AGC award-winning project · Building the future on StruXure.co · 2024 to 2026

A 70-foot gorilla tower in a limestone quarry

Guido Construction built Congo Falls, the San Antonio Zoo's gorilla habitat, and The Ralston event center cantilevered over a former quarry. The zoo remained open for business and the job was managed with StruXure.co.

Opening day. Congo Falls, Silverback Peak and The Ralston from above. San Antonio Zoo

By the numbers

70+ ftSilverback Peak, which the zoo calls the world's tallest gorilla tower
35+ yrssince the zoo last had gorillas; Congo Falls is home to seven
~30,000visitors on opening weekend
$17.6MThe Ralston: event space, offices and the tower
0recordable safety incidents on The Ralston
187 tonsof quarry limestone reused on site and at the Alamo

Figures: AGC 2026 Build America Awards; San Antonio Zoo; KXAN

As seen onGood Morning America Download PDF

The builder: Guido Construction · San Antonio, TX · Est. 1927. A fourth-generation, privately held general contractor that builds award-winning, one-of-a-kind projects for institutional clients, including the Alamo, the San Antonio Zoo, SeaWorld and the San Antonio Spurs.

The site

Habitat on the quarry floor, event center on the rim, a tower between them

Schematic, redrawn from the San Antonio Zoo site plan · Positions approximate · Not to scale

Silverback Peak · Climbing tower, 70+ ft

A tower 70 feet up the quarry wall

Congo Falls is a two-acre habitat on the floor of a former limestone quarry. Silverback Peak rises more than 70 feet from the habitat to an observation area on the cliff, beside The Ralston, with views of the San Antonio skyline. The zoo calls it the first gorilla tower of its kind. PGAV Destinations of St. Louis designed it; Guido built it using StruXure.co.

The Ralston · 29,560 sq ft event center on the quarry rim

The Ralston, on a narrow cliff with the zoo open

Guido built the 29,560 sq ft event center on a narrow limestone cliff above the zoo while guests kept coming, protecting animals, visitors and staff on a tight site with limited access. The Ralston finished with zero recordable safety incidents and won a 2026 AGC Build America Award (Building New, under $20 million).

Congo Falls · Two-acre gorilla habitat on the quarry floor

Gorillas back after 35 years

Congo Falls opened on 13 December 2025 as home to seven western lowland gorillas, the first at the zoo in more than 35 years. About 30,000 people came on the opening weekend.

StruXure.co on the job

One record for a multi-phase job

Guido ran the multi-phase Congo Falls project in Guido PM, the company's own version of StruXure.co. Guido set it up in eight weeks, and more than 75 project managers, subcontractors, architects and owners use it every day.

“Having a single point of record where everyone can collaborate and see how the project is progressing has been a game-changer; our bigger clients like Sea World, and the San Antonio Zoo love it!”

Maryanne Guido, Guido Construction