The first capital of the Chinese empire is home to a stunning estate designed by Thomas Heatherwick. Xi’an is best known for its famous Terracotta Army, consisting of more than eight thousand statues. For this reason, the architects at Heatherwick Studio wanted to celebrate the city’s ancient heritage through references to historic temples and ceramics. The CCBD (Central Culture Business District) consists of open-plan retail space, offices, flats and a centrally located terrace in the shape of a huge tree.
The first emperor
221 BC is a key date in Chinese history. It was when Qin Shi Huang became the First Emperor of Qin and Xi’an was chosen as the capital of his state. After the Emperor’s death, the Chinese prepared an underground mausoleum hiding 8,000 terracotta figures immortalising soldiers. The clay soldiers were to protect the emperor in the afterlife. Over the following centuries, impressive Taoist and Buddhist temples, pavilions and pagodas towering over the city were built. All these buildings are united by traditional Chinese ceramics and characteristic hipped roofs.
Few cities can boast such a history. Therefore, the architects from Heatherwick Studio had the difficult task of fitting the new district into the traditional character of Xi’an, which has a population of thirteen million. This issue is also important because of the existing outskirts of the centre, which had been built up with blocks of flats and highways in previous decades. The architects wanted the residents to boast a modern and unique site, standing in opposition to the simple prefabricated towers of the previous century.
Cascades of tradition
Entering the Central Cultural and Business District (CCBD), a cascade of green terraces appears to the eye. From a large cobbled square rise the glass walls of the buildings, which house commercial premises, offices and flats. The glass is wrapped in large columns covered with ceramic tiles. The intriguing patterns and varied surfaces of the glazed tiles are a nod to the city’s ancient history. Historically, heavy ceramic tiles covered the roofs of temples. The multi-layered coating of the tiles invites you to touch the unique shapes of the ceramics. In total, more than 100,000 unique pieces were used in the construction.
The district’s forms are meant to relate to tradition. The edges of the roofs take the shape of raised arches, a direct reference to Chinese canopies. Traditional roofs were designed to drain rain and snow as best as possible. Similar forms can also be seen in Heatherwick’s other project, the Azabudai Hills in Tokyo, which we wrote about HERE.
Another element of the Chinese roof is the raising of the ridge arch, or gable edge. The district consists of cascades of roofs on which green terraces with paths and gardens have been located. Interestingly, the interconnected buildings form a podium from which four skyscrapers rise, but they are not the most important here.
Branches of the Silk Road
All the roofs point with their bends to the ‘tree’ standing in the middle of the main square. The 57 m high terrace is made up of 56 ‘ginkgo leaves’. This is not an accidental tree, as it is the 1400-year-old ginkgo tree that grows in the most important Buddhist temple in Xi’an – Guanyin. Equally not coincidental is the number of individual platforms. The terraces are divided into seven sections symbolising the seven biomes through which the Silk Road led. Historically, it was in Xi’an that the ancient road system linking Europe beyond distant Asia began. The different lands of the route are commemorated in the form of climbing gardens.
In designing the 155,000-square-metre district, the architects took care of the smallest details. The ceramic buttons for the lifts or the delicate grooves in the handrails inside the podium add to the coherence of the symbolic motifs. It should also be noted that it was precisely such details that made the project a major challenge for the architects. Finding a manufacturer who would agree to produce a huge number of unique tiles proved difficult, and the pandemic that was ongoing at the time of the design interfered with the logistics of the project.
District at a human scale
The CCBD is a modern district that is sure to become another attraction of the historic city. The design is not only pleasing to the eye and touch, but also offers functional office, residential and commercial space. In theory, a good portion of the CCBD could be called a large shopping centre. However, looking at the vastness of the details and the authentic aesthetic of the district, one has to admit that Heatherwick’s design is an innovation in the creation of commercial spaces. Most importantly, the architects have managed to do all this while maintaining a friendly and human scale.
Photo source: Heatherwick Studio
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