Award-winning contractor McPhillips (Wellington) Ltd has completed a showpiece development for one of the country’s most successful zoos – and already started work on its next project for the wildlife charity.
The Heart of Africa project – an immersive experience replicating habitats in Africa and Chester Zoo’s biggest and most ambitious development to date – was handed over on time and to budget by McPhillips after three years on site.
The company is now working on a further project with the zoo to create 51 contemporary luxury lodges for short breaks and a two-storey welcome building featuring the signature onsite restaurant, Amboseli, and Tsavo Lounge.
Images of the highly anticipated luxury lodge accommodation and wildlife experience, called The Reserve, were unveiled last month by Chester Zoo and bookings are now being taken, with first guests welcomed from mid-August.
McPhillips’ contracts director Andrew Dunham said collaboration had been the key to success on the 13.5-acre Heart of Africa project, which features 14 new buildings and animal habitats and a stunning open savannah, which will be home to a range of different species.
“Heart of Africa is a showcase for the zoo’s vital conservation work and the single biggest development they have ever undertaken, so establishing an excellent working relationship with the zoo and their expert animal care teams was vital.
“Collaboration has always been the McPhillips’ way and we worked with the zoo from the earliest stages to develop a strong, open working partnership which was of benefit to both of us.
“Because of that strong relationship, we were able to complete a giraffe habitat early so that the zoo was able to care for the animals in the warmth before the onset of winter and also identify cost savings through value engineering.”
The Telford-based company began enabling work for the project in November 2022 with the main contract getting under way in April 2023, overseen by managers Dave Morgan and Gary Taylor.
Andrew said: “Working on a site which is home to some of the world’s rarest and most magnificent animals adds a whole new dimension to construction – and something we have now developed a real expertise in.
“We had to consider how changes to the skyline may potentially affect certain species, meaning we had to completely rethink crane usage. Construction noise had to be really carefully managed for the same reason.
“The use of drones for aerial surveys also needed to be carefully thought through – given the potential impact on animals. It’s forced us to be incredibly creative in our approach to design and construction and again underlined the importance of the excellent working relationships we developed.”
Air source heat pumps had been used in all but one of the buildings and four had been fitted with solar panels as part of the zoo’s ambition to achieve net zero by 2030, Andrew said.
Work is now well under way on the development of the new safari-style lodges, for which McPhillips is the principal contractor.
“It is particularly satisfying to have won the new contract after the success of the Heart of Africa scheme and a previous project with the zoo,” Andrew added.
“We have developed some very specialist knowledge and learned a lot from working with the zoo, and I think they have learned a lot from working with us too.”
Both the Heart of Africa experience and The Reserve at Chester Zoo are expected to open to the public later this year. Bookings for packages at The Reserve include exclusive and immersive behind-the-scenes animal experiences, as well as the chance to interact with conservation experts.
McPhillips, which last year celebrated its 60th anniversary, is one of the region’s leading construction companies and has delivered more than 140 projects as principal contractor with a value of £300million in the last five years.
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