In the dynamic new Ice Age exhibit at the West Midland Safari Park (WMSP) in Bewdley, Worcestershire, weber TXT mortar by Saint-Gobain Weber has been used extensively.
In this, the largest exhibit of its kind in the UK, visitors walk amongst the magnificent creatures that roamed the Earth millions of years ago.
Main contractor Greenspan Projects Limited, of Southampton, established in 1976, is an experienced design and build contractor of visitor attractions. Their portfolio includes attractions at Chessington World of Adventure; Queen Elizabeth Country Park; Robin Hood Adventure at Wheelgate Park and many more. Creating themed, immersive visitor attractions that are visually impressive and structurally sound is extremely high on Greenspan’s agenda.
The company values collaborative working and places great importance on the materials specified. When working with partners and suppliers Greenspan choose only those who clearly demonstrate that they have the skills, capabilities and qualifications to satisfy or exceed their expectations and those of their clients. On the dramatic Ice Age project Greenspan Projects partnered with Theme Park Building Limited, Oxford, the themed structural façade specialist who also has a very impressive portfolio of projects including Disneyland Paris; Universal Studios, USA; Legoland Windsor; Center Parcs, Germany and many, many more.
Neil James, project manager at West Midland Safari Park, comments: “Our in-house design team orchestrated this fabulous recreation of a prehistoric journey of life on Earth. Explorers wander through an enormous rumbling volcano and pass through into a huge ice cave – the Oligocene Epoch – but this is just the start of the fascinating journey. There’s far more to follow, staged over millions of years, before marking the start of the Ice Age when huge ice sheets and glaciers formed.”
weber TXT mortar is designed for the sculpture, or reconstruction, of decorative reliefs such as artificial rocks, trees and stones, and the casting or running of ornamental motifs in relief. It can be modelled, moulded, carved and sculptured and used for fixing decorative elements such as natural or artificial stone and brick into the fresh mortar. weberend TXT mortar is a factory-produced, thixotropic, high build and cementitious texturing mortar that can also be applied to metal lath in thicknesses ranging up to 150 to 200mm but it is more generally applied in thicknesses of 70 to 80mm, including lath. It requires only the addition of fresh water on site and is suitable for hand or machine application.
“Saint Gobain Weber prides itself on the level of technical input and advice we can provide, both at specification stage and on site,” says Barry Ephgrave, specialist sales manager, Saint-Gobain Weber. “Although this project was technically intricate, the skill and experience of the applicator meant that only minimal supervision was required from us. This project had to endure its own mini ice age as the works were conducted during the early part of 2018 when the UK experienced heavy snowfall and sub-zero temperatures. The team from Theme Park Build had to halt work on site for a few weeks to allow the snow to melt and for temperatures to rise.”
Before application of weber TXT mortar a base coat of weberend OCR is applied. weberend OCR is a pump or hand applied basecoat render for use in conjunction with Weber’s decorative finishes. weberend OCR is applied in one coat, avoiding the drying time associated with a multi-coat render system.