This image The inspiration for Xi Garden’s central space is the Mongolian nomadic lifestyle


Below right The original interiors were demolished and replaced by curvaceous, flowing new structures


XI GARDEN, CHAOYANG DISTRICT, BEIJING


LIGHTING DESIGN: PLAT ASIA


The images of the Xi Garden art space stripped of its lighting effects speaks volumes for the crucial role lighting plays in the transfiguration and definition of its interior.


‘We make use of light to radically transform the space’s ambience and visitor experience,’ says Nandin, architect, design director and partner of PLAT Asia.


The original interiors of the 606 sq m space, sited in a Beijing industrial campus, were demolished and replaced by curvaceous, flowing new structures of stairways, columns, passageways and archways in the central public area, surrounded by more conventional meeting and rehearsal rooms, and ofices.


The inspiration for the central space is the Mongolian nomadic existence, a stylised version introduced into an urban context, and evoked in largely abstract terms using a colour-change lighting system, together with a range of elements and materials that use, reflect and interract with light: air-moving aluminium tiles, stainless steel panels, curved frameless photoelectric glass, mirrored glass, translucent membrane and reflective transfer films. The nomadic lifestyle is rooted in nature, says Nandin. ‘The design uses light’s effect on materials for wind, stream and sky, symbolising desert, steppe, rivers and cliffs. The public space suggests the idea of wilderness in an urban context.’


The Tangeri (Mongolian for great sky) space recalls a yurt and is glimpsed through a narrow opening from the


central space. It features a translucent membrane ceiling (a backlit sky image), which tinges the interior with a subtle blue, and aluminium tiles which move with air currents, suggesting streams. Confined passageways echo narrow canyons, and the central space they feed into rock sculpted by the wind. The use of lighting fulfils the brief to provide a dynamic space, varying according to events – art exhibition or party, for instance – and to affect the visitor’s experience in and through the space. Screens transition from blue sky to starry night, while strong colour washes, often contrasted on different surfaces, play with perceptions or lead people through to different areas. The lighting, says Nandin, is ‘designed to foster the emotions’. —


Lighting supplier: Selty Lighting


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