Naturalist David Attenborough has offered us many insights into the lives of our planet's creatures and the difficulty of filming them, with the footage of him sitting by a great ‘Silverback' being an iconic example.
However, the estates department at Bristol Zoo, together with a leading design practice, have faced some challenges of their own in creating a new Gorilla House.
Rigg Construction is the main contractor for the landmark addition to the south-west visitor destination, while Bristol based Architecton is leading the design team. And the fact that the animals will be able to climb up onto the glazed roof of their new home led project architect, George Tasker to call on the assistance of tremco illbruck to help ensure the armoured glass can take the strain.
He comments: "Although this is a very unusual commission for us in terms of the ‘usage' our practice is well known for its use of structural glazing and we have therefore employed Tremco products many times in the past: particularly where we are connecting new build structures to existing properties.
"In this case the idea was to build a glazed structure that the gorillas will be able to climb up onto - the first time it has ever been done anywhere in the world - and this of course presented some special challenges. Compriband TP600 will be used to support the armoured glass - four sheets of 12 mm toughened glass laminated together - while the manufacturer's SP525 silicone was chosen partly for its resistance to being picked out."
In fact the Compriband TP600 20/8-15 gauge will sit within the steel frame to the 13 metre by nine metre roof of the new Gorilla House to cushion the 52 mm composite. Then the SP525 silicone will be injected into the upper recess using extra long nozzles. Both will contribute to the weather-tightness as well as the stability and durability of the assembly.
