Referencing local traditions of visiting and meeting at the mountain creeks, hearing the babbling of the stream under the shaded canopy of trees, “The Cool Garden” offers visitors moments of respite, shade, socializing, and play while they enjoy flowing waters and the pebbles underfoot.
West 8 was invited to design and create a garden for the 2024 Chengdu World Horticultural Expo. Entitled Xiaoliangtan, the garden celebrates natural, low-tech solutions to create a reduced microclimate and pleasant atmosphere to explore. Reminiscent of Sichuan people meeting, gathering and inhabiting the flowing streams during warm weather, the garden combines sloping topography, a created tree canopy and gently flowing waters. Together, these elements invite guests to sit down on the stone edges, place their feet in the stream, relax and connect visitors with the cultural memory.
The project opened in April of 2024 and has remained in use as the garden and surrounding park has grown.
Designed without a singular defined route or arrival, the terrain of the three slopes was carefully designed to enable the pebble-lined streams to flow and merge in the center, and create a shallow basin at its deepest point. The garden was constructed using locally produced red sandstone from the riverbeds of the Sichuan province, further embeddings the garden within its local context.
Data
Project name: Xiaoliangtan Garden (The Cool Garden)
Landscape architecture: West 8
Photo credits: ZiL ArchVisual
Year completed: 2024
