Xi’an CCBD
Heatherwick Studio- Type Commercial / Office Landscape architecture / Urban planning
- Date 2024
- City Xian (Shaanxi)
- Country China
- Photographer Qingyan Zhu
A new district, designed by Heatherwick Studio, has opened in Xi’an, honoring the Chinese city’s legacy of craftsmanship and ceramics. The Xi’an Centre Culture Business District (CCBD) is south of the historic core, between the ruins of the Temple of Heaven and the Shaanxi radio and TV tower. The area blends retail with walkable streets, terraces, and open plazas, in addition to offices, apartments, accommodation, and large green zones.
Ceramics are at the heart of this 155,000-square-meter neighborhood, with crafted tiles cladding facades, columns, and curving beams, a nod to the ancient capital’s sculptures of terracotta warriors. The architects worked closely with local artisans to producing over 100,000 glazed tiles.
The outdoor streets converge at the central plaza, where the Xi’an Tree, a vertical park, is a natural gathering point. Visitors ascend its 56 elevated ‘petals,’ terraces where a sequence of cascading gardens follows the biomes of the ancient Silk Route from the alpine tundra to the dry steppes. Standing more than 57 meters from the basement level, the Tree gives spectacular views across the development.
The district is designed to offer visual complexity from three perspectives. At a city scale, it appears as a new neighborhood with a distinctive skyline inspired by the roofs of Xi’an’s temples. At a street distance, interlocking frames and landscaped terraces provide diverse vantage points for vistas of the central square and the urban fabric around. At door level, the scheme presents a sensory experience, thanks to its careful selection of materials and integration with nature.
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)
