Platinum Architecture, Building and Structure Design · 2022
Xi'an Qujiang Art Center Exhibition Hall
- A' Design Award 2022 Platinum Winner in Architecture, Building and Structure Design
- Awarded April 15, 2022
- CLIENT: Gad
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 425,294
- Verification code 15AB3D693B · Verify this award
About Xi'an Qujiang Art Center Exhibition Hall
Xi'an Qujiang Art Center is an exhibition hall located in Qujiang New District, Xi'an, China. The building appears to float above a green slope and forms a clear visual marker beside the urban road. Double-layer full glass curtain walls blur the boundary between the interior and the surrounding parks. A suspension structure carries the three exhibition levels, and the suspended columns are reduced to 200 mm in diameter, so the space is almost free of columns. A gentle trail through the urban green belt leads visitors into the site.
This architectural composition by gad represents a distinguished achievement in contemporary cultural facility design, demonstrating the practice's sophisticated approach to integrating monumental built form with sensitively conceived landscape interventions, the elevated glass pavilion exemplifies the structural poetry possible when engineering ambition serves aesthetic vision, its apparently weightless cantilever creating a moment of architectural wonder that rewards both distant viewing and intimate encounter, the curatorial sensibility evident in the rooftop garden design suggests deep engagement with traditions of contemplative landscape architecture, where the serpentine pathway functions not merely as circulation but as an invitation to mindful movement through carefully orchestrated botanical sequences, the illumination strategy transforms the composition at dusk, with the internally lit pavilion becoming a lantern-like presence while the edge-lit walkways trace luminous calligraphy across the planted terrain, this interplay between architectural geometry and organic landscape form reflects contemporary discourse around biophilic design principles and the cultural imperative to create meaningful connections between urban inhabitants and natural systems, the atmospheric conditions captured in this image enhance the work's meditative qualities, with the misty envelope creating a sense of removal from the quotidian while the distant urban skyline maintains awareness of metropolitan context, viewers might contemplate how this project negotiates between the desire for architectural distinctiveness and the equally important goal of creating restorative environments for cultural engagement and civic gathering.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- The project is located in Yanta District, Xi’an, with a mature surrounding traffic system including elevated roads, subways and highways, which makes it quite convenient and able to reach the main city within an hour. Being close to Qujiang Pool and Tang Paradise, the site is surrounded by multiple urban parks and boasts rich green land resources.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- The cellular stone breaks the area limit of natural stone with a size of 1.2m wide x 2.2m high. It also can be used on the dropping ceiling which ensures the integrity of the entry space and renders a unusual drop-off experience.
Cellular aluminum sheet’s lightness, high intensity and high flatness guarantee the flatness of the large aluminum curtain wall. Meanwhile the reflections of the surroundings further strengthens the sense of floating. - Tags
- Floating Horizon, Suspension Structure
- Production Technology
- Cellular aluminum sheet's lightness, high intensity and high flatness guarantee the flatness of the large aluminum curtain wall. Meanwhile the reflections of the surroundings further strengthens the sense of floating.
- Design Challenge
- The exhibition hall space is divided into three layers. The whole structure is a suspension structure. Under the suspension structure, the stress mode of the column is changed from bearing pressure to bearing tension, and the performance of the steel is brought into play. The diameter of the suspension column is reduced to 200 mm to achieve the " almost no column" effect in the indoor space. Hence the freedom of the exhibition space can be fully released, and the sight line can be connected with the outside almost unobstructed, blurring the inner and outer boundaries.
- Project Duration
- The project started in 2018 in Rongchuang Qujiangyin, Qujiang New District, Xi'an, China and finished in 2019.
- Operation Flow
- Facing the height difference between the site and the 10 meter green belt of the road, how shall people reach the site? The landscape design gives a poetic answer. The gentle slope of the urban green belt is built into a silk belt trail, leading the walk in. The walk experience becomes a way of dialogue with the site, and also a more close interaction between the site and the city.
The landscape design and space streamline of the drop-off area overlap with each other. The designer is not eager to let people arrive at the exhibition hall, but allows them to go straight through the landscape garden on the first floor. Walking through the landscape area and after taking the 88 second straight ladder, people will see the floating exhibition hall with four transparent walls at the end of the stairs. When looking back from the exhibition hall, the landscape on the roof of the podium and the botanical garden on the east side of the site form a continuous dialogue relationship. The landscape and architectural sequence constitute the designer's narrative of the space, which naturally triggers the emotion and experience at that moment. - Research
- The process of arriving at the site is not a straightforward one, but a process of falling, turning, surprise and suddenly opening up, which seems to coincide with human's emotional experience. The whole building is anchored on the site. The site and the building are integrated with the bottom hidden in the green slope.
- Inspiration
- How to deal with the relationship between the architecture and the site becomes the starting point of the initial design. The designer further contemplates the space core by contemplating on the relationship between architecture and nature, the way of interaction and the boundless sense of experience. Double-layer full glass curtain walls allow the building to interact with the nature in the form of fuzzy boundary.
- Image Credits
- Image #1: Photographer Shiromio Studio, Main Image, 2019.11.09.
Image #2: Photographer Shiromio Studio, Optional Image, 2019.11.09.
Image #3: Photographer Shiromio Studio, Optional Image, 2019.11.09.
Image #4: Photographer Shiromio Studio, Optional Image, 2019.11.09.
Image #5: Photographer Shiromio Studio, Optional Image, 2019.11.09.
Colors of Xi'an Qujiang Art Center Exhibition Hall
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Contemporary Architecture and Master Planning
We design iconic architectural spaces that blur boundaries between nature and structure. Specializing in cultural venues, commercial complexes, and institutional buildings, our team delivers innovative solutions that transform sites into memorable experiences.
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