BIG has completed a circular enclosure at a zoo in Denmark to house two giant pandas that have been relocated from Chengdu, China.
Built at the heart of Copenhagen Zoo, Panda House has been designed by BIG in collaboration with Schønherr Landscape Architects, MOE and a number of zoologists to mimic the bears' ideal natural habitat.
Its form evokes the Chinese yin-yang symbol, providing separate areas for the male and female bear so that they can't see, hear or even smell each other until mating season.

"We studied the social and behavioural needs of the giant pandas, apart from mating season, pandas are loners by nature ? male and female pandas need to be separated from each other," explained BIG partner David Zahle.
"Taking the literal interpretation of the yin and yang symbol, we divided the circular site to create separate yet harmonious homes for the male and female pandas, which can be flexibly merged during dating season."
The pandas, named Mao Sun and Xing Er, were a gift from the Chinese government to the Queen of Denmark's following her visit to the country in 2014.
BIG, Schønherr Landscape Architects, MOE were later commissioned to design the 4,950-square-metre enclosure for the bears to reside at Copenhagen Zoo, for which they first unveiled the design in 2017.

Like the yin-yang symbol, which represents opposite but balanced forces within a circle, Panda House is divided by a curving wall. This snakes upwards at opposite ends of the encl...