ARCHITECTUURGIDS.NL / ARCHITECTUREGUIDE.NL

ZOO BLIJDORP

S. VAN RAVESTEYN, 1937-1940, Van Aerssenlaan 49, Rotterdam

ARCHITECT(URAL OFFICE):
Sybold van Ravesteyn

ARTIST:
Pieter den Besten
Leen Bolle
Agnes Canta
Dick Elffers
Willem van Kuilenburg
Jo Uiterwaal
Piet Worm
Charles Eyck

BUILDING TYPE:
Cinemas and theatres
Landscape architecture

Indoor and outdoor accommodations of animals are grouped along the principal axis following the length of the park. The main block, the Rivièrahal, adjoins the houses for primates, pachyderms and tropical fauna. Each building's decoration sets out to symbolize its occupants' place of origin. The curve, a recurring formal theme in Van Ravesteyn's work, is to be found here in abundance. Many of the buildings have been altered or replaced over the years at the cost of the overall concept, not least due to the additional entrance in the new extension. The Rivièrahal is earmarked for restoration.