Panda Base Sightseeing Tower

Project Panda Planet -The extension project of the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding is going to make the Base into a world’s top research base and reservation for panda. As the summit of Project Panda Planet, the tower will be the landmark building and guardian of the whole site. As panda protection and breeding base, the site owns superior natural condition. In that case, the theme of panda naturally became our starting point for our design. In order to create an exciting and formidable image for tourists when they get the first sight of the tower, during the design process, the work we did is more like seeking a totem of nature of this land. Unlike a traditional building with clear function. “Panda tower” is more like artificial natural scenic spot, waiting for tourists to discover and explore. “The more natural the design, the higher demand for the construction technology”. Our whole design process was based on parametric technique. All of input conditions only contains 15 control points on the 5 control line of the tower shell. Other structure including curtain wall details are controlled by the program. The crown of the tower is an other high point of the project, which give “ life” to the tower. Almost 100 louvers in the crown part pf the façade are moveable and when they are in the opened position. The “bamboo shoot” looks like being sprouting. This is a very positive implied meaning in Chinese tradition, and will definitely spread the good wish to the animals and people on the land.