Giant Panda Base Star Delivery Room Animation © Raying
▲ Location of the Star Delivery Room at the Giant Panda Base
The “Giant Panda Base Star Production Room,” designed by THDL (Tianhua Architectural Creation Studio) and commissioned by the Chengdu Park City Construction Management Bureau, Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Research Base, and Chengdu Tianfu Greenway Construction Investment Co., Ltd., has recently entered the construction drawing phase. Construction is expected to begin in early 2020 and complete by winter of the same year.
Located in the Beihu area of the expanded Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, this site plays a crucial role in the future breeding and growth of giant pandas. Since the delivery room is the most critical building on the site, the architects have fully integrated local cultural elements into the design. Their goal is to enhance both the panda living environment and visitor experience, while effectively managing peak pedestrian traffic.
▲ General Layout Plan
Set within a mountainous region surrounded by dense forests and complex terrain, the design approach emphasizes minimal intervention in nature. The architects strive to enhance the living conditions of pandas and the visitor experience by seamlessly blending architecture with the natural environment. The delivery room is thoughtfully embedded within the panda habitat, symbolizing harmonious coexistence between humans and wildlife.
Aerial view of the Star Delivery Room © DZI
Imagine the morning mist clearing to reveal the star-shaped silhouette of the delivery room gently outlined in soft light. The building integrates naturally with the site’s varied topography, where several panda cubs rest peacefully among the dense forest.
▲ Concept Generation
The design draws inspiration from overlapping bamboo leaves, incorporating star motifs and giant panda paw elements across the undulating terrain. The structure rotates around the exhibition space, expanding viewing opportunities while carefully preserving the “Panda Home” located at the four leaf tips opposite the main area.
▲ First Floor Plan
▲ Basement Floor Plan
▲ Roof Plan
“Our design concept focuses on creating a warm and inviting ‘home’ for panda cubs, while offering visitors from around the world an immersive experience that embodies China’s unique cultural identity.” — Hou Yue, Design Director at THDL (Tianhua Architectural Creation Studio)
Indoor activity area for pandas in the Star Delivery Room © DZI
The design incorporates outdoor activity areas for twelve pandas and indoor activity spaces for four young pandas, utilizing the natural terrain to maximize their activity range. This allows expectant pandas and their cubs to live comfortably both indoors and outdoors.
▲ Star Delivery Room Visitor Flow Iteration
Indoor visiting space of the Star Delivery Room © DZI
The base’s terrain varies with a height difference of up to 16 meters. Architects have transformed this challenge into an opportunity by designing dynamic indoor spaces that enhance the panda exhibition areas. The design expands viewing angles and increases the display area, upgrading the visitor experience.
The indoor viewing boardwalk gently winds up and down, featuring elements like underground caves, bunkers, and stepped seating. This allows visitors to observe pandas from multiple perspectives, combining educational outreach with engaging, enjoyable views.
▲ Building Materials for the Star Delivery Room
The project embraces ecological design principles through sustainable material choices and structural innovation. The indoor exhibition floor features large pebble-shaped cast-in-place terrazzo. Ultra-durable bamboo and wood floor the boardwalk, while hand-chiseled rough concrete walls add natural texture. The exhibition hall’s glass is ultra-clear with double-sided anti-reflective, sound-absorbing film.
This abundant use of natural materials creates refreshing, eco-friendly indoor and outdoor viewing environments.
Entrance space of the Star Delivery Room © DZI
Star Delivery Room exit bunker and grandstand © DZI
▲ Detailed Wooden Structure Drawing
▲ Sunroof Detail Drawing
The entrance waiting area and exit coffee shop feature pure wooden umbrella structures composed of six glued laminated pine strips. The columns naturally extend into beams, designed to last 50 years. Climbing plants grow over the laminated wooden grids, filtering sunlight to cast dappled shadows that blend with the surrounding landscape.
The indoor panda activity area incorporates complex hyperbolic skylights and includes 10% parallel electric opening fans for natural lighting and ventilation. These structural innovations represent a first in China.
Star Delivery Room, Nursery Room, Visiting Space © DZI
▲ Visitor Flow Analysis Diagram
The popular nursery area for newborn pandas is designed as a standalone exhibition space, separated from logistical routes to ensure unobstructed 360-degree viewing.
Instead of traditional single-file, one-way tours, the design introduces a circular, stepped, four-stream parallel visit system to maximize visitor capacity at any given time. A multimedia interactive science booth in the waiting area educates visitors while they wait.
▲ Section 1-1 View
▲ Section 2-2 View
▲ Section 3-3 View
▲ Section 4-4 View
By blurring the boundaries between indoor and outdoor spaces, the design of the Star Delivery Room offers pandas spacious, natural, and comfortable environments both inside and out. Visitors enjoy an immersive, enriched experience, presenting a vision of harmonious coexistence between humans and pandas in its 3.0 version.
▲ East Elevation View
▲ West Elevation View
▲ South Elevation View
▲ North Elevation View
Model Photos
Project Information
- Project Name: Star Delivery Room of Giant Panda Base
- Architectural Firm: THDL (Tianhua Architectural Creation Studio)
- Principal Architect: Hou Yue
- Design Team: Hou Yue, Lian Nishang, Lin Rujia, Zhang Huili, Xu Cheng, Liu Heng, Xiong Kaiguang, Pan Yaming
- Project Location: Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Research Base, Chengdu City
- Expected Completion: 2020
- Building Area: 5,894 m²
- Owners: Chengdu Park City Construction Management Bureau, Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Research Base, Chengdu Tianfu Greenway Construction Investment Co., Ltd.
- Construction Drawing: Chengdu Architectural Design and Research Institute
- Landscape Design: Chengdu Landscape Architecture Planning and Design Institute
- Interior Design: Chengdu Institute of Architectural Design and Research
- Photographer: N/A
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