Bristol Zoo – Gorilla House

Working in a listed building, with limited access and an occupying troop of irritable gorillas is not without it’s challenges!

We had to be pragmatic, whilst delivering a solution that was both cost-effective and durable. We worked closely with the architects to understand their original design intent, whilst liaising with the metal fabricators to produce a design that was easily manufacturable and installed with the minimum on-site fabrication.

We developed all of the new hydraulically operated gates installed during Bristol Zoo’s recent renovation of the Gorilla House. In addition, we also produced CAD data and detailed drawings for the new Gorilla Dens to aid the design communication between the architects, fabricators, contractors and service engineers. This process helped to expose potential conflict areas and allowed for the minimum amount of on-site fabrication and alteration.