BUILDING BLOCKS: Arctic Passage at Dane County’s Henry Vilas Zoo

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Project: Arctic Passage at Dane County’s Henry Vilas Zoo

Address: 702 S. Randall Ave., Madison

Cost: $10.9 million

Size: 1.7 acres

Start date: March 1, 2014

Estimated completion date: Memorial Day weekend

Owner: Dane County’s Henry Vilas Zoo

Lead contractor: J.P. Cullen & Sons

Lead architect/engineer: Scott Ramser, WDM Architects

Number of workers employed: More than 200 construction personnel throughout the course of the project. J.P. Cullen had 82 different workers, and there were 74 subcontractors and suppliers with their own employees.

Project challenge: Designing a complex animal habitat for polar and grizzly bears. The pools require a life support system with ozone that is complicated to build and design. Few architects/contractors have designed and built animal exhibits, and this particular exhibit had many unique features, including complex yards with several different substrates, pools and streams, and varied views for the visitor.

Significance to the region: Henry Vilas Zoo is a free zoo open to the public, with more than 725,000 visitors each year. It is one of only 10 free zoos that are accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquarium. Less than 10 percent of zoos meet that accreditation standard.