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Xiaxinqiao Park (China)
Reference details
- Location Chengdu, China
- Architects Zhongheng Engineering Design Institute Co. Ltd;中恆工程設計院有限公司
- Technique(s) VMZINC Standing seam
- Aspect(s) PIGMENTO Grey
- Application Type Roofing
Rural urban
The creation of Xiaxinqiao Park is part of a new phase in the development of Chinese cities, bringing back the green spaces that were forgotten during the boom years of construction.
More than just a change, the authorities are seeking a complete reversal of the situation: parks and gardens are conceived as places from which to rediscover the city, rather than mere pockets of vegetation withdrawn from construction.
Natural and fun, the site offers a wide range of entertainment. A panoramic tower inspired by the hibiscus dominates the modern part of the park. A more rural part of the site is organised around a series of pavilions evoking the traditional rural architecture of the region.
How does one decide how to lay out the pavilions in an open space? Instead of pitting architecture against nature and sticking buildings one after the other, the architects from the Zhongheng institute have opted for forms that could be described as organic, blending into a curved geometric layout.
The design of a stylised panda, chosen as the mascot for the international student games (Universiade 2021, hosted by Chengdu in 2023 because of the pandemic), guides the comma-shaped layout of the five pavilions, and determines the curved, asymmetrical zinc roof, which is itself extended by pergola structures that reconstitute a virtual volume.
The standing seam roof cladding follows the curves and countercurves of the roofs, finished with elegant minimalist channels and a raised ridge simulating the backbone of an agile dragon. The expressiveness of the roofs suggests continuities that play on the gaps separating each pavilion, united by spaces that welcome the return of nature.
