Congratualtions to the Chicago Zoological Society and the Brookfield Zoo for being acknowledged with Polar Bears International's prestigious "Champion for Polar Bears" award. This award was given to CZS because of its acclaimed climate awareness programs and polar bear initiatives at Brookfield Zoo.

The zoo was recognized for giving guests an unprecedented face-to-face meeting with polar bears, grizzly bears, bison and other wildlife in the Great Bear Wilderness. COST was thrilled to be involved in this project. For more information on this award, which will open in a new browser window, click on the link below:
http://www.brookfieldzoo.org/CZS/About-CZS/Press-Room/Press-Releases/Champion-for-Polar-Bears-Award

Trade Show News:

COST will be exhibiting at the upcoming WIGC Convention in July. Please stop by and visit Chris Foster at booth 806.

It is never too early to start planning for AZA's Annual Conference in Atlanta, September 12-17th. This will be COST's 31st year as an exhibitor.

The Minnesota Zoo's 3M Penguins of the African Coast exhibit is part of the first phase of the multi-phase Heart of the Zoo Project. Zoo guests can view these interesting birds and their antics, above and below water, in a habitat replicating South Africa's Boulders Beach. The exhibit is visually dramatic, and interior microphones will allow patrons to hear the penguins' unique braying calls, providing a multi-sensory visitor experience.

Replicating Boulders Beach involved multiple scenic and theme finishes. These finishes included rounded, weathered rock, sand beaches, artificial crustaceans and mollusks, and simulated kelp. COST's work began with shop drawings and a 3D scale model. The model, once approved, was used to fabricate steel work for the rock features. The Boulders Beach rock style was best replicated with a hand carved shotcrete application. The beach textures required a highly flexible and soft material with a sand additive to offer very realistic finish. This simulated sand texture was applied on the exhibit deck. Finally, our fabrication department developed various underwater decorative invertebrates including mussels & barnacles made out of GFRC (glass fiber-reinforced concrete). "Live" abalone was created with resin and actual shells. These fabricated items were shipped to the jobsite and artistically placed based on Boulders Beach reference photographs.

The penguins were introduced to their new home before Memorial Day Weekend, and the public opening will be in early July. The exhibit design was by Seattle based The Portico Group and the general contractor was Mortenson Construction.

Minnesota Zoo

The recently opened Trails of Africa is a unique place where people of all ages can enjoy and marvel at African wildlife. This exciting new exhibit area covers a fourteen acre tract of land showcasing elephants, rhinos, giraffes, red river hogs, wildebeest, impala, kudu, zebras, and ostriches. Excellent viewing areas from both ground and aerial observation points engage guests with in depth, immersive experiences.
One of the zoo's main objectives is to set new standards for the care and conservation of elephants in the USA. The Trails of Africa exhibit will elevate the Birmingham Zoo as a national leader for elephant breeding benchmarks in the USA.

COST of Wisconsin, Inc. was proud to be a part of this fascinating new exhibit. Our work was comprised of 18,000 square feet of simulated rockwork including waterfalls, rock outcroppings, mud bank retaining walls, pools, and mud wallows.

This project was designed by Philadelphia based CLR Design and the general contractor was Hoar Construction, headquartered in Birmingham, AL. COST and Hoar are currently developing a large theme park project in Central Florida.

Birmingham Zoo

COST's Middle East office was recently contracted to perform exhibit construction work for Al Bustan Zoological Center in Sharjah, UAE. The project consisted of an expanded and upgraded flamingo pool complete with decorative waterfalls. This was our second renovation project for this client in the past year. The waterfalls and main rock feature were constructed from GFRC (glass fiber reinforced concrete) rock panels while the low lying pool rock was hand carved to match the panel work. The pool bottom received a sand coloration to blend with the rock facades.

The owner requested that COST install the mechanical and filtration system for the exhibit. This is oftentimes included within our standard scope of services to minimize site contracting, reduce scheduling timelines and increase efficiencies.

Mohamed El Sayed, COST Middle East General Manager, states "it is always rewarding working with a client with great vision, it is my responsibility to deliver that vision."

COST's latest technical improvement has been the introduction of our Computer Aided Framework System (CAFS). This technologically advanced system is revolutionizing the way that highly detailed thematic finishes are constructed for several reasons:

• It provides accurate feature replications based from computer generated modeling.
• Off-site fabricated panels decrease on-site construction scheduling.
• Provides JIT (just in time) deliveries of fabricated panels and pieces.
• Provides quality control checks and balances throughout design and fabrication.
• Increases efficiencies from concept to completion.

The process begins by importing drawings and scanned models into the CAFS. The custom designed and developed software transforms data points into 3D drawings. This information can be shared with the design and architectural team for BIM (Building Integration Modeling) integration and clash detection. Once approved, the data is fed into our automated equipment to accurately produce three dimensional rebar up to 5/8" (#5 bar). Once the bars are bent, they are then set within a template to weld and lathe. These pieces are then numbered, shipped to the jobsite, and erected based upon the approved model. This automated system is being used to fabricate rock formations, tree structures, facades, and other theme features.

In addition to our CAFS process, the traditional scale modeling and armature fabrication is still commonly used for many of our projects. This traditional approach will continue to be offered by COST.

For more information on CAFS technology and how it can improve your project, contact us at 800-221-7625.

The Short List, A Few Projects Underway

• Disneyworld, Orlando
• Historic 4th Ward Park, Atlanta
• Tulsa Zoo, Sea Lion Habitat
• Chaffee Zoo, Sea Lion Exhibit, Fresno
• Calgary Zoo, Penguin Exhibit, Calgary
• Museum of Discovery & Science, Otter Exhibit
• Smithsonian's National Zoo, Seal & Sea Lion Exhibit
• Smother's Park, Owensboro, KY
• Denver Zoo, Asian Tropics Theme Work, Denver
• Fashion Valley Mall, San Diego
• Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, Santa Cruz
• Topeka Zoo, Exhibit Renovations
• Pocatello Zoo, Grizzly Bear Habitat

Stay tuned for more details on these and other projects.

Automated System