Entrance Gateway At Dudley Zoo

PLAN: Rectangular plan, the long main elevation facing Castle Hill, and set well back from the road to provide a deep apron, allowing visitors to wait for entrance away from the edge of the pavement.

MATERIALS: Reinforced concrete, with blue brick to the front and rear walls, and timber fittings to the kiosks.

EXTERIOR: The building is a single storey, set on the slope of Castle Hill, and therefore steps downwards from west to east, following the slope of the ground. The range has five equally-spaced kiosks, separated by openings for the turnstiles, which are of equal width to the kiosks. The kiosks allow eight openings for the sale of tickets, each back-to-back within the booths, apart from those at the ends, each of which has one ticket window and another area for staff facilities. The walls are faced in blue brick; the central three bays each carry a concrete letter, spelling Z O O. The roof, carried on round steel columns, is formed from interlocking, shallow S-shaped concrete canopies, enabling the roof to step elegantly down the slope. The projecting roof elements, which also form a shelter for queuing visitors, each have a slot set just back from the front, to allow water to run off without staining the front edge. Each ticket window is half-glazed, adjacent to an entrance doorway; the ticket positions retain their glazed timber windows, with a small counter for transactions. The rear is similar to the main elevation. The blind returns are constructed from blue brick.

INTERIOR: The kiosks have matchboarding to the interior, with a dado-height partition clad in matchboard separating the two ticket positions.