London Zoo will be launching two new large-scale exhibits at Easter 2007, the £5.3m Gorilla Kingdom and £2.3m Rainforest Lookout.

A spokesperson for London Zoo said: “Gorilla Kingdom will allow gorillas and associated Central African species to live in a beautiful naturalistic environment. It will also give us an opportunity to talk about our wider conservation work with gorillas, habitat protection and bushmeat evaluation.

“Rainforest Lookout will bring new life to the existing small mammals building, taking natural light into the area to provide a much fresher environment for real lush vegetation and mixed exhibits. We can also use it to talk about issues that affect the rainforest and our work with tamarind in Brazil.”

The projects were funded by various sources, including public donations, legacies and grants. The Clore Duffield Foundation provided £1m for the building of Rainforest Lookout.

The Gorilla Kingdom, with an outside space of 1,600sq m (17,200sq ft) and indoor space of 500sq m (5,380sq ft), was designed by London-based Proctor & Matthews – although the zoo’s internal project team was involved with the positioning of it – and the 5,400sq m (58,125sq ft) Rainforest Lookout, which features 12m translucent dome, was designed by Nightingale and Littler, also based in London.

Work began on Rainforest Lookout in February this year and on Gorilla Kingdom in March. Details: www.londonzoo.co.uk

Photograph: © Corbis