Dudley Zoo seeks tour guides for historic buildings

The 12 concrete structures which range from the iconic wave entrance to the historic bear ravine date back to when the zoo first opened to the public in 1930s.

Some of the Tectons are enclosures built to get people closer to the animals while others had a more practical purpose such as the kiosks used to sell ice creams and sweets in times gone by.

The zoo is now appealing for people interested in becoming voluntary tour guides and is hoping to fill 20 positions.

Since the completion of a major £1.15 million project, which saw four of the Tectons restored to their former glory, the attraction says it has been inundated with requests for tours.

One of the buildings renovated was the Safari Shop which was restored to provide a new entrance to the zoo offering access from an extended car park.

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Construction supervisor, Carlo Diponio said: "We're looking for 20 guides who can be called upon to provide interesting and informative presentations for visitors about our unique Modernist structures at occasional events throughout the year. Following the recent Heritage Lottery funded restoration project on four Tecton buildings, there has been a rise in interest from groups wanting to learn more about these iconic buildings.

"This is an exciting opportunity for anyone who has a passion for architecture to provide interesting tours around the site's structures at forthcoming specialist workshops."

Mr Diponio said volunteers will need to acquire knowledge and background about the collection of Tectons and develop a presentation to deliver to groups.

Designed by Russian architect Berthold Lubetkin, the Tectons were constructed between 1935 and 1937 using a specialist system of concrete and were granted World Monuments Fund Status in 2009.

The 12 Tecton buildings also include two cafe, the Queen Mary restaurant, polar bear triple complex, sea-lion pool, elephant house, the bird house and reptile enclosure.

They were designed to both fit in with the landscape and the steep slopes of the Castle Hill site and ensure there were no bars on the enclosures. This made Dudley Zoo different from other zoos when it opened in 1937. There were originally 13 Tectons but the penguin pool had to be demolished in 1974 due to saltwater damage.