People Involved
Project Info
Location: Xi’an, Shanxii Province, PR China
Type: Horticultural Expo
Client: Changba Ecological District Development Agency
Size: 37 ha, 12,000 m2 buildings
Date: Opening April 2011
The International Horticultural Expo has become the instigator and hub for the redevelopment of a large area between the airport and the centre of the ancient city of Xi’an. The city is known as the home of the Terracotta Army of the Qin Dynasty (21 O BC) and is also a major business centre for the vast interior of the Chinese mainland.
Plasma Studio, in collaboration with Groundlab, were successful in winning this international competition following invitation, with a radical self-sustainable vision for the future. The project entitled Flowing Gardens
creates constant functionality using water, planting, circulation and architecture harmonized into one seamless system. The proposal comprises of a 5000m2 Exhibition Hall, a 4000m2 Greenhouse and a 3500m2 Gate Building sitting in a 37 ha landscape that will house the International Horticultural Expo and create a park for Xi’an City as its legacy. The opening will be in 2011 , and is expected to receive approximately 15 Mio visitors.
Flowing Gardens unfolds into many sinuous paths, creating a network for intermingling circulation, landscape and water. The given topography and its existing slopes were used as inspiration to draw out paths in a
similar way to roads around a mountain, negotiating the steepness with gradients. These paths vary in width, ranging from main walkways and arteries to towpaths. The patches between these paths become zones for various types of planting and natural wetland areas.
The three projected buildings, located at the intersections of the major pathways, are developed as articulating nodes, intensifying their occupied landscape.
