When the San Francisco Zoo’s carnivore team dreamed of giving its two grizzly bears a richer, more natural habitat, Webcor answered the call. Working alongside one of her high-school best friends – previous carnivore curator and now a volunteer in the carnivore program -- Webcor Carpentry Senior Project Manager Marissa Chin rallied a familiar crew from the company's recent rhino-habitat job to design and build a sprawling, climb-ready platform that doubles as a cozy den.
Create something bigger than the black-bear structures at the SF Zoo that could withstand 5000 pounds, have a teepee-like profile to allow enrichment attachments, and absolute assurance the bears couldn’t dislodge logs and use them to scale a fence.
After an August walk-through to nail down the safest location, the team fast-tracked the design to meet a hard deadline of October 15th for final completion due to bears going into torpor. Project Director Wayne Campbell partnered with structural engineer Maureen Joyce, principal at Ryan Joyce Structural Design (who donated her time).
By late September, the team had drawings in hand. Webcor Concrete poured a subterranean "tub" that locks steel posts in place yet lets the bears dig to suit their instincts without jeopardizing the structure. Two weeks later, Webcor Carpentry wrapped those posts in natural timber and laced hefty logs across the frame, completing work before the grizzlies emerged from their winter torpor.
The project wasn’t without drama. An eleventh-hour change meant Senior Superintendents Maria Osuna (Field) and Erik Roggeveen (Carpentry) re-worked bucket-support details over a single weekend, with Concrete Construction Manager Ivan Ramos, Project Engineer Parker Jones, and Concrete Project Manager Riley Jones pitching in.
On April 18, with the bears fully awake, the crew returned to watch the pair explore their new playground.
“Seeing them clamber up something we built, just for the fun of it -- that’s the payoff,” Marissa says.
Join us in congratulating everyone who turned a curator’s wish into an enrichment centerpiece that showcases Webcor craft, innovation, and community spirit.
