'xi’an tree' is the centerpiece of heatherwick’s new district in china

Heatherwick Studio Designs new District in Xi’an

A new district designed by Heatherwick Studio has opened in Xi’an, China, celebrating the city’s rich heritage of craftsmanship and ceramics. The Xi’an Centre Culture Business District (CCBD) introduces a dynamic urban landscape that integrates retail, green spaces, and cultural nods to the ancient capital’s historical legacy.

Situated south of Xi’an’s historic center, the CCBD lies between the ruins of the Temple of Heaven and the Shaanxi TV Tower. This 155,000-square-meter development blends retail spaces, terraces, open plazas, offices, apartments, and accommodations with walkable streets and a vertical park. Its layered design creates a neighborhood that connects seamlessly with the city while offering modern amenities.

images © Qingyan Zhu

A Tribute to the area’s Ceramic Heritage

Ceramics are at the heart of Heatherwick Studio’s design, drawing inspiration from the city’s famous Terracotta Army. The facade, columns, and curving beams are clad with crafted ceramic tiles, created in collaboration with local artisans. The architects employed over 100,000 tiles with a unique glaze, developed after more than 2,000 experiments which even included full-scale mock-ups of the columns. The resulting design invites visitors to interact physically with the materials, creating a tactile and visual connection to the neighborhood’s historical roots.

Thomas Heatherwick, founder of Heatherwick Studio, described the district as a celebration of public space: ‘Here in Xi’an, we were excited to create a commercial district which gave the city an extraordinary new piece of public space… The goal of the whole project was to find a joyful and contemporary way to respond to the history of Xi’an and bring people together.’

The design integrates various construction details that enhance the human-scale experience, offering spaces for residents and visitors to gather, explore, and connect.

Heatherwick Studio designs a new culture and commerce district in Xi’an

The Xi’an Tree