St. Louis Zoo – Sea Lion Sound Exhibit

In June of 2012, the Saint Louis Zoo opened its new Sea Lion Sound exhibit – an $18 million, 1.5 acre habitat which houses 11 California Sea Lions and a harbour seal. The exhibit includes a series of streams and waterfalls, as well as a deep saltwater pool with an underwater viewing area and 35 foot long viewing tunnel – the only one of its kind in North America.

Xypex Admix C-500 was chosen to waterproof and protect concrete throughout the exhibit. A total of 4,800 lb (2,200 kg) of the admixture was used in both the shotcrete for the rockwork (about 1,200 cubic yards/920 cubic meters) as well as several cast-in-place concrete walls. The largest component, the pool, now holds 258,000 gallons of salt water.

Specified by the project’s architect, St. Louis based PGAV Destinations, Xypex Admix was chosen as a result of its suitability for the artificial rockwork, ease of use (the admix was provided in the form of soluble bags), and superior crystalline waterproofing capabilities.

As a result of the success of this project, Xypex has been used in other areas throughout the zoo, including the Rivers Edge exhibit and aquariums. To date, over 18,000 lb of Xypex materials have been used.

The exhibit has become the main attraction at the zoo, and has just won the prestigious AZA (Association of Zoos and Aquariums) Exhibit Award for 2013. The award recognizes excellence in exhibit design and is the first AZA exhibit award for the zoo since 1977.

Specifications
Project Completion: March 2012 
Owner: St. Louis Zoo
Architect: Peckham, Guyton, Albers & Viets (PGAV Destinations)
Contractor: Alberici Constructors
Applicator: Cemrock Naturalistic Environments