Giant Panda National Park Ya’an Science Education Center

Giant Panda National Park Ya’an Science Education Center
Courtyard inside the architecture. Image © Arch-Exist

GIANT PANDA NATIONAL PARK YA'AN SCIENCE EDUCATION CENTER

China Southwest Architecture Design and Research Institute

LEAD ARCHITECTS
Yi Liu, Li Ang Bowei

CONSTRUCTION
Sichuan Wen Ao Engineering Construction Co. Ltd

PHOTOGRAPHS
Arch-Exist

ARCHITECTURE DESIGN TEAM
Zhao Yang, Yumin Tian, Jiawei Zhang, Meng Zhu, Rui Chen

YEAR
2020

STRUCTURE DESIGN TEAM
Qiong Bi, Yu Lei, Bo Dong, Yifeng Liu

WATER SUPPLY AND DRAINAGE DESIGN TEAM
Pei Huang, Huming Lv, Heyu Huang, Bo Li

HVAC 
Ling Yang, Xiaodan Min, Junwei Cai, Yingjie Chen, Xichen Liu

ELECTRIC TEAM
Dong Guo, Kun Nie, Shuangquan Lei

CURTAIN WALL
Biao Dong, Binli Yin, Yu Zhang, Zhipeng Yang, Huaxu Gong

BUILDING PHYSICS
Qinglong Gao, Chen You Luo, Xiao Wang

LOCATION
Ya'an, China

CLIENT
Ya'an Forestry Bureau

CATEGORY
Exhibition Center

Giant Panda National Park Ya'an Science Education Center covers an area of about 14000 M ², The total construction area is 5342 M ². It is one of the start-up projects of the giant panda National Park in Sichuan and the only popular science education center.

Giant Panda National Park Ya’an Science Education Center
Echo the mountains and integrate into one. Image © Arch-Exist
Giant Panda National Park Ya’an Science Education Center
Aerial view of the entrance, Flexible curves and black-and-white metal curtain walls create an abstract form of pandas. Image © Arch-Exist

The site is located on the only way to Bifengxia base of China Giant Panda Protection and research center. It is not only an important transportation node, but also the first stop for Ya'an to build local giant panda cultural tourism.

FORM OF INTEGRATION INTO NATURE
We deliberately attach the building to the ground to have as little impact on the surrounding environment as possible.

Giant Panda National Park Ya’an Science Education Center
© Arch-Exist
Giant Panda National Park Ya’an Science Education Center
Entrance Perspective, Elegant curves are hidden in the bamboo forest. Image © Arch-Exist

Looking from the other side of the busy traffic, the whole building is almost submerged in the dense bamboo forest, and only an upturned arc reminds people of its existence. Across the stream along the bridge, we still can't see the whole picture. The smooth roof curve stretches forward along the bamboo tip, leading us to the entrance.

The building rises from the ground near the entrance, hovers to the highest point, and then follows the trend and returns to the ground to form a special three petal Mobius ring. In addition to functional considerations, we also give our blessing to the endless and cyclic growth of giant panda, a precious creature here.

Giant Panda National Park Ya’an Science Education Center
Interleaving and overhead of architecture. Image © Arch-Exist
Giant Panda National Park Ya’an Science Education Center
Interleaving and overhead of architecture. Image © Arch-Exist

In order to express the theme on the facade and avoid the representational technique of bad customs, the outer skin of the building facade uses a vertical metal grid curtain wall, black-and-white gradient, combined with the curved volume to abstract a flexible panda image, so that visitors can feel the atmosphere surrounded by it wherever they go.

PASSIVE ECOLOGICAL DESIGN
The site has excellent traffic conditions and noise interference. For the expressway in the north and the urban road in the west, we choose the lowest technology green noise reduction method - bamboo planting.

Giant Panda National Park Ya’an Science Education Center
Exhibition in the sunshine. Image © Arch-Exist
Giant Panda National Park Ya’an Science Education Center
Fuzzy indoor and outdoor boundaries. Image © Arch-Exist

At the same time, in the plane layout, the corridor of a small number of office areas is facing the noise, and the noise is further reduced through the necessary double-layer wall of the building itself, so as to create a quiet space hidden in the city.

Through the simulation of site wind environment, select the best layout orientation, and optimize the staggered and overhead points of the building itself by means of comparative simulation, so as to finally obtain the best volume form. Ya'an has been rainy since ancient times.

Giant Panda National Park Ya’an Science Education Center
Exhibition space full of oxygen and vitality. Image © Arch-Exist
Giant Panda National Park Ya’an Science Education Center
Aerial view of the atrium, Endless flow line. Image © Arch-Exist

The special natural conditions provide inherent advantages for the rainwater utilization of the project. Through the rainwater collection, regulation and storage on the roof and site, the utilization rate of non-traditional water sources during the operation of the project can reach an amazing 30.5%, more than twice that of conventional projects.

INNOVATIVE EXHIBITION ARRANGEMENT CONCEPT
We try to create a special space experience, that is, the experience of blurring the boundaries of indoor and outdoor exhibitions. Visitors can walk unimpeded from the indoor exhibition to the outdoor exhibition.

Giant Panda National Park Ya’an Science Education Center
Overall aerial view, Ecological architecture crawling on the earth. Image © Arch-Exist

With the help of the circular undulating planting roof, people's footsteps can extend to every corner of the site, while the large continuous floor glass arranged along the atrium further blurs the boundary between the external environment and the indoor exhibition.

Viewing the exhibition in the sunshine is another experience we create. Different from the conventional closed artificial environment, the project strives to introduce natural bamboo forest, cool wind and sunshine indoors. The double skin is used to isolate the unfavorable direct light, and the soft diffuse light is obtained with the help of the atrium, so as to build an exhibition space full of oxygen and vitality for visitors.


Giant Panda National Park Ya’an Science Education Center
Site Plan
Giant Panda National Park Ya’an Science Education Center
BF Plan
Giant Panda National Park Ya’an Science Education Center
1F Plan
Giant Panda National Park Ya’an Science Education Center
2F Plan


Giant Panda National Park Ya’an Science Education Center
West Elevation
Giant Panda National Park Ya’an Science Education Center
East Elevation


Giant Panda National Park Ya’an Science Education Center
Section


Giant Panda National Park Ya’an Science Education Center
location