Panda House Macau

Mimic the Natural Hills of the Terrain with Texlon^® ETFE

The Panda House Macau was built on the location of the old Seac Pai Van Park Zoo, on the island of Coloane. The architecture of the enclosure was designed to mimic the natural hills of the terrain. It is clad with the highly transparent Texlon^® ETFE foils. These create an enclosed controllable environment for the pandas by allowing in natural light – no need for artificial light.

Highly Transparent

Texlon^® ETFE is highly transparent, allowing the pandas Kai Kai and Xin Xin, to enjoy the natural sunshine, while the insulation properties of the system keep the pavilion at the ideal temperature for the pandas. The shape of the enclosure is high enough to allow space for the tall vegetation and trees to grow.

Further, the printed Texlon^® ETFE provides protection against harmful UV, while also offering a high degree of transparency. Using Texlon^® ETFE is an important benefit for the welfare of animals and plant life living in such enclosures. With higher light transmission levels than glass, a rain forest environment is emulated with Texlon^® ETFE in this tropical biosphere.

Light Transmission of ETFE

Texlon^® ETFE foils are incredibly transparent and allow high levels of light transmission into buildings. High levels of visible light and ultraviolet UV-A light are essential for plant growth. They pass through ETFE – a single layer of 100µm foil allows more than 90% of visible light and 80% of UV-A rays to pass through. This leads to a so-called bactericidal effect of light transmission, a natural phenomenon that kills bacteria, which means that plants thrive as if they were in their natural environment. Another benefit of using Texlon^® ETFE foils is that no artificial fertilisers or pesticides are needed for the plants inside the biomes.

With higher transparency and better insulation, Texlon^® ETFE is the eco-efficient and panda friendly alternative to glass. Texlon^® ETFE is 1% of the weight of glass and therefore requires a far lighter steel structure than its more conventional alternative. Despite this, the material possesses outstanding durability properties, does not degrade under ultraviolet light and is exceptionally long-lasting.

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