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In early 2020, the studio was invited to design a project for the Chinese state development company, China Resources Land, in Xi’an. The studio was asked to imagine a whole district that would integrate towers and significant public space next to a busy road.

The Xi’an Centre Culture Business District (CCBD) is located south of the city’s historic centre between the ruins of the Temple of Heaven and the prominent Shaanxi TV tower. The district blends a retail podium with walkable streets, terraces and open plazas, offices, apartments, accommodation, green spaces, and a vertical park.

Ceramics are at the heart of the 155,000m² neighbourhood, with crafted tiles cladding the facade, columns and curving beams, a nod to the ancient capital’s famous Terracotta Army. The studio worked closely with local makers to produce more than 100,000 tiles with a unique glaze. Following over 2,000 experiments, including constructing 1:1 mock ups of the columns, the resulting facade brings interest and intricacy to the exterior of the buildings and invites visitors not just to look at but also touch the tiles.

The outdoor streets of the district converge at the central plaza where the Xi’an Tree, a vertical park, creates a natural gathering point. Visitors can ascend its 56 elevated ‘petals’, or terraces, where a sequence of cascading gardens follows the biomes of the ancient Silk Route from the alpine tundra to the dry steppe. Standing over 57 meters high from the basement level the Tree offers views across the development with its varying levels of roofs, terraces and streets, as well as the city beyond.

The district has been designed to offer visual complexity from three distances. At a city-scale, it appears as a new neighbourhood of the city with a distinctive skyline inspired by the roofs of the Chinese temples of Xi’an. At a street distance, the varying levels created by the interlocking frames and landscape terraces provide different vantage points of the central plaza as well as the city around it. Finally, at door-level, the design offers a sensory experience in its use of materials and nature, such as ceramic lift buttons and soft-edged stones in the paving patterns.

Xi’an CCBD’s public spaces opened to visitors in December 2024 and entry is free.

In early 2020, the studio was invited to design a project for the Chinese state development company, China Resources Land, in Xi’an. The studio was asked to imagine a whole district that would integrate towers and significant public space next to a busy road.

The Xi’an Centre Culture Business District (CCBD) is located south of the city’s historic centre between the ruins of the Temple of Heaven and the prominent Shaanxi TV tower. The district blends a retail podium with walkable streets, terraces and open plazas, offices, apartments, accommodation, green spaces, and a vertical park.

Ceramics are at the heart of the 155,000m² neighbourhood, with crafted tiles cladding the facade, columns and curving beams, a nod to the ancient capital’s famous Terracotta Army. The studio worked closely with local makers to produce more than 100,000 tiles with a unique glaze. Following over 2,000 experiments, including constructing 1:1 mock ups of the columns, the resulting facade brings interest and intricacy to the exterior of the buildings and invites visitors not just to look at but also touch the tiles.

The outdoor streets of the district converge at the central plaza where the Xi’an Tree, a vertical park, creates a natural gathering point. Visitors can ascend its 56 elevated ‘petals’, or terraces, where a sequence of cascading gardens follows the biomes of the ancient Silk Route from the alpine tundra to the dry steppe. Standing over 57 meters high from the basement level the Tree offers views across the development with its varying levels of roofs, terraces and streets, as well as the city beyond.

The district has been designed to offer visual complexity from three distances. At a city-scale, it appears as a new neighbourhood of the city with a distinctive skyline inspired by the roofs of the Chinese temples of Xi’an. At a street distance, the varying levels created by the interlocking frames and landscape terraces provide different vantage points of the central plaza as well as the city around it. Finally, at door-level, the design offers a sensory experience in its use of materials and nature, such as ceramic lift buttons and soft-edged stones in the paving patterns.

Xi’an CCBD’s public spaces opened to visitors in December 2024 and entry is free.

CLIENT

CRL (China Resources Land)

LOCATION

Xi’an, China

COMPLETION DATE

December 2024

SIZE

155,000 sqm (Podium)
+ 77,000 sqm (Landscape) 

DESIGN DIRECTOR

Thomas Heatherwick

GROUP LEADER & PARTNER

Mat Cash 

PROJECT LEADERS

Luis Sacristán Murga
Simon Winters
Angel Tenorio (Xi’an Tree)

PROJECT MANAGERS

Consuelo Manna
Jimmy Hung

TECHNICAL DESIGN LEADERS

Nick Ling
Maura Ambrosiano 

CHINA LEAD

Leo Cheung 

PROJECT TEAM

Architecture
Adam Brown, Adam West, Alfredo Chavez, Almu Rodrigue, Anjie Gu, Aziz Hoque, Blue Tuohy, Cong Wang, Consuelo Manna, Eric Lim, Erich Breuer, Fanos Katsaris, Francis Ng, Freddie Lomas, Hamze Machmouchi, Hannah Parker, Hannah Steenson, Helen Siu, James Ness, Jethro Rebollar, Ji Qi, Jimmy Hung, Ko-Cheng Liu, Kong Hoang, Linus Cheng, Luis Sacristán Murga, Luke Plumbley, Manuel Ramos, Marwah Osama, Mat Cash, Matthew Magee, Meera Yadave, Michael Kloihofer, Nick Ling, Remi Phillips-Hood, Sherry Xiao, Silvia Rueda Cuellar, Simon Winters, Simone Berardelli, Sonila Kadillari, Steven Howson, Victoria Dong, Vito Sugianto and Willow Tang

Interiors
Agnes Kerecsanin, Aleksandar Bursac, Alice Dousova, Andre Kong, Ayumi Konishi, Aziz Hoque, Beau Lawrence, Blue Tuohy, Bori Kovacs, Carrick Blore, Charlotte McCarthy (Lead), Chen He, Chen Yue, Consuelo Manna, Edward Milton, Emric John-Sawyer, Ezgi Terzioglu, , Fanos Katsaris, Flavio Sousa Monteiro, Francesca Morroni (Lead), Francesca Valentino, Freddie Lomas, Hannah Francis, Harriet Gargrave, James Harris, Ji Qi, Joe Brennan, Karim Hallak, Kelvin Lam, Krina Christopoulou, Leo, Cheung, Liang-Yu Sung, Lijing Zhou, Luis Sacristán Murga, Marcus Hawk, Mark McKee (Lead), Mary Suen, Martynas Kasiulevicius, Matthew Heitel, Mat Cash, Maura Ambrosiano, May Tang, Moira Geddes, Natasha Trumic, Nick Ling, Noa Guy, Olga Rienda Sevilla, Oliver Zhu, Paul Brooke, Pennie Dawes, Ragavendran Gowrisankar, Silvia Rueda Cuellar, Simone Berardelli, Sofia Hagen, Thomas Thornton, Xirong Zheng and Zara Ashby

Landscape
Aziz Hoque, Consuelo Manna, Erich Breuer, Fanos Katsaris, Hamze Machmouchi, Harriet Gargrave, Jimmy Hung, Kate Le Masurier, Kelvin Lam, Luis Sacristán Murga, Mat Cash, Maura Ambrosiano, Paul Chu, Philipp Nedomlel (Lead), Remi Phillips-Hood, Sherry Xiao, Winki Ho and Yijia Li

Xi’an Tree
Angel Tenorio (Lead), Andrew Friedenberg, Anjie Gu, Cameron Overy, Consuelo Manna, Craig Miller, Diana Mykhaylychenko, Dirce Medina Patatuchi, Fabian Hubner, Ji Qi, Jimmy Hung, Joanna Sabak, Joe Brennan, Ko-Cheng Liu, Kyriakos Chatziparaskevas, Luis Sacristán Murga, Martynas Kasiulevicius, Mat Cash, Nick Ling, Nicolas Ombres, Ondrej Pokoj, Peter Romvari, Sherry Xiao and Theophile Peju

COLLABORATORS

10 Design (retail planning)
Goettsch Partners (towers A&B Architecture)
Lacime (towers C&D Architecture)
Andre Fu Studio (Hotel Interior Designer)
Territory Studio (Tree Projection & AV Design)

CONSULTANTS

Arup (facade engineering)
RBS (structural engineering)
WSP (MEP engineering)
KTP (Tree structural engineering)
CFT (Tree façade engineering)
WTD (Executive Landscape Architect) Speirs+Major (Specialist lighting)
MIR (visualisation)
Devisual (visualisation)
Slashcube (visualisation)
Robotics Plus (Tree 3D Design Coordination).
EBOND (signage design)

LOCAL DESIGN INSTITUTES

JZFZ (overall LDI)
KTF (façade LDI)
Sky Design (interior LDI)
Green (landscape LDI)
HDA (lighting LDI)

CERAMIC MANUFACTURERS

HEDE (North Podium)
TOB (South Podium)
Yi Design (lift buttons)