MINNESOTA ZOO

MINNESOTA ZOO

Russia's Grizzly Coast Exhibit

Location: Apple Valley, Minnesota

Owner:  Minnesota Zoo

Structural Engineer: MLA Engineering

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The Russia's Grizzly Coast Exhibit and Central Plaza addition included animal exhibit structures, food pavilions, retaining walls, tunnels, caves, support facility buildings, and an education building, with a total construction cost of $18 million. The structural demands of the high-tension cable-supported animal containment, water-tight and crack-control criteria for the concrete pools, frost-heave-resistant foundations, landscaped roofs, cantilevered retaining walls, and tunnels, all provided opportunities for creative engineering that allowed the built-environment to blend with nature. Cast-in-place and precast concrete, structural steel, masonry and wood construction was used to respond the variety of aesthetic and functional needs of each exhibit and building type. MLA Engineering provided structural design and consulting from the schematic design phase through completion of construction.