Tectons - Bear Ravine

We finally had a dry day today so I took H on her long awaited visit to Dudley Zoological Gardens. Bear Ravine is one of 12 structures known as Tectons, named after the Modernist architects that designed them,The Tecton Group,led by Russian born Berthold Lubtkin. They were built in the 1930's using reinforced concrete, and 4 of the structures will be restored over the next 3 years, thanks to Heritage Lottery funding. The vintage chairlift, which I rode as a child, has also recently been restored. The zoo entrance is one of my favourite buildings, is also on the list for the next stage of restoration, may go and blip that another day.
While walking around we got chatting to a member of staff about our visit, where we'd travelled from, other places we go to, our views on the zoo etc. I realised when he started telling me about meetings held with other attractions in the area, links with colleges that he was fairly high up, and I think we'd just completed some market research for him. He was actually the CEO for the Zoo, pictured in the photo if you follow the link above.
H is now considering a zoo keeper experience for her birthday, probably in Lemur Wood.