Meiyi Square Visitor Center West Entrance Corridor. Image © ARCH-EXIST
- Architects: Beijing Huaqing An-design Architects
- Location: Jiezi Town, Chongzhou City, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
- Architect In Charge: Jianyu Pu
- Design Team: Boying Liu, Bing Pu, Shasha Wu
- Client: Chengdu liuli tourism investment and Development Co., Ltd.
- Area: 12000.0 m2
- Project Year: 2015
- Photographs: ARCH-EXIST, Jianyu Pu
Meiyi Square Visitor Center Side View. Image © ARCH-EXIST
Text description provided by the architects. Meiyi Square, center of the extensive natural landscape of Jiezi Ancient Town, near the hills and rivers, faces the main street of the ancient town. It is the planned entrance and tourist center of the ancient town along Weijiang River and Mount Fengqi. From Qingluan Park to Meiyi Square, it is expected to appreciate the scenery through the organization of landscape order, spatial intention and visual impression, which manifests the people and environment, stories and poem thus filling people’s minds with a myriad of thoughts.
Ground Floor Plan
The architectural design features the forms of the traditional residence of the ancient town with the neighboring relations of the mountains, water and ancient village as well as urban design of the new urban area as the scale and background. Themed with the natural landscape, the architecture intends to seek modesty with inner space self-control and purity of formal language which is consistent with the meteorology.
Meiyi Square Pano View. Image © ARCH-EXIST
The design combines the features of local architecture contour as the façade, enclosed by carbonized original bamboo and anti-weathering bamboo materials and composed of the metal roof ribs with original bamboo attached, showing the composure of time and climate, standing aloof from worldly success. Bamboo, as everyday landscape and elements of local life and production with rustic quality and texture, is reflected in the theme of the building.
Meiyi Square Roof Bamboo Materiral Texture. Image © ARCH-EXIST
The construction volume is blanked and weakened to obtain overall rationality, concision and neutrality of the architectural complex, thus classical mood is conveyed in unity with the environment. The architectural color conforms to the environment harmoniously by means of natural performance of undecorated materials.
Meiyi Square Visitor Center Perspective View. Image © ARCH-EXIST
The design means to balance the excavation of earthwork and the mounds of the landscape<YuanQiu> according to the relationship of site topography and cross-section of the buildings. And the ring corridor and deep eaves could improve the climate adaptability of the site.
Meiyi Square Visitor Centre Roof Material Texture. Image © ARCH-EXIST
Vertical arrangement of original bamboo makes it possible to form the shade on the façade. Structure, mechanical construction and air flow cavity shaped between the surface original bamboo and curtain walls, together with built-in and embedded patio and the skylight above the roof, formed both indoor and outdoor air distribution system in the summer.
Meiyi Square Visitor Center Interior . Image © ARCH-EXIST
The landscape design, connecting the north end of Qingluan Park and including water surface, hillock and plums, quiet and introverted, creates a perfect place to enjoy the cool air in summer with water introduced from the drainage circling and reflecting the architecture. Calm and delightful.
Meiyi Square Corridor. Image © Jianyu Pu
Qingluan Park is an important path for the tourists to walk along the river. Emphasizing the natural landscape, the site planning not only takes advantage of aesthetic strategy, but also closely linked to tourism and local economic and cultural activities in the future, bringing health and vitality. As an extended leisure venue and natural habitat of the town, it will become a public green carpet inclusive of sightseeing, gathering, leisure, etc.
Pano Drawings
Continuing the human temperament of this ancient town, the general plan fits the structure and rhythm of “introduction, elucidation, transition and summing up” of classical poems perfectly, simulating narrative and emotional elaboration, making touring an experience with artistic conception.
Meiyi Square Interior Courtyard. Image © ARCH-EXIST
The setting of the square, route and nodes are related to sight and scene feelings of the natural landscape when traveling. The traveling routes are various, passing through a series of comparative space, including tall tress, open lawn, calm water, low-lying land and shallow hills. Following the waterside path, fluctuating between the river and the terraces, the tourists will associate the unscrupulous Argusianus argus flying through the water surface.
Meiyi Square Visitor Center Front Facade. Image © ARCH-EXIST
Among the straw reed, natural beach is developed owing to the deposition of the sand brought by the river, which can be a waterfowl habitat. Climbing the stairs, the tourist will reach Luan stage. Here, an open green theatre is formed by the river through the expansion of the earth-sheltered architecture, so the large-scale public space can be a place for romantic gathering, leisure, games, sports as well as holding cultural activities. The heaven and the earth integrate harmoniously among the landscape.
Meiyi Square Broken Bridge Water Landscape. Image © ARCH-EXIST