Flowing Gardens / Plasma Studio

London-based Plasma Studio will begin construction on the International Horticultural Fair Complex in Xi’an, China this year.  The project, entitled Flowing Gardens, features the redevelopment of a large area of land that acts as a ‘synthesis of horticulture and technology where landscape and architecture converge at a sustainable and integral vision’.

Further project description after the break.

The master plan functions as a woven network of landscape, circulation and architecture. ‘The conceptual master plan is strikingly similar to an estuary. The circulation flow begins as a single stream, and then broadens, branching out to form the borders of garden spaces … the flowy circulation heavily influenced the buildings in the conceptual phase,’ stated Olivia Chen, a designer for Plasma Studio.

The massive proposal is comprised of a 5000 sqm exhibition hall, a 4000 sqm greenhouse and a 3500 sqm gate building, all situated in the 37 hectares landscape.  The fair, which will receive approximately 200,000 visitors a day, provides four different climatic zones of plants and flowers.

Although the buildings are experienced as individual elements, they are connected through the relationship they each have with the landscape. The buildings are specifically situated into the site at certain points to illustrate specific qualities of the dynamic landscape. One enters the site along the major axis of the gardens through the gate building which creates a public meeting space and frames views of the gardens. The exhibition center seems to extend past the landscape to showcase the lake and the views of the South Hill. The greenhouse, at the peak of the hill, connects various landscape features due to its central location.

As seen on designboom.

Project: Xi’an Horticultural Exhibition 2011
Credit: Plasma Studio
Architect: Eva Castro, Holger Kehne, Ulla Hell
Design team: Jorge Ayala, Nicoletta Gerevini, Evan Greenberg, Hossein Kachabi, Nadia Kloster, Steve de Micoli, Filippo Nassetti, Alfredo Ramirez
Collaborator: ARUP/ GROUNDLAB
Client: Chang’an Ecological District
Location: Xi’an City, China
Use: Landscape/ Cultural
Site area: 37 Hectares
Bldg. Area: 12, 000 square meters
Design year: 2009
Completion year: 2011