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Xi’an Qujiang Art Center
History and story of Xi’an Qujiang Art Center
Architecture shapes the society in forms of structures, art, and built. Whereas society is a collaborative form of past events documented as history and shared as a culture today. These events have shared a larger part with architecture and the public both. This collaborative involvement has led to the initiative of preservation. History is passed down in a variety of forms in various cultures. Some prefer to write it down as part of manuscripts, some use verbal skills as storytelling passes on. In some parts, the structures and archaeology hold more value. Passing on these vital to the next generation is also a responsibility shared by architecture. Hence cultural sanctuaries enter the picture.
Each country is proud and respectful of its heritage and displays its affection in multiple forms. The core of the travel and tourism industry also runs on these bases. The tour planning and coordination also follow the historic trails. As we understand the denser, restored, and well-presented heritage, better the attraction for tourists. This historical architecture is also responsive to the climate they remain standing in today with few external supports. Religion and beliefs also participate in this coronation as they are also linked with the building and surroundings.
China as a nation has rich culture and history which has also been documented for several decades. Following the traditions and rituals, people offer their respect and gratitude towards the past. Beginning from their participation in the silk route across the world, engaged in a few battles till the religion spread across the land. This rich belonging of nature is showcased and exhibited in front of the world through, Xi’an Qujiang Art Center. The magic glass box stands tall enveloping the history of its nation within. This structure surprises its visitors with the charm of visuals along the journey of history.
Location
The project is located at the intersection of the Qujiang Cultural Industry Cluster and Central Culture Business District (CCBD), two important parts of the city (QCIC). It’s a remarkable presence that appears to float in the atmosphere like a technological marvel. It is located at the highest point of Liaoyuan and is close to the Xian Botanical Garden. As it approached the interior design, CCD blurred the lines between the building, landscape, and interior, injected tension and purity into the 5,500 square meters of large space, and developed an interactive space that blends futuristic, contemporary, and artistic aspects, which transports visitors to an imaginative world.
Structure and design
The project is constructed in 2019, occupying an area of 10,200 Sq.m. Designing architectural firms are Gad and T.R.P.O. The structure resembles a glass display hung in the air and forms a distinctive visual marker next to the urban road. People are drawn to the location and encouraged to experience the design story through the activities taking place in the exhibition hall.
After then, browsing itself is included in the show. The question of how to handle the interaction between the structure and the location provides the basis for the original design. An urban highway in Xi’an with considerable traffic is the South Third Ring Road, which is close to the location. The architect had such a setting prepared for such a traffic pulse.
How will people get to the site given the 10-meter green belt of the road’s height differential from the site? The lyrical response is provided by the landscaping. The route that winds through the belt has been designed with a gradual slope so that it “disappears” as the walker approach. The stroll experience develops into a means of communication with the location as well as a closer relationship between the location and the city.
Art Center seems like a giant crystal “sanctuary” and is built in the majestic historical city of Xi’an with a modern and fashionable gesture. It provides stunning contemporary touches to the region with a rich history and significant culture. It wants to establish itself as a landmark for the city and set the era’s fashion.
Site grounds
The landscape on the podium’s roof and the botanical garden on the site’s east side provide a continuous interaction when viewed from the exhibition hall. The designer’s story of the place is made up of the terrain and built form, which at that precise time naturally elicits the feeling and experience. The drop-off area’s space streamlining and landscape design cross over with one another. The architect doesn’t want visitors to enter the exhibition hall, so he lets them pass right past the first-floor landscape garden instead. People may reach the exhibition hall with four clear walls by ascending the 88-second straight staircase, passing through the landscape area, and then going down the steps.
This imaginative and poetic setting is not only a stunning gallery where wonderful works by artists are shown, but it also inspires interaction between viewers and the art along their journey from the entrance. There are certainly adaptable and adaptive “blank” spaces that can inspire the public’s creativity and the development of art. The journey to the location is not a simple one, but rather one of falling, twisting, surprise, and eventually opening up, which appears to correspond with the emotional experience of humans. On-site anchors hold the entire structure in place. The structure is incorporated with the land, and the base is tucked away behind the lush slope.
