Re-Defining of the Small Wild Goose Pagoda Historical District / AECOM
Re-Defining of the Small Wild Goose Pagoda Historical District / AECOM
Design Background. The Small Wild Goose Pagoda in Xi’an was built in the Jinglong period of the Tang Dynasty. The thousand-year-old pagoda records the cultural memory of Chang’an City. However, the area where it is located has gradually declined from the historically prosperous core of the Tang Dynasty capital to an old urban area that is not in harmony with the development of surrounding modern communities. Therefore, how to balance urban development, urban regeneration, and the protection of historical and cultural heritage has become the first priority of design.
Design Strategy: Re-Defining In Four Dimensions. The project team is committed to balancing the relationship between modern urban development and heritage protection of the historical area, revitalizing the sequence of landscape space, and darning the entire area in order to realize the vitality revival and modern remodeling of the historical area space.
Strategy 1: Re-Defining the relationship with historical relics. The innovation of the design is opening the original closed wall, so that the cultural relics are no longer in a framed state, and the sacred and beautiful main entrance of Jianfu Temple is opened to the public. At the same time, the materials, colors, and plantings are extracted from the site relics, and the overall style of the historical and cultural area is controlled by material, color, and planting.
Strategy 2: Re-Defining the relationship with the city
Optimizing the walking experience in the urban interface is the focus of the project’s streetscape renewal efforts. Multiple considerations were taken into account to create a comfortable walking experience and enhance the sense of spatial belonging.
Strategy 3: Re-Defining the relationship with nature
The Chinese Honey Locust tree group witnessed the historical changes in the area, which is another key challenge in the reconstruction. Through three major design strategies, the existing tree growth environment has been rejuvenated, adding greenery to the area and continuing the memory of the site. The design retains 704 existing trees and adds 1,101 trees, and the site’s carbon sequestration capacity can reach 444 tons per year.
Strategy 4: Re-Defining the relationship with people
The South Square of the Small Wild Goose Pagoda provides people with diverse and comfortable activities and social spaces. People’s daily life can be carried by morning exercise, Tai Chi, meditation, and perception of nature.
The project provides a broader vision for the modernization and renewal of historical blocks. In the collaborative dialogue between the new and the old, it has realized the modern reconstruction and revitalization of the traditional historical blocks and provided a forward-looking and exemplary experience for the practice of organic renewal of the historical areas.
