The Penguin Pool was built on the site of goose paddocks. The commission for its design went to Tecton and followed the reception given to their revolutionary Gorilla House. Lubetkin was given liberty to design an exhibition piece, a non-naturalistic stage for the antics of the penguins that avoids any appearance of caging. Built 1934, brief by Sir Peter Chalmers Mitchell, Secretary, Dr Geoffrey Marr Vevers, Superintendent, and David Seth-Smith, Curator of Birds and Mammals; Tecton (Berthold Lubetkin and Lindsey Drake), architects; J L Kier and Company (with Ove Arup and Felix Samuely as structural engineers), general contractors. Cost about £2,000. Refurbished 1985-87, Avanti Architects (John Allan), with Berthold Lubetkin and Arup Associates. Cost about £280,000, with grants from English Heritage and Peter Palumbo. Grade I listed.
The Penguins were moved to a pool on Barclay Court in 2004. Penguin Beach opened in 2011.
The semicircular area across the Outer Circle from the Main Gate was laid out by Decimus Burton in 1830-31 as a carriage sweep. From at least the mid 19th century there was an exit only turnstile leading into the centre of this area. The semicircle came into use as the Zoo's car park around 1920 and the exit remained in use until much later. A relic of the exit survives in the form of a two-bay iron pergola that adjoined the turnstile to the north.
The picnic terrace, laid out in about 1965 to the north of the Children's Zoo, has crazy paving, tables enclosed by low brick walls and a timber kiosk. Demolished for Tiger Territory in 2013.
The playground south of the Amphitheatre was built 1971, John Toovey, architect; equipment by SMP (Landscapes) Limited; maze panel designs by Banks and Miles. Moved to the lawn in 2003.
