The Elephant and Rhino Pavilion- 18th and 19th Century Architecture in America - Emilia Kightley-Sutter

ELEPHANT AND RHINOCEROS PAVILION LONDON ZOO, REGENTS PARK

In the London Borough of Westminster, the Greater London Authority county there is an animal hour, designed in 1961 by Sir Hugh Casson, Neville Conder and Peter Shepherd which houses elephants and rhinoceros. It is made from reinforced concrete, surrounded by textured walls to prevent the animals actually rubbing against them, and injuring themselves or the structure. The copper roofs give an industrial feel and contrast the rubbed texture on the walls.  The walls are so thick they can withstand the force of an elephant “head-butt.” The zoo alike many zoos gives a sense of fake naturalism, with its looped moat and varying sized elliptical cavities. Mappin Terraces create the illusion of elephants or rhinoceros clumping their heads together, it is unknown if that was Casson’s intention or not. This design feature shows the buildings function through its design and gives audience members a sneak peek of what is to come inside the structure.

The plan has natural bends and ribs which almost resemble a cauliflower. It has an intimate relationship with nature, which has supposedly made the animals more comfortable with being captive, and also makes the viewers comfortable looking at the helpless animals. The animals pens are lined with mosaic and public areas span large distances with wood beams and metal connections. The enclosures for the animals have a purple brick exterior and purple brick paved paths. Stairs lead to the heavy double doors highlight the entrance for public entry. Thinner, hidden slit windows show the general massing of staff areas not occupied by the public. Other incorporations of natural light include the skylights that hover above the center hall for the public which has the pens arranged around. The viewing area is sunken, rather raised like most zoos, giving a worms eye view into the circular animal enclosure. Sitting benches are fixed into the ground, controlling the perspective of the audience. The curved enclosure letting the animals revolve around the area, and it’s also easier to clean and handle rather having tricky corners.

The Elephant and Rhino Pavilion was one of the earliest buildings constructed at the London Zoo and holds a very important architecture roll there, and around the world. Casson and other designers long experience with exhibition design, the animals dramatic nature was captured in the simple design moments. “Elephants are such architectural animals that there is a temptation to look at a building housing them as a kind of analogy of themselves. This building, for example, could be described in terms of its massive curves, its wrinkled hide and its curious silhouette', wrote J M Richards in the Architectural Review. The site is neighboring to the famous Penguin Pool which reflects the character of the animals themselves in the overall concept and form. This is a critical element of designing exhibition design, the design should encourage the animals to display themselves and avoid disrupting the animals true nature (instead of just releasing the animals into their actual natural environment).  

Works Cited

"ELEPHANT AND RHINOCEROS PAVILION LONDON ZOO." Historic England. N.p., 2015. Web.

Miller, Keith. "Making the Grade: Elephant and Rhino House, London Zoo." The Telegraph.

Telegraph Media Group, 09 Nov. 2002. Web. 13 Mar. 2018.

"CASSON PAVILION." CASSON PAVILION. Historic England, n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2018.

King, Jade Aubrey. "The Elephant & Rhino Pavilion." Nature and Concrete. N.p., 05 May 2015. Web. 13 Mar. 2018.

Hancocks, David, 1971. Animals and Architecture. London: Hugh Evelyn Limited.

Cauliflower Plan