According to the aim of the New Silk Road Park, to be a place of gathering the cultures and the will of the city of Xi’an to establish itself as the cultural capital of China the project should be interpreted as a cultural embassy, a place that serves as a gate to the culture of the mediterranean, presents this culture and allows to dive in.
It will be a place that does not visually appear Mediterranean but absorbs and emits some of its most important principles, such as principles of spatial organization and inhabitation that are typical of the Mediterranean: the unique relationships to the sun and the water are not exclusive to the Mediterranean; the spontaneous use of public space is not exclusive to the Mediterranean, narrow enclosed streets are not exclusive to the Mediterranean, the texture and feel of the materials are not exclusive to the Mediterranean.
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The project consist of three main parts. Just as the Mediterranean can be characterized by the juxtaposition of two spaces, the urban and the rural, this project is divided into a large, clear cut building and a multi-faceted landscape.
The treshold between the two elements, the buildings skin, serves as the city wall, separating and controlling its relation to the landscape and also becomes the main communication to the adjacent cultural area.
At distance the simple geometric form appears as a signifi cant landmark, hovering over the landscape, protecting and defi ning the space. On approach the smooth skin slowly dissolves into a cryptic pattern, resembling text, but showing neither Latin, Arabic, or Logographic symbols, but an abstract code, without denotation but resembling all types of script, thus communication. As such, it makes the fi rst invitation towards a conversation encouraging the exchange of ideas and thoughts, opening a platform without the limits of language.
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