Zoo Education Department And Visitor Shelter At Dudley Zoo

PLAN: The building is serpentine on plan, with a rectangular block to the rear.

MATERIALS: Reinforced concrete.

EXTERIOR: The building is set at the top of a steep slope, meaning that it is a single-storey range to the main (east) elevation, and two storeys to the rear. The serpentine front elevation is an unbroken series of curves, alternating convex and concave, with a low wall converted from the parapet used for all the larger buildings designed by Tecton for the site; the low wall originally had its coping raised on elliptical-section steel struts, giving adults a raised surface on which to lean, and allowing children to view the animals without being lifted up. Above this the formerly open elevation is now glazed, the sections to either end with small-paned mullioned and transomed timber windows, the central section with metal-framed mullioned windows with some small opening panes. The central entrance has a recessed double-doorway; there are two alternative entrances spaced regularly along the range, echoing the original openings into the building. The rear elevation is of two storeys, the basement storey slightly recessed, and the upper floor supported on columns; both storeys have small-paned mullioned and transomed windows in strongly horizontal openings.

INTERIOR: The construction is expressed internally in the use of 9-inch diameter columns carrying, by the use of external and invisible beams, a flat roof slab which is flush with the underside of the beams, creating a fully-flush ceiling between the columns.