Customer Overview
The West Coast Wildlife Centre is a unique and interactive visitor experience that brings together nature, conservation and wildlife all under one roof. It’s an award winning centre that is committed to advocacy and helping protect and preserve the welfare of all wildlife.
The Challenge
The West Coast Wildlife Centre needed to design a new pool area for their new attraction, the Kororā Ambassador Encounter, designed to house injured little blue penguins that cannot be released back into the wild.
This required the construction of a multimillion-dollar, groundbreaking extension to the existing facility in Franz Josef, and was designed to provide a state-of-the-art habitat tailored to the needs and welfare of little blue penguins while offering visitors an interactive experience and ensuring the highest possible welfare standards for the ambassador penguins living on site.
The Solution
The West Coast Wildlife Centre involved The Composite Group in early planning discussions and various options were considered, including using a Bermuda moulded fibreglass swimming pool, or building a bespoke fibreglass pool in our Christchurch factory. Eventually the preferred solution was a concrete pool built on site to suit the existing space and penguin’s requirements.
The construction consisted of a poured concrete floor with concrete block walls and moulded soft curves added to help create a more natural environment. Once the concrete structure was in place, our team arrived on site to apply the waterproof fibreglass lining to complete the pool prior to the arrival of the penguins.
The result is a $2.5 million, 250m² extension to the award-winning building including a world-class 173m² penguin enclosure, filled with over 50,000 litres of fresh water and equipped with under and over water jets and a stream to keep the penguins healthy, stimulated, and playful.
Key Results & Benefits
- Achieved desired aesthetic appeal with a natural colour scheme
- Enhanced product lifespan in marine environments
- On-time delivery for the product launch
Client Testimonial.
“The team at The Composite Group were great to work with on our new penguin pool project. We had several different possible ways to build the pool, and from initial concept design planning through to the final colouring of the last pool layer, the team understood our project, helped to solve any roadblocks we found, and delivered an excellent outcome.”
~ Richard Benton, Director, West Coast Wildlife Centre.
Why They Chose Us
The Composite Group were known in the West Coast region as we had manufactured, delivered and installed the unique Franz Josef Glacier hot pools back in 2008.
TCG has also had considerable experience in the fibreglass lining of many commercial pools, including Tekapo Hot springs, Hanmer Thermal Reserve, Opuke Hot pools in Methven, and the new New Brighton hot pools in Christchurch.
Learn more about the West Coast Wildlife Centre
