Elephant House, Copenhagen Zoo
Copenhagen, Denmark, 2002-2008
Foster + Partners
Image Source: Brady Peters / Foster + Partners
Copenhagen's New Elephant House is set within a historic park and seeks to create a visual relationship between the zoo and the park. The New Elephant House brings a sense of light and openness to a building type traditionally characterized as closed. Covering the building are two lightweight, glazed domes, which maintain a strong visual connection to the sky and the changing patterns of daylight. The elephants can congregate under these glazed domes, or out in the connecting paddocks. In the wild, the bull elephants have a tendency to roam away from the main herd. The plan form is therefore organized around two separate enclosures, a large one for the main herd, and a smaller one for the more aggressive bull elephants. The building is dug into the site, to minimize its visual impact in the landscape and to optimize its passive thermal performance. For visitors, a ramped promenade leads down through the building looking into the elephant enclosures along the way.
The torus, a mathematical form, was used to "harness the complexity" of the design. The structural and glazing logic was related to the logic of the torus. This geometric set-out and constructional logic was encoded into a parametric computer model. The parametric model allowed for the generation and exploration of many different design options. As the design was expressed as a series of relationships and the computer model could be updated instantaneously, the design could remain quite fluid until very late in the design process. The environmental strategy was expressed both through a series of opening panels and a varying fritting pattern on the glazing panels of the canopy. The design of this system - the distribution of the different panel types and the creation of the custom fritting patterns - was explored using computer programming. A design emerged that incorporated a semi-random placement of leaf textures. This created an environment with different light levels allowing the elephants to find a spot comfortable to them.
The torus, a mathematical form, was used to "harness the complexity" of the design. The structural and glazing logic was related to the logic of the torus. This geometric set-out and constructional logic was encoded into a parametric computer model. The parametric model allowed for the generation and exploration of many different design options. As the design was expressed as a series of relationships and the computer model could be updated instantaneously, the design could remain quite fluid until very late in the design process. The environmental strategy was expressed both through a series of opening panels and a varying fritting pattern on the glazing panels of the canopy. The design of this system - the distribution of the different panel types and the creation of the custom fritting patterns - was explored using computer programming. A design emerged that incorporated a semi-random placement of leaf textures. This created an environment with different light levels allowing the elephants to find a spot comfortable to them.
Image Source: Brady Peters
The torus is a mathematically defined surface, a surface of revolution. It is generated by revolving a circle around an axis. The torus form is also commonly referred to as a ‘donut’. The torus form has many benefits for architecture: the surface is constructed from a series of arcs, the arcs in the rotational direction are equal, the surface can be discretised into four-sided panels, those panels are identical in the rotated direction but not in the other direction, and those quadrilateral panels align with each other along their edges. The torus creates a series of planar faces that can therefore be manufactured in a convenient way. The repetition of panels was important to minimize cost. This geometric set-out is based on arcs, which allows for reliable solid and surface offsets and simplifies and resolves many complex issues of design and production.
Image Source: Brady Peters / Foster + Partners
The level of complexity and the number of configurations necessitated the creation of a parametric model which was developed through a custom computer program. I wrote this computer program while working directly with the design team. Computer programming allows me to create my own digital tools, thus freeing me from the limited palette of commands available in standard CAD packages. This parametric structure generator was developed continuously throughout the design process. I treat computer programming like any other design tool; instead of drawing with a pen, I sketch with code.
Image Source: Brady Peters / Foster + Partners
The environmental strategy for the project was expressed both through a series of opening panels in the canopy, as well as a varying fritting pattern expressed on the glazing panels of the canopy. Through the use of a computer program, patterns emerged through a semi-random placement of leaf textures. Environmental performance was a key aspect of the design and occupant comfort was an important design-driver. It was critical to manage the airflow in the space and this was accomplished through the introduction of variable openings in the glass canopy. In order to reduce the energy input into the space and maintain a comfortable temperature, it was necessary to introduce solar control for the canopy enclosures. Solar control was achieved by printing fritting patterns onto the glass. No other coatings were used on the glass so that the light within the elephant enclosures would be as natural as possible.
While the overall amount of fritting was critical, the distribution of these different panel types was not. I developed a distribution pattern for the different panel types was developed, dubbed the Tree Sort pattern. As elephants in the wild gather at the edges of forests, the forest was seen as an appropriate inspiration for the distribution of shading panels. In the tree sort pattern, the opening panels were considered to be openings in the forest and therefore clear of any fritting. I then wrote a computer program to create a custom frit pattern. A leaf pattern was seen as an appropriate starting point for the frit design. A more standard micro-dot frit pattern was considered unsuitable for this project because it would produce an even lighting level internally, suitable for an art gallery or office, but not for the elephant enclosure where areas of light and dark contrast were considered an advantage. This allows the elephants to seek out the area in which they would most like to stand. The algorithm steps through each glazing panel and creates a new fritting pattern for that shape. The random frit shape was chosen and placed within the glazing panel. The frit shape could be randomly rotated, scaled, and its vertices could be subtly shifted. The algorithm continued to place these frit shapes until the desired frit area was reached.
While the overall amount of fritting was critical, the distribution of these different panel types was not. I developed a distribution pattern for the different panel types was developed, dubbed the Tree Sort pattern. As elephants in the wild gather at the edges of forests, the forest was seen as an appropriate inspiration for the distribution of shading panels. In the tree sort pattern, the opening panels were considered to be openings in the forest and therefore clear of any fritting. I then wrote a computer program to create a custom frit pattern. A leaf pattern was seen as an appropriate starting point for the frit design. A more standard micro-dot frit pattern was considered unsuitable for this project because it would produce an even lighting level internally, suitable for an art gallery or office, but not for the elephant enclosure where areas of light and dark contrast were considered an advantage. This allows the elephants to seek out the area in which they would most like to stand. The algorithm steps through each glazing panel and creates a new fritting pattern for that shape. The random frit shape was chosen and placed within the glazing panel. The frit shape could be randomly rotated, scaled, and its vertices could be subtly shifted. The algorithm continued to place these frit shapes until the desired frit area was reached.