Basic Site Details

Name: Scottish National Zoological Park
City or county: Edinburgh
Country: Scotland
Parish:  
Status:  
Grid ref:
Notes: The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland was founded in 1909 by Thomas Gillespie, an Edinburgh lawyer. Within four years the Society has sufficient support and funding to purchase an 85 acre site to the west of Edinburgh, for £17,000, with assistance from Edinburgh City Council. Gillespie took for his model the so-called 'open zoo' at Hamburg, designed by Carl Hagenbeck. Instead of bars and cages, Edinburgh Zoo was designed from the outset to have large, open enclosures, using ditches and moats to separate the animals from the visitors.

By April 1913 Patrick Geddes, and his son-in-law Frank Mears had prepared a Report and preliminary plans for laying out the zoological gardens, and work on construction of the pools for polar bears and seals, aviaries, and enclosures for wolves, monkeys bars and lions was commenced immediately. Edinburgh Zoo was opened to the public on 22 July 1913, and was incorporated by Royal Charter later that year.

Alternative Names

The following alternative names are associated with this building/design:
 NameCurrent name?Notes
Item 1 of 1Edinburgh ZooYes 

Building Type Classification

The building is classified under the following categories:
 ClassificationOriginal classification?Notes
Item 1 of 1Zoo  

Street Addresses

The following street addresses are associated with this building:
 AddressMain entrance?Notes
Item 1 of 1Corstorphine RoadYes 

Events

The following date-based events are associated with this building:
 FromToEvent typeNotes
Item 1 of 11913 Opened 

People

Design and Construction

The following individuals or organisations have carried out design/construction work. Where architects or practices worked together, matching letters appear beside their names in the Partnership Group column.
 NameRolePartnership GroupFromToNotes
Item 1 of 2(Sir) Frank Charles Mears  1913 Layout with Patrick Geddes
Item 2 of 2Patrick Geddes  1913 Lay out - with Frank Mears

Related Buildings, Structures and Designs

Child Structures

This structure or site has the following component or child structures (click on an item to view details):
 Building NameNotes
Item 1 of 13Picnic ShelterLargely built by youth trainees from Telford College.

Pavers infront of the shelter incorporate a pattern based on the DNA spiral, devised by the landscape architect (unknown?).
Item 2 of 13Scottish National Zoological Park Aquarium 
Item 3 of 13Scottish National Zoological Park buildings, Bandstand 
Item 4 of 13Scottish National Zoological Park buildings, Corstorphine Hill House 
Item 5 of 13Scottish National Zoological Park buildings, pair of toilets flanking west lodge 
Item 6 of 13Scottish National Zoological Park, Bookshop 
Item 7 of 13Scottish National Zoological Park, Children's Farm 
Item 8 of 13Scottish National Zoological Park, Gateway (including lodge) 
Item 9 of 13Scottish National Zoological Park, Marketing Suite35sqm suite with curved zinc roof. £42,600 budget
Item 10 of 13Scottish National Zoological Park, Marmoset House£300,000 budget; a self build project with a training scheme built into the construction programme.
Item 11 of 13Scottish National Zoological Park, Monkey HouseEstimated cost £2,600
Item 12 of 13Scottish National Zoological Park, north section 
Item 13 of 13Scottish National Zoological Park, Tropical Bird and Reptile House 

References

Bibliographic References

The following books contain references to this building:
 Author(s)DateTitlePartPublisherNotes
Item 1 of 1Gifford, John, McWilliam, Colin and Walker, David M1984Edinburgh (The Buildings of Scotland) Harmondsworth: Penguin Books Ltdpp526-7

Periodical References

The following periodicals contain references to this building:
 Periodical NameDateEditionPublisherNotes
Item 1 of 1Building News11 April 1913  p510

Archive References

The following archives hold material relating to this building:
 SourceArchive nameSource catalogue no.Notes
Item 1 of 1RIBA Archive, Victoria & Albert MuseumRIBA Nomination Papers Frank Charles Mears: F no2513 (box 7)