Mandai Bird Paradise is Asia’s largest bird park, and it will be home to 3,500 birds from more than 400 species, with eight walk-through aviaries representing different biomes around the world including African rainforests, South American wetlands, Southeast Asian paddy fields and Australian dry eucalypt forests. The scope of work included two artificial waterfalls in the entrance section of the park with a 100m long stream to feed the waterfall. Inside the park, Pico Play was responsible for the rockwork façade of the penguin exhibit and the under water sculptures and beach of the penguin aquarium. These 8m high structures were completed inside an acrylic tank with challenging access to a tight schedule.
Solution
For the outdoor rockwork the Pico Play team pre-fabricated panels in our Malaysia facility according to the approved 3D design and sent the panels to Singapore for fast and efficient installation. As part of the Penguin Exhibit rockworks, Pico Play developed an innovative engineering solution to resist high water pressure in the 8m deep tanks while also creating a unique artificial rockwork sculpture. We used a combination of polystyrene foam to act as formwork for the RC structure, also acting as a formwork for the outer shell of the rockwork and preventing any internal water pooling.
Results
An impressive, unique attraction for the new bird park with high quality artistic finishes. The engineering solution for the penguin exhibit also allowed us to complete the structural works significantly faster than traditional RC methodology.
