Biodiversity Center ZOO

space for knowledge sharing

The Biodiversity Center at Copenhagen Zoo showcases and shares their knowledge of biodiversity and their extensive global conservation projects. The center physically highlights the zoo’s daily research, biodiversity efforts, and conservation projects for visitors and by-passers. The center encourages knowledge sharing and communication on important global biodiversity initiatives. This is a new visibility for the zoo, as the center marks the first time that Copenhagen Zoo is openly displaying its research and allowing visitors and by-passers a glimpse into its inner workings.

Inviting the Public In

Copenhagen Zoo offers much more than just displaying animals. Deep knowledge of animals is the zoo’s foundation, and a constant drive to learn more and improve the care of the world’s animals has ensured that the zoo has always been at the forefront among the world’s leading zoological gardens. With its 162 years, the zoo continues to set new ambitious standards for what a modern zoo should encompass, leading the way with exceptional disease monitoring and treatment, effective nature conservation, and groundbreaking research.

Copenhagen Zoo is located in the heart of Frederiksberg. The zoo’s outer boundary is broadly characterized by green, soft edges, as the park on the north side runs along Frederiksberg Garden, and on the south side is part of Søndermarken Park. The stretch along Roskildevej and Søndre Fasanvej is more urban, characterized by hard edges with fences and buildings that form the boundary between the city and the park. In recent years, the zoo has worked to give the public insight into the life of the park, especially in the animal enclosures that lie along the edge.

The Biodiversity Center is located at the corner of two busy roads where the zoo’s boundary used to be a closed fence. We have placed the Biodiversity Center right at the edge to follow previous efforts to increase the visual connection between the zoo and the public. The facade facing the road offers views into the center through large windows, where by-passers can become curious about the zoo’s initiatives and be inspired to visit the park. The facade consists of wooden slats with climbing plants, giving the building a natural and wild expression.

The client’s ambition for the architecture was to create a sustainable home with a strong focus on resource awareness, social sustainability, and materials. It contributes to local biodiversity and has preserved the existing nature as much as possible.

Transparent Research

The Biodiversity Center includes a wide range of facilities and functions such as an animal hospital, clinical laboratory, DNA laboratory, CT room, greenhouse, feed kitchen, and a dissection room. All of these are visible to visitors through large window panels, as well as large screens with live video of details and audio descriptions from the researchers. Additionally, the Biodiversity Center will house office areas, meeting rooms, isolation clinics, and a biobank, which are accessible only to staff.

Client: Zoo Copenhagen
Year: 2028
Location: Copenhagen, Denmark
Collaborators: Thing & Brandt Landskab / Ingeniø'ne / encom / Rasmus Friis
Images: Christensen & Co