Speaker
Description
Xi'an, a modern city that gradually developed around the ancient Sui and Tang capitals, is surrounded by numerous imperial tomb sites located on its outskirts. These tombs, known for their intact layouts and grand scale, were once situated far from the urban center. However, as China rapidly urbanizes, the expansion of Xi'an has now reached the vicinity of these monumental tomb sites. Once remote, these expansive archaeological areas are now undergoing a transformation in their role at the urban periphery: the transition from modern urban life to historical cultural contexts, or conversely, the shift from historical contexts to contemporary urban spaces.
During Xi'an’s urbanization, economic-driven boundary transformations have challenged the historical situation that has been shaped by the natural geography of heritage sites. The "parkification" of these sites, while facilitating new urban plans, often neglects the delicate transition between history and contemporary space(Pezzetti and Xiao,2019）. At the same time, it provides opportunities to facilitate the conversion of spatial contexts between the ancient and modern areas. This paper focuses on the planning and design of the Xi'an Airport T5 terminal area and the Tang Dynasty Shunling Tomb Park[1]（Shaanxi,2018）, with an emphasis on the cultural space constructed between the two, including the design of an archaeological museum and its surrounding environment. It investigates the creation of a new boundary space between contemporary and historical situations, as well as between urban and heritage spaces.
The design of this boundary space first analyzes the challenges and synergies between airport and heritage park planning, followed by an exploration of architectural and landscape design strategies to create a cultural space that bridges urban landscapes with historical sites. The aim is to foster connectivity and compatibility between these two distinct spatial realms as the city evolves.
This paper introduces a novel spatial value system—design principles that acknowledge the contrasts between contemporary and historical situations, as well as the holistic meaning and individual fragments of the spaces. It combines and defines the site as a convergence between modern urban development and historical heritage. The change facilitated by this approach does not occur on a material level; rather, it reshapes and transforms the narrative situation of each site. Situation, in this sense, is understood as "assigning a theme to a place, thereby providing the appropriate context for specific objects or landmarks. We understand space through its relationship with objects, and we can better understand the objects through their presence in space."（Lu,2009）（Lu,2016） The transformation of these situations builds a "bridge" between the historical outskirts of the city and the heritage sites, creating an intermediary space between history and the present, and offering a new model for cultural life. This approach provides a practical framework for defining historical boundaries and transitioning through different eras of urban and heritage landscapes, while ensuring compatibility between the synchronicity of contemporary urban space and the historical continuity of archaeological sites.
References
[1]Pezzetti, L.A. and Xiao, L. (2019) Liu Kecheng: Walking in the Space of History. China Architecture & Building Press.
[2]Shaanxi Heritage Site Protection Engineering Technology Research Center (2018) Planning and Design of Tang Shunling Tomb Park.
[3]China Architecture Northwest Design and Research Institute Co., Ltd. (2021) International Design Competition for the Architectural Concept Plan of the Key Plot in Front of T5 Terminal Business District.
[4]Lu, A. (2009) Narrative Space: A Theory of Narrative Environment and its Architecture. PhD dissertation, University of Cambridge.
[5]Lu, A. (2016) 'Archaeological Architecture and Artificial Context', Times Architecture, April.
| Keywords | cultural space reconstruction;urban fringe;archaeological sites; situational transition |
|---|---|
| Best Congress Paper Award | Yes |
