![Xi’an Greenhouse / Plasma Studio - Waterfront](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5201/b6bf/e8e4/4eff/f200/00ad/newsletter/PS_XIAN_PHOT_BILT_08.jpg?1375844023)
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Architects: Plasma Studio
- Area: 4000 m²
- Year: 2011
![Xi’an Greenhouse / Plasma Studio - Image 7 of 11](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5201/b6cc/e8e4/4ebc/d300/00bb/newsletter/PS_XIAN_PHOT_BILT_10.jpg?1375844036)
Text description provided by the architects. Conceived as a precious crystal, semi-submerged in splendid isolation, reached by boat across the lake followed by a short walk from the shore, the greenhouse for the Xi’an Horticultural Expo blends into the hillside. Visitors access the building through a prolonged cut, literally scooped up from the ground, emerging into a light-filled reception space. From here the visitor passes along a tessellated mesh of paths to three different climatic zones with corresponding plant environments.
The greenhouse has a horseshoe plan, creating a loop that changes radically in section to accommodate a series of unique planting and spatial conditions. With the interior and exterior ground planes gradually shifting in relation to each other, the visitor experiences a sequence of visual enclosures alternating with long vistas out and across. The horseshoe shape also generates an interior open-air courtyard, making it the natural centre of the building and creating a three-dimensional web of interior and exterior circulation.
![Xi’an Greenhouse / Plasma Studio - Image 10 of 11](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5201/b748/e8e4/4ebc/d300/00bf/newsletter/Floor_Plan.jpg?1375844161)