With the opening of the Chihuahuan Desert, we aim to motivate guests and their families to go and explore these stunning and varied environments in our surrounding State and National Parks,” said El Paso Zoo director Joe Montisano. “From the wonders of wildlife in their own backyards to the natural Chihuahuan Desert itself, we hope to facilitate personal connections that inspire real conservation action on the part of our visitors.”

To visit the zoo and view the animals virtually visit http://www.elpasozoo.org/zoo-cameras

AWARDS: Bomanite Artistic Concrete received the Best Bomanite Imprint Systems 2019 Silver Award for their creative native habitat work on the El Paso Chihuahuan Desert Exhibit

Bomanite Decorative Concrete Annual Awards Announced

Bomanite is pleased to present the Annual Decorative Concrete Project Award winners! The Bomanite Company held their Annual Conference in Tulsa, Oklahoma March of this year, where concrete craftsmen gathered to learn hands on new trade techniques, business strategies and exchange ideas with Bomanite Licensees from around the world.

The winners of the Bomanite Annual Awards Program were showcased at our Business Luncheon, with winners receiving plaques of recognition. Bomanite Licensees work on anywhere from multimillion-dollar commercial projects to affordable residential housing, new builds and improvements, with a vast knowledge and years of experience, these Bomanite Craftsmen define decorative concrete. Strong. Durable, Artistic. Creative.

Bomanite Licensee Musselman & Hall Contractors, LLC located in Kansas City, Mo had an outstanding year in the Decorative Concrete market, and it showed with their winning projects. Starting with the Grain Valley High School project that uses the Bomanite Custom Polishing System Modena SL, they received the Bomanite Outstanding Project Grand Award as well as the Gold Custom Polishing Systems Award. Musselman & Hall Contractors were able to salvage an old concrete floor that had been damaged by time and abuse by grinding and polishing several areas including the main entrance, lecture hall, administration area and student courtyard at the same time saving the school district money and valuable construction time.

Grain Valley High School Renovation of their flooring with Bomanite Custom Polishing System Modena SL using blue glass aggregates installed by Musselman and Hall Contractors located in Kansas City, MO

Bomanite Artistic Concrete, located in El Paso, TX, was awarded the Gold Award for the Best Toppings Project for their standup work on the Eastside Regional Park Recreation Center. Using the Patène Artectura system with an Auburn Chemical Stain for a vertical application on a 40-foot-high concrete panel for a total of 17,000 square feet of awesomeness garnered the Gold Award.

Eastside Regional Park Recreational Center builds with Bomanite Patene Artectura Chenical Stain a Concrete Coloring agent for a vertical application installed by Bomanite Artistic Concrete located in El Paso, TX

Bomel Construction Company located in Irvine, California grabbed the Best Exposed Aggregate Gold project over 6,000 sq. ft. for their work on the Flight at Tustin Legacy Business Development Project. Previously home to the Naval-Lighter-Than-Air-Station and the Marine Corps Helicopter Base, the City of Tustin and Lincoln Property Company laid out a massive future plan to keep with the flight history. With over 101,750 square feet, Bomel Construction installed all of the exterior hardscape along with seatwalls, bleacher walls, stairs, outdoor kitchen walls, fire hearths and even an outdoor BBQ with a Polished concrete countertop.

Bomel Construction Co located in Irvine, CA installed concrete and paving hardscapes of Bomanite Exposed Aggregate for the historical Flight at Tustin Legacy

The Gold Bomanite Exposed Aggregate System under 6,000 sq ft award went to Musselman & Hall Contractors St. Louis Aquarium at Union Station Project. Their Bomanite Exposed Aggregate Revealed decorative concrete river with engraved lettering and 3 different colors of blue glass creates an additional visual learning tool for the Conservation & Education Center.

St. Louis Aquarium designs an Expsoed Aggregate River for their Conservation and Education Center installed by Musselman and Hall Contractrors

Musselman & Hall Contractors also took home the Best Imprint Systems Gold Award for their innovative work on The Residence Condominiums using Bomanite Imprinted Systems in conjunction with the Bomanite Exposed Aggregate Sandscape Texture finish, combining the systems together for a unique paving application for the driveway and entrance.

The Residence Condominiums called upon Musselman and Hall Contractors to create a unique paving application with the Bomanite Imprint Systems and Bomanite Sandscape Texture

Additional awards were given for Silver, Bronze and Honorable Mention categories, to view all the winners and their amazing projects, please click here.

We’d like to thank all the Bomanite licensed contractors who submitted entries for this year’s award contest. The Bomanite Decorative Concrete Annual Project Awards has been a tradition for more than 50 years for Bomanite Licensed Contractors to submit their outstanding projects for the year. Bomanite Licensees compete among the best of the best to be recognized for their hard work and creative talents. The winners are announced at the Bomanite Annual Conference, held in various cities from year to year. This is a taste of artwork and craftsmanship in the decorative concrete market that can be achieved by the Bomanite network of decorative concrete craftsmen.

2019 Bomanite Awards Video

2019 List of Bomanite Award Winners

Bomanite Imprint Systems

GOLD:  Musselman & Hall Contractors, LLC – Residence Condominiums Entrance

SILVER:  Bomanite Artistic Concrete – El Paso Zoo Chihuahua Desert Exhibit

BRONZE: Texas Bomanite – Tanger Outlets Fort Worth

HONORABLE MENTION:  Bomanite of Tulsa, Inc. – Owasso Redbud Bank

Bomanite Specialty Project

HONORABLE MENTION: Heritage Bomanite – Ranch House Wall

Bomanite Exposed Aggregate Systems Under 6,000 Sq. Ft.

GOLD: Musselman & Hall Contractors, LLC – St Louis Aquarium at Union Station

SILVER:  Concrete Arts, Inc. – Gabriel’s retreat

BRONZE: Premier Concrete Services – Centennial Civic Center Park

HONORABLE MENTION: Premier Concrete Construction, LLC – Concord Residential Driveway

HONORABLE MENTION: Bomanite Toronto – Kleinburg Backyard Getaway

HONORABLE MENTION: Bomanite Toronto – Smith Residence

Bomanite Exposed Aggregate Systems Over 6,000 Sq. Ft.

GOLD: Bomel Construction Company – Flight at Tustin Legacy

SILVER: Heritage Bomanite – Valley Children’s Hospital

BRONZE:  Colorado Hardscapes – The Wellington

HONORABLE MENTION:  Concrete Arts, Inc. – Spang Residence Pool Deck

HONORABLE MENTION:  Bomanite of Tulsa, Inc. – Tulsa County Family Center for Juvenile Justice

Bomanite Toppings Systems

GOLD: Bomanite Artistic Concrete – Eastside Regional Park Rec Center

SILVER: Bomanite Artistic Concrete – Las Mansiones at Cimarron Pool Deck

HONORABLE MENTION: Premier Concrete Construction – HL Turner Group

Bomanite Custom Polishing Systems

GOLD: Musselman & Hall Contractors, LLC – Grain Valley High School

SILVER: Musselman & Hall Contractors, LLC – Olathe West High School

BRONZE: Musselman & Hall Contractors, LLC – Nickel & Suede

HONORABLE MENTION: Texas Bomanite – Dallas Holocaust & Human Rights Museum

Bomanite Outstanding GRAND AWARD

GRAND AWARD: Musselman & Hall Contractors, LLC – Grain Valley High School