Zoo architecture that's full of animal magic – in pictures

London Zoo's new tiger enclosure offers five times as much space as before and tropical foliage for the zoo's two Sumatran tigers Photograph: Christian Sinibaldi for the Guardian

London Zoo's new enclosure for its two critically endangered tigers mimics an Indonesian habitat Photograph: Christian Sinibaldi for the Guardian

Jae Jae will have use of a custom-made pool and several indoor dens as part of the new £3.6m enclosure Photograph: Christian Sinibaldi for the Guardian

Zoo keepers coax penguins down the spiral ramps of their new home at London Zoo, designed by architect Berthold Lubetkin in 1939 Photograph: Topical Press Agency/Getty Images

Elephants reach across to visitors from their enclosure at London Zoo, c 1960 Photograph: Alamy

Two giraffes look at each other from the windows of their enclosure during the annual weigh-in at London Zoo Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

A computer generated shows the future Vincennes Zoo, outside Paris, which is set to reopen in 2014 Photograph: Anonymous/AP

A silvery gibbon jumps around inside its enclosure at the Hellabrunn Zoo in Munich, Germany Photograph: Peter Kneffel/AFP/Getty Images

An illustration of the 1857 Bear Pit in Bern, Switzerland Photograph: Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS

The aviary at the Buenos Aires Zoo, Argentina Photograph: Alamy

Felix Candela's Marine Centre in Valencia, Spain Photograph: S. Buonamici/Getty Images

Foster and Partners' elephant enclosure at Copenhagen Zoo, which opened in 2008 Photograph: Alamy

Hippopotamus House at the Berlin Zoo Photograph: Alamy

London Zoo's Aviary along Regent's Canal, London. It was designed by Cedric Price, Lord Snowdon and Frank Newby Photograph: UniversalImagesGroup/UIG via Getty Images

The Royal Menagerie, in Exeter Change, London, c 1820. Edward Cross kept his menagerie there until Exeter Change was demolished in 1829 when he moved it to the Surrey Gardens, Walworth around 1830 Photograph: Heritage Images/Corbis

The Budongo Trail building for chimpanzees at Edinburgh Zoo, which opened in 2008 Photograph: Alamy

The elephant gate at Berlin Zoo Photograph: Alamy

A detail of the art nouveau Elephant house at the Budapest Zoo & Botanical Garden Photograph: Alamy