The Round (Gorilla) House is one of the first buildings to be built in the Modernist style in Britain and was designed by Russian émigré Berthold Lubetkin a member of the Tecton Group. Lubetkin and Tecton went on to design many zoo buildings, some here at London and at Whipsnade, together with Dudley Zoo in the Midlands. It was a bold step to introduce this new style of architecture which sought to present the animals to the public in a dramatic manner.

The brief for the building required convertible open caging to allow the gorilla's fresh air in the summer and access to view the animals inside for the public in winter. The design was circular.

To find out more about ZSL architecture and buildings, search the ZSL catalogue. Please note, the archive does not hold the plans of existing buildings as they are in active use.