Rocky Gully, South Australia, Australia
Monarto Zoo, located approximately 45 minutes from Adelaide, is one of the largest open-range zoos in the world, with more than 1,000 hectares of natural landscape that allows visitors to observe wildlife in spacious, naturalistic habitats. The new Wild Africa Tourist Accommodation forms part of a $15.9 million upgrade to visitor facilities funded by Zoos SA, and provides a world-class hospitality offering with an entry lobby, lounge bar, restaurant, gym, day spa, pool lounge, additional bars and 80 luxurious rooms with private balconies and ensuite bathrooms. To support the building’s handover, Dewick & Associates was engaged to author the Building Handover Manuals and Mechanical Services O&M Manuals for the project.
Our focus was on producing a coordinated set of handover documents covering both the building fabric and the mechanical installation, giving the operations team a single, reliable reference for one of South Australia’s flagship tourism developments.
By Alexandra Vuksa
Credit: Eco Structures
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Long Contracting Pty Ltd is the South Australian commercial builder responsible for delivering the Wild Africa Tourist Accommodation, working alongside mechanical services contractor DCM Services. The building combines precast wall construction with high-level glazing and a feature atrium that opens onto panoramic views of the savanna, and brings together hospitality, leisure and accommodation functions in a single 80-room development. With the building forming a high-profile addition to the Monarto Safari Resort precinct, the project team required a documentation partner who could pull together a coherent handover deliverable covering both the structural and mechanical elements of the build.
A tourism accommodation project of this magnitude requires a highly integrated HVAC strategy and a diverse array of construction trades. The mechanical scope for this facility was substantial, featuring:
Advanced HVAC Systems: Heat-recovery Variable Refrigerant Volume (VRV) air conditioning and combined evaporative cooling with air source heat pump heating coils.
Specialized Ventilation: Comprehensive outside air fans, exhaust ventilation via individual inline and roof-mounted fans, and dedicated split air conditioning for specialist clinical and guest areas.
On the building side, the manual needed to capture the full fit-out and finishes across guest rooms, restaurants, bars, the gym and the day spa, drawing on documentation held across many different subcontractors. The brief was to bring all of this together into structured deliverables that the operations team could rely on as soon as the building was handed over and opened to guests.
Following an initial Project Set-Up meeting with the builder, Dewick & Associates established a clear framework for construction standards, contract requirements, and mandatory documentation deliverables. We used nucleus, our online portal, to request concise technical literature, care and maintenance procedures, and warranty information from each subcontractor, with full transparency on what had been requested and what had been received.
Our in-house Technical Writing team conducted a multi-stage review to ensure every document was operationally relevant and accurate. The final Building Handover Manual provided a comprehensive record of the asset, including:
In collaboration with DCM Services, we authored the Mechanical Services O&M Manuals. These manuals provided high-level technical guidance for the facility’s complex HVAC systems, including VRV units, evaporative cooling, ASHP heating, and specialised ventilation and split system installations.
Boris Vukojevic, Contract Administrator/Project Manager at Long Contracting Pty Ltd commented on the project collaboration with Dewick & Associates.
“Working with Dewick on the Monarto Safari Lodge was a streamlined experience. They delivered high-quality, accurate building manuals well within our project timelines, demonstrating a level of professionalism that significantly reduced our administrative burden during the commissioning phase.”
The comprehensive handover package supplied by D&A supports the smooth opening and ongoing operation of the accommodation. The Monarto Safari Resort facilities team has a technical record covering both the building fabric and the mechanical installation, helping them optimise guest comfort and minimise the risk of disruption in a hospitality setting where reliable building services are essential.
The content in this case study has been informed by project documentation and client communication provided to Dewick & Associates during and following the completion of the project. Where external sources have contributed to our understanding of relevant standards or industry practice, these are listed below.
Long Contracting https://www.longcontracting.com.au/
Monarto Safari Resort https://monartosafariresort.com/lodge-accommodation/
Eco Structures is a design and manufacturing company specialising in engineered tented prefabricated accommodation solutions for environmentally sensitive sites worldwide. Eco structure supplied a collection of 20 spacious 6.3m Eco Tents with Bathpods, designed for an unforgettable zoo resort experience. https://www.ecostructures.com.au/
Note: Some content in this case study draws on a combination of sources rather than direct quotation. Where this is the case, contributing sources are acknowledged above rather than cited inline.
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Technical authoring of D&A format O&M Manuals enabling efficient plant operation and effective maintenance for equipment longevity, including:
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