London Zoo - The Gorilla Kingdom Expansion
London Zoo, Regent's Park

The Gorilla Kingdom Expansion project is formed of various elements essential for the Zoological Society London (ZSL) to both keep a key species - the Western Lowland Gorilla -, and to implement aspects of their masterplan, which aims for the organisation to become a diversified conservation zoo with distinct thematic zones and clear messaging to visitors. With the successful birth of Mjukuu in January 2024, the need for this project to create an additional gorilla management unit containing outdoor and indoor spaces, offering on-show and off-show areas, increased dramatically.

Following the success of our repurposing with ZSL of the Snowdon Aviary as a primate (bonobo) enclosure, we have looked to carry across the language of steel structure and mesh for this exciting new exhibit. Rising to over nine metres, the new steel structures mimic trees that the gorillas can climb in whilst the stainless-steel mesh helps enclose the space and at the same time create a substantial degree of transparency compared to previous outdated methods such as bars and walls of glass.   

The aim of the new exhibit is to enable visitors to emotionally connect to the animals in a positive way within their enlarged enclosures, and share the story of ZSL’s work for wildlife in West Africa, whilst celebrating the architectural language of the refurbished Sobell Pavilion located at the heart of the new proposals.

A considerable amount of work has been carried out to ensure the proposals protect the wonderful existing trees, enhance the landscape by reducing hard surfacing and improve local ecology and bio net gain.