The Exhibit
The Beginning and Legacy of Ancient Chinese Murals is a permanent display. It has 88 panels (of which 67 are originals), spanning from the Neolithic to the Qing Dynasty, making it the first exhibition to methodically and thoroughly present the entire art history of early Chinese paintings through murals. The art from the Goddess Temple in Liaoning province, the earliest mural ever discovered in China, the palace mural from the Qin Dynasty, the first major unified empire in Chinese history, and the mural from the Tang mausoleum, that is being shown to the public for the first time, are the highlights of the exhibition.
Gold items, jadeite, and Picasso artwork are now on display at the museum as part of the special show. We previously hosted the Maritime Silk Road Exhibition, the Dunhuang Murals Copying Exhibition, the Dong Bo Zhai Collection-Royal Gold Wares of the Ming Dynasty Exhibition, the Grand Canal Relics of the Sui Dynasty Exhibition, the Exhibition of Imperial Porcelain of the Ming and Qing Dynasties Exhibition, and many more.
Our museum is committed to offering the general public a wide range of high-quality exhibitions. With the State Cultural Relics Bureau’s consent, our museum established the Mural Conservation and Restoration Center with the Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology to coordinate efforts to preserve, study, repair, and display the discovered murals.
Interiors
The interior space maintains the building’s lightness, which gives it the appearance of a “floating crystal palace,” while also showcasing modern splendor through its layout, uses, and experiences. Its textured surfaces and incomplete buildings represent vast architectural ideas. At the corner of the entryway is an impressive huge irregular spherical artwork. Its asymmetrical design highlights the tension in the area by providing varied visual experiences to individuals at various distances. The adjacent audio/video room hovers above the waterscape, which combined with the artwork generates a dynamic of delicacy and solidity, resulting in a happy relationship.
Dramatic experiences are produced as individuals travel in 88 seconds up a very long escalator from 1F to 4F. The linear escalator appears to transport visitors into a time tunnel that is lit up at the top by a beam of light and is surrounded by towering stone walls that seal off the exterior world and block the sight line. Inside these 88 seconds spent mounting the escalator, as the light filters down from the bottom groove, such profound, timeless, and pure design helps individuals to find inner calm without being distracted.
When you reach 4F, your range of view abruptly expands, offering breathtaking visual experiences thanks to the super-scale translucent space. Three levels separate the exhibition hall space. The entire building is a suspension framework. The functionality of the steel is put to use under the suspension design when the tension mode of the column switches from absorption to bearing tension. To create the illusion that there is almost no column in the interior area, the length of the suspension pillar is decreased to 200 mm.
As a result, the exhibition space’s freedom may be unleashed and the sight line to the outside can be virtually completely unhindered, blurring the lines between inside and outside.
The Qujiang Art Centre’s glass house, or exhibition hall, uses double-layer complete glass curtain walls to maintain the brightness and visibility of the exterior façade, allowing the building to connect with nature. The curtain walls are 2 meters apart from one another. To realize the environmental protection capability of temperature regulation, ventilation, and sound insulation, the top opening fan and bottom ventilator’s opening and shutting are controlled. The huge aluminum curtain wall’s flatness is guaranteed by the lightweight, high intensity, and high flatness of the cellular aluminum sheet. The illusion of floating is further enhanced by the surroundings’ reflections.
The area is filled with a massive golden mineral stone that appears to be erupting from it. This structure represents the sturdy center of the project, and the engraving of the “Grand Milestone” property development map on its surface demonstrates a cutting-edge method of informing the public. Different-sized holes let light through, which causes eye-catching dazzling dots to appear on the floor. The architect continues to reflect on the central idea of the space by thinking about how architecture and nature interact, how people communicate, and how experience itself is limitless.
Leaving the traces
Once a mistake, document the history. Past is the best teacher without any fees or filters. Culture binds people and promotes growth. This agenda is carried forward by many countries, actively participating in their legacy-restoring missions. The supportive facilities are provided through the medium of building, hence architecture. The role and responsibility that the structure beholds are heavier than what it appears. Well-known titles to new start-ups in architecture are leaning towards the edge of supporting this cultural sanctuary motto and contributing to benefit of the population.