Not withstanding the fact that Berthold Lubetkin should have been slapped, for historic purposes, I sure hope the buildings can be saved at Dudley Zoo

Lubetkin and Tecton, 1936-37
Twelve listed buildings, seven Grade II and five Grade II*

Though Tecton’s better known virtuoso pavilions are to be found at London and Whipsnade, it is in the comprehensive scheme opened at Dudley in 1937 that the most complete example of the firm’s zoo design can be found. The Dudley Zoological Society was founded in 1935 to develop the historic site with Dudley Castle as a commercial venture. The buildings were completed to a demanding programme and on a steeply sloping site hilltop site, a task made possible by using ‘modern’ in-situ concrete construction. Dudley Zoo was visited by 250,000 people in the first year, and as such the Tecton buildings offered the first experience of Modern Architecture for the population of the West Midlands and beyond.

All the twelve surviving Tecton buildings are at risk. Five of these are listed at Grade II* and seven Grade II. John Allan, of Avanti architects, who has carried out a comprehensive study of Dudley Zoo says “the whole is greater that the sum of the parts, and … the sense of abstract consistency of the pavilions [makes] it essential to preserve their integrity as a group”. Their placing in, and relationship to, the landscape setting (spoilt, but not irreparably so) is also of unique interest.

The buildings now cut a forlorn figure having suffered from a lack of long-term maintenance and insensitive piecemeal alterations, and in the case of the Penguin Pool, even demolition (back in the 1970s). Concrete edges and sills are vulnerably chipped and interiors have been modernized with ‘heritage’ fittings. For reasons of public safety, additional metal tube and wire guarding has been to the existing, and unique, concrete dual level balustrade. Half-round timber fencing, used throughout the development has been added to certain pavilions. Some have been painted unsympathetically in brown, presumably in misguided attempt to blend the buildings with their environment, and some pavilions simply need to be painted.

The Elephant House, the Moat café and the Station café are amongst the most vulnerable. The future of the disused and seriously decayed Bear Ravine and the lower Kiosk, which adjoins it, is particularly precarious. These are both listed at Grade II* and are crucial elements of the composition.

Dudley Zoological Gardens, as the Zoo is now known, is progressing with plans to redevelop. A legal agreement between DZG at St Modwen was announced in June 2001, selecting them as preferred development partners to develop Dudley Zoo, Dudley Castle and over forty acres of Brownfield land and a major woodland area. The proposal is to regenerate the existing zoo and castle in a public/private joint venture and bring new supporting visitor attractions to the site. The developers submitted an outline planning application in early February 2004, and the Twentieth Century Society attended St Modwen’s presentation of the application.

The Society is concerned that an outline planning application is inappropriate, as it lacks the sufficient detail - namely a Conservation Plan - to address the issues of the Tecton buildings properly. Concerns were noted that the development will impinge of the crucial relationship between the buildings and the topography of the site itself, however until the Conservation Plan is completed definitive conclusions cannot be drawn.

The Society is “…convinced that Dudley Zoo can be made financially viable and is keen to see the Tecton building restored and re-used”. It appears that insensitive redevelopment poses the greatest threat to the buildings. The Twentieth Century Society, and statutory bodies such as English Heritage, now have the opportunity to work with the developers to encourage conservation and appropriate adaptation.