LEAD-IN PATH

Location: Xi'an, China

Category: Academic Work

Role: TeamWork

Collaborator: Jingwen Wang, Xin Fan

Instructor: Xiaomin Wang

The project is located in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, the ancient capital of 13 dynasties in China’s history processes long history and rich culture, and a large number of exquisite ancient buildings. The project's foundation faces the Daxingshan Temple, the ancestral home of Esoteric Buddhism. Along with the urbanization, although the Temple is supposed to be magnificent and gradually lost its position in the block becoming an island. Therefore, here we try to establish the library to make Daxingshan Temple in a better condition and connect the temple with people not only spiritual but let them can see it and walk into it conveniently. Books have enriched our minds, and faith has given us hope. This library links knowledge, religion, and books, making it a place for people to pursue their spiritual improvement.

After centuries, Daxingshan Temple has still maintained its traditional Chinese style structure, while the buildings around it have gone through numerous transformations. Nowadays, there are all kinds of modern buildings surrounding the Temple such as residential and commercial buildings, which exist independently as the outcome of urbanization. However, the Daxingshan temple, thickly enclosed by modern architecture, is neglected and gradually falls into obscurity in the prosperous city, losing its original central position. Our project aims to establish a library across from Daxingshan Temple. We attempt to explore a certain connection between the library and the Temple to improve its isolated status of it in the city. Urban library, like temple, hold spiritual meanings for people. Therefore, our design intends to create an architectural space to bring serenity and fullness to users on the spiritual level just like the temple.

During urban planning, no consideration is given to the status of Daxingshan Temple in the city while constructing residential and commercial buildings, which enclose the Temple tightly. Residential buildings form a thick urban interface, wrapping up Daxingshan Temple closely and having no connection with it whatsoever. Thus, the temple gradually loses its original central status.

The base is located a little outside the Daxingshan Temple. In the design, we tried to break the boundary between the city and the Daxingshan Temple and establish a connection with the Daxingshan Temple through the library.

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