LAUREL ORIENTAL, XI’AN

The project occupies a prime position in the Xi’an Chanba International Port, just across the road from the Xi’an Olympic Sports Center. Its master plan adopts a central axial layout, echoing the orderly spatial rhythm of the sports complex while drawing its landscape resources into the community. The northern residential towers are intentionally offset to maximize building frontage for expansive landscape views. An inner central garden is created at the heart of the community, where every residence enjoys a scenic view. Inspired by the Guanzhong region’s distinctive mountain, plateau and water landscapes, the project reinterprets the poetic ambience of the Song Dynasty painting Travelers Among Mountains and Streams, unfolding layered, interwoven spatial sequences that create an immersive experience of “a garden within a garden,” where architecture and nature coexist harmoniously.
Along the site’s south and east edges, entrances and supporting amenities shape a vibrant, integrated urban frontage. Setbacks along the street create a linear pocket park, partially opening the community to the city and enlivening the neighborhood.
The facade design adopts a contemporary design language that responds to Xi’an’s millennia-old cultural lineage, blending the city’s historic heritage with a modern sensibility. Drawing on the grandeur of Tang Dynasty aesthetics—its sense of presence, form, materiality, and palette—the facades give a new interpretation of classical wooden structures. Traditional Eastern architectural motifs such as layered eaves and Dougong brackets are reimagined, culminating in a facade system that is orderly, elegant, and strikingly balanced between tradition and modernity.
Every residential unit is thoughtfully configured to maximize landscape views. The boundaries between terraces and interiors are subtly blurred, creating continuous, fluid spaces that accommodate diverse daily rituals and elevate a villa-style living experience.