Brookfield Zoo, Bears Den Animal Containment

The Featherstone Difference

The President of the Chicago Botanic Garden recommended Featherstone to the Brookfield Zoo, because “his approach works when you’ve got money to spend on a deadline.” During feasibility planning, Featherstone partnered with Primera to expedite the upgrades with a design build approach, to bring the back-of-house areas into compliance. Time and competing interests for grant dollars were the key issues in stewarding the use of funds, within the grant parameters. Featherstone’s expertise successfully advocated for critical infrastructure improvements to the holding pools and night-time enclosures. Featherstone met with Animal Welfare experts to design and construct areas for cats, bears, hippos, and dolphins. Cost opinions were confidently budgeted for improving the water quality of the splash and waterfall areas and recommissioning of the air filtration and exhaust systems for both the Fragile Kingdom Building and Seven Seas Amphitheater. Speed–to–market coordination, combined with reliable budgets and schedules, allowed the Zoo to improve the environmental quality for both the animals and its thousands of daily visitors.