Pairi Daiza

Project study

In 2018, Gillion was commissioned to build and equip a new world "The Last Frontier" in Europe's largest animal park, Pairi Daiza. The project owner's ambition is to create a new wild habitat modeled on the Pacific coast of North America, populated by wolves, bears, pumas or even Steller's sealion, the largest species, while offering tourist accommodation integrated into the park.   Three accommodation types are preferred: a hotel, upscale residences and lodges in “Hobbit” style or “native” fishermen's huts (tribally inspired).

The time constraint was a fundamental requirement for the project teams so that the park could open in high season. To implement the ambitious project planning, the park's design teams and the Gillion design office collaborated perfectly in a construction team to finalize the project with budgetary control as quickly as possible. In view of the tight deadlines, the project execution started even though the studies had not been finalized.

As the park is located in an old marsh, special measures were taken to create the deep pools while not disturbing the buildings adjacent to the site and controlling the very evident water table.

Structural works

The drawdown of the water table marked the start of this project. Filtration rods were installed to pump out water and make the land accessible to earthmoving machinery. During the peak of activity, up to 50 tractors were mobilized daily to remove the land and store it on an adjacent plot. In parallel, piles were inserted 13 meters deep in the ground to create stable foundations for the new infrastructure.
The park was built around the remains of the former Cambron Abbey, so it was necessary to take great care during the excavations. An old wall of the estate was also discovered and carefully preserved.

After this first phase, the construction of the hotel began, closely followed by the sealion pool. For this pool, a special waterproof structure was planned to prevent infiltration of the water table into the salt water of the pool and vice versa. The particularly aggressive salt water required creating concrete with high resistance to chemical agents, making concreting more delicate due to the need to avoid any cracking. The construction of animal living and rest areas also required respecting specific standards: physical restraint systems were provided, in addition to conventional electrical systems, and many facilities were created to reduce the speed of animals near developed areas.

Finishing

In the hotel, 26 rooms were fitted out with natural- style bathrooms , equipped with stone washbasins and Italian showers. Constructed on two floors and with two elevators, the hotel also has a restaurant, shops, a kids' club and a beautiful terrace overlooking the sealion pool. Inside, noble finishes and materials were selected natural stones, sipo wood, artisan ceilings, etc. Outside, Nordic-style redwood cladding was fitted. This same cladding was used for the 4 fishermen's houses, upscale tourist accommodation built to accommodate 6 to 8 people per building. Each has a terrace on stilts overlooking the pool, an ultra-equipped kitchen and spa bathroom with hot tub.

For the Hobbit lodges, Gillion laid a natural stone covering to reinforce the "buried home" look. The "native" lodges consist of a concrete structure covered with wooden cladding. Finally, the sustainability aspects of the structures was given serious reflection, as shown by the installation of green roofs and double-glazed windows, a rainwater harvesting system for site watering and the creation of a pumping station.