Wavin's adventures at the WILDLANDS Adventure Zoo Emmen

Well, nothing is impossible in Emmen's fabulous WILDLANDS Adventure Zoo. It's is a new type of theme park, full of active adventure, nature and culture.

In the 1990’s, NoorderDierenpark lacked enough site space for expansion. After years of discussion about the need to move to a different location, for reasons of space and to boost the falling visitor numbers, in 2008 a the relocation of the park was approved. The park would cover an area of 45 hectares – nearly four times as large as the former park. The plans for the new theme park also include a theatre. Estimated costs: a minimum of 489 million euros.

15 years after the expansion, the first tree for the new park was planted

On May 31, 2013, the first tree for the new park was planted and the names of the three climate worlds were announced. The main contractor for the construction was Volker Wessels, while NoorderDierenpark, the city of Emmen and Jora Vision were jointly responsible for the design and theming.

The WILDLANDS Adventure Zoo Emmen was officially opened on March 18, 2016 by King Willem Alexander. In its first month, Wildlands Adventure Zoo attracted more than 100,000 visitors.

In the Dutch-spoken video below, you can take a look inside the park: 

Atlas Theatre roof: A piece of art on heights

At the entrance building you also find the Atlas Theatre. Its roof covers 6500 m2 and is a real piece of art.  A beautiful, striking shape, plenty of greenery and the proper drainage of rainwater. And now we get to the part of the story where Wavin embarks on a wild adventure at the zoo. 

Wavin was one of the cooperating partners working on this BIM Revit project, who took care of the installation process. Together with Optigroen, the green roof supplier, we figured out how to combine all systems involved. In this project, Wavin's QuickStream roof drainage, line drainage and infiltrations systems - along with the expertise of our team - proved to be an excellent combination.

Creating the zoo's infrastructure: a job as big as an elephant

At the opening of the giant park in Emmen, at least two Wavin colleagues walked around, as proud as could be. In the preceding months, Sustainable Water Management consultant Fokko Dijkstra and Technical Advisor Erik Reumer – together with all the other partners – succeeded in overcoming several obstacles in the construction of various piping systems for the new park. "The Wildlands site is a fragile natural area due to drinking water extraction. In case of a leak below ground level, the foul water would never be allowed to flow into the ground. A lot of challenges", stated Fokko.

Creative solutions to deal with contaminated water

Erik Reumer commented: "At various locations polluted water had to be discharged to a reed bed, where it is purified. When done through one pipe, none of the contaminated water would seep into soil in case of a tube break. Therefore, we put the pressure pipe in cable protection pipes, using special structures to run the cables to the wells."

"Additionally, Tegra inspection chambers were built in stages. It's immediately noticeable if water comes out of the outer tube, because it stays on that stage level. To absorb expansion of the tubes, we have secured the pipes in the pits. Some parts even had to be made especially for this project in order to create the right solution. By also having used the QuickStream roof drainage system, Wavin has provided both above and below ground solutions."

We did more than just move the animals

The construction lasted 2.5 years. All the construction partners are really proud of the work they have done in the design and creation of the new theme park. "We did more than just move the animals", one of the construction partners said aptly.

In case you operate a theme park and want a trusted partner for water management solutions: contact your local Wavin team to help you along.