Anrenfang Heritage Museum & Anren Station

The Small Wild Goose Pagoda (included in the World Cultural Heritage List), Suzaku Avenue and the Eighth Cross Street in Chang’an City and the Xi'an Museum together constitute the most important historical context and spatial volume in the target area of this project. Given such a complex urban background, humility best reflects the respect for history.

Through the understanding and analysis of the idea behind the construction of Chang'an city, the concept of houses in the Tang Dynasty has been transformed into a sequence of city, square, and courtyard. The organization of new architectural space hinted at the location of the ruins, and the landscape design was also added to display where the square walls are located. The shapes are all low-profile, with orderly undulations within the 12- meter height limit, and are integrated into the overall area in a way that subtly hides them from the city. In addition to displaying and protecting the ruins, the uniqueness of this project also lies in its close integration with urban space. Scattered landscape walls “describe” the historical function of the originall square walls, provide a venue for public activities, and become part of exhibition. Referring to the layout of the site, the gaps between the volumes are designed as passages for entrance. The ascending steps on the left side of the museum will lead visitors to the second-floor platform. Even when the museum is closed, people can still have the opportunity to overlook the Small Wild Goose Pagoda from this height. When designing the museum, the human body dimension is employed to perceive the spatial information of the ruins, containing the ruins in a large-span space and contributing to the interaction of two "mansion" spaces of the ruins and the museum. Glass floors over the ruins are used to make sure the past scenes are both visible and preservable, and the connection of gaps between the ruins serve as the visiting route. In this way, visitors can wander through history and enjoy a spatial illusion of shuttling between ancient and modern times. Located on one side of Eighth Cross Street, the station dialogues with the heritage museum on the other end, which allows for a historical review of Chang'an City. The station project chose titanium-zinc metal plates, solid wood grilles and glass curtain walls as the main facade materials. The roof uses a stacked matte metal roof to recreate the traditional image of roof tiles. Through the plain and delicate material texture, the sense of history presented echoes the cultural relics of the site, creating a humble and elegant cultural temperament.