Gorilla House

The Gorilla House stands as a significant landmark of British modernist architecture. Completed in nineteen thirty-three, it was the first major commission for the Tecton Group, led by the visionary architect Berthold Lubetkin. He collaborated with the renowned engineer Ove Arup to create a structure that prioritized both scientific precision and the health of its original residents, a pair of gorillas named Mok and Moina. The building features a cylindrical design crafted from reinforced concrete, which was a revolutionary material for public buildings at the time. Its circular form includes both an open-air enclosure for summer days and a climate-controlled indoor space for winter. A key feature was a rotating, semi-circular screen that allowed the enclosure to transition between these environments while maintaining a consistent, warm, and humid atmosphere, intended to mirror the gorillas' native habitat in the Congo. Beyond its technical ambition, the structure served a vital health function by using sliding glass partitions. These provided a physical barrier that shielded the gorillas from human-borne illnesses, reflecting a growing understanding of animal care in the twentieth century. While it is now a Grade I listed building and no longer houses gorillas, the structure remains a clear example of how early modernist design sought to blend functional innovation with the needs of the natural world.