SotA Anthology 2020-21 | Page 9

Tom Dutton To what extent has Anthony Browne manipulated the reality of architecture in “ Zoo ”, is this justified and does his work present a clear bias towards Pre- or Post-war architecture ?

Recent graduate TOM DUTTON analyses the seemingly innate societal disdain for post-war architecture , endeavouring to find evidence of this taught negative attitude in children ’ s books , specifically ‘ Zoo ’. Tom compares the enclosures of ‘ Zoo ’ with the real London Zoo through the lens of colour theory , focusing on the use of subliminal illustrative cues and characters ’ body language .
Introduction It is no secret that Postwar architecture has been stigmatised and denounced for decades as an unappealing and impersonal architectural style , while historical styles such as Renaissance and Georgian are lauded for their timeless aesthetics . This essay discusses how this perpetual stigma has reached beyond just reality and into the cultural medium of children ’ s picture books , specifically analysing “ Zoo ” by Anthony Browne . Zoo presents us with an opportunity to view both Pre and Post-war architectural styles not only from the same author , but also with the same narrative , allowing a uniquely fair opportunity for analysis .
A moral narrative “ Zoo ” follows a family of four visiting London zoo , and creates an environment in which the reader is invited to question the morals of animal captivity , with a definite ( though often subliminal ) message of criticism towards the concept of the zoo ( Styles & Arizpe , 2001 ).
It would therefore be logical to expect that the presentation of architecture within the book would enforce this negative attitude . The significant question is then whether or not this presentation would be justified , and whether a significant difference can be observed between Browne ’ s depiction of Pre- and Post-war architecture . The recognisable buildings illustrated within the book are the ‘ Giraffe House ’ ( 1836 ) by Decimus Burton , Lubetkin ’ s ‘ Penguin pool ’ ( 1934 ) and ‘ The Elephant and Rhinoceros Pavilion ’, designed
9
ARCHITECTURE