A Custom-Built Monkey House for Natureland Wildlife Trust

It’s not every day we get asked to build a home for a troop of monkeys—but that was exactly the challenge Natureland Wildlife Trust in Nelson brought to Design A Com.

Natureland needed a purpose-built building providing secure, comfortable indoor accommodation for its monkeys, We were honored to work with Leah and Jess on this to make it perfect

Working to Natureland’s and MBIE requirements, we built a 7.8m x 3.6m custom unit featuring four open-access hatches allowing the monkeys to move between their indoor cages and outdoor areas. A Separate wee hatch, cage and outdoor area for Grumpy Monkey, who likes his own space

The building included two large windows providing plenty of natural light, along with internal lighting for when it was needed.

Every detail was considered around animal care, cleaning and day-to-day maintenance.

The walls, roof and doors were constructed using Bondor insulated panels, providing durable, smooth surfaces that are easy to wash and keep hygienically clean.

The building also featured polyester underfloor insulation for additional thermal protection throughout Nelson’s changing seasons.

A hard-wearing, non-slip vinyl floor was installed with a fall over the whole floor towards a floor grate, allowing the building to be thoroughly washed down while providing effective drainage.

They also got spoilt with a 8kw Heatpump to keep warm over winter and chill out under the air con in summer!

Leah and Jess had mentioned they have problems with rodents getting into there feed and making a mess, before we new it

Problem was solved! We had some off cuts of panel laying around not getting used, so built a custom 3x3 feed room, lockable door and rodent proof...Building something out of nothing and it being so practical, fealt pretty good knowing a small thing like that is saving Leah and Jess time and less clean ups, and more time with the Monkeys!

This project is a great example of what can be achieved with a Design A Com's buildings

We don’t just build standard accommodation, offices and storage units. Our buildings can be designed around the specific way you need to use them.

Whether it’s for people, animals, equipment—or something completely out of the ordinary, we’re up for the challenge.

Our units can get used for many different passive income opportunities. Camp ground set ups with Ablution blocks, Unit in your back yard rented out to help with your own mortgage, Storage lock ups for multiple uses....The list goes on!