Dudley Zoo (27M) - 9 September 2016

Many of the buildings at Dudley Zoo, including the original entrance gates, of which this is a detail, were designed by the Tecton Group. Unfortunately, some are are in a deteriorating condition, although the gates, no longer in use for entrance, appear to be an exception, and I would like to see those restored to the standard of the Penguin Pool at London Zoo.

According to the 20th Century Society: 'Encapsulated in the playful pavilions at Dudley is a call to remember the higher calling of all architecture, embracing not just material needs but also the desire to inspire and delight.' [Wikipedia]

This a rather uncomfortable statement, similar to the kind of commentary one sees associated with much modern art, but relevant insofar as the fading Lubetkin creations are now barely able to 'inspire and delight' except with the faintest echoes of a bygone era.

200_2_P1130903E_M