2022 Project Achievement Award
Commercial/Sports/Entertainment/Hospitality: Construction value less than $50 Million
Pepper Family Wildlife Center at Lincoln Park Zoo
Owner: Lincoln Park Zoo
Project Team: Pepper Construction, Goettsch Partners, WSP, Primera
Renovating the historic lion house involved challenges related to structure, materials, and contemporary animal care. The entire habitat was to be a one-of-a-kind immersive experience where every design element and building process was unique and created especially for this project. Constant communication between Lincoln Park Zoo, the design teams, and Pepper Construction was critical. During the design process, the construction team created virtual exhibit models to flag areas of concern and optimize solutions. One interesting example, by modeling the lion's jump radius along with rockwork, fences, trees, and other design features, the team was able to eliminate possible safety hazards.
