Architecture minister tours Dudley Zoo project
Architecture minster Ed Vaizey has heaped praise on Berthold Lubetkin’s Tecton structures at Dudley Zoo.
He was touring the zoo to see the first four of the modernist landmarks designed by The Tecton Group to be restored with a £1.15 million Heritage Lottery Fund grant.
The zoo has the world’s largest collection of Tecton buildings. The 12-strong group was granted World Monuments Fund status in 2009.
Using pre-stressed reinforced concrete, the architects were able to create structurally daring forms.
The four structures were restored using original techniques and materials, the first time this has been done.
Vaizey said the work was the finest example of modernist restoration he had seen.
He told the Stourbridge News: “They are simply wonderful structures, I love them. When you consider that Dudley Zoo’s Tectons were constructed in the 1930s they are so imaginative, with their deep curves and sweeping shapes, they are beautiful, and what an incredible project to restore them to their original state.”
The 36-month project also included the refurbishment of the zoo’s vintage chairlift and the launch of an apprenticeship scheme in concrete repair and conservation.
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