Flowing Gardens

Xi'an International Horticultural Expo 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 (210 BC) and is also a major business centre for the vast interior of the Chinese mainland.

Plasma Studio, in collaboration with GroundLab and local landscape practice LAUR Studio, 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 5,000m2 Creativity Pavilion, a 4000m2 Greenhouse and the 3,500m2 Guangyun Entrance landbridge sitting in a 37 ha landscape for the International Horticultural Expo and a public park for Xi’an City as its legacy. The event lasted from April to November 2011, and has exceeded all expections by receiving 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 articulated nodes of the landscape.