Designed as a ‘floating gateway’ for residential development, the ‘LAND Community Center’ by EID Architecture provides a social and cultural space for the flourishing neighborhood of Fengdong in Xi’an, China. This project provides an accessible place for the community to enjoy and an extensive program that features a sunken courtyard and zen garden. The center is designed to be a versatile space for many different kinds of community activities, acting as a catalyst for promoting a vibrant locality. It symbolizes the ethos of Xi’an by combining contemporary design with traditional elements.
Located between the Fengdong district’s community garden and the main boulevard, the elevated volume of the building allows greenery to penetrate the entire ground floor, creating additional open spaces for residents. The structure has three levels in total. A café, gallery, multipurpose area for educational and recreational purposes, a reading room, and community service center are above the ground floor. The basement level has a children’s daycare center, a basketball court, a fitness gym area, and a swimming pool. These recreational areas are arranged around an oval sunken plaza to provide natural light into the underground facilities. The roof also has a terrace and a green roof. A zen garden in the sunken courtyard acts as the community center’s visual focal point. An open plan and flowing interior notion are implemented to stimulate connection and conversation among residents. The center gives a shared experience of the highlighted programs, ranging from civic to recreational activities, which are staged through a series of events.
The combination of digital fabrication and local crafts was used to construct precast GFRC panels that created the sculpted look and surface of the building’s lower part. The lower portion’s design of heft and weight refers to the local ancient city wall and gateway. LAND Community Center’s sculptural base has a dynamic surface with a rippling effect that gives a tactile and sensory experience. The upper portion of the community center has been wrapped in curved high-performance, low-iron glass, creating a light-filled interior space for social events and activities. This building’s sculptural quality not only generates a unique appearance for the new district but also a one-of-a-kind experience for both residents and tourists alike. The contrast between the organic foundation’s intricate design and the top volume’s simplicity is coherent with the Chinese architectural tradition’s duality: the blending of man-made intervention with nature.
The entire project, designed as a LEED gold-certified building, was envisioned as a bioclimatic infrastructure that attempts to achieve its comfort levels by utilizing both climatic and material indigenous resources. LAND Community Center has been designed to encourage natural ventilation and provide thermal mass and shading, which are greatly encouraged during the summer’s high heat spikes. With well-planned program distribution, daylight is ample both above and below level. Unlike many recent construction projects in China, this structure establishes a distinct architectural expression for the rising residential complex and optimizes the provision of accessible and welcoming civic areas for collective experience, creating an overall feeling of neighborhood and belonging for the otherwise unremarkable urban district.
Project Info
Location: Xi’an, China
Client: Shaanxi van land real estate co.,ltd
Design & completion date: July 2019 – August 2020
Built area: 48,437.6 ft2 (4,500 m2)
Type: Community / Civic
Architect: Ping Jiang丨EID architecture
Collaborating Local Design Institute & MEP Engineer: Sichuan zhoyu architecture design co., ltd
Structural Engineer: Shanghai wilderness structural design firm / Shaanxi Taixin steel structure engineering co., ltd
Interior Designer: waterfrom design / Shenzhen feiyan interior design co., ltd
Landscape Architects: GZ.S.P.I. LANDSCAPE DESIGN CO.,LTD
GFRC: meichuang building material
Façade consultant: CCBH
Photography: Lujing Architectural Photography / yike studio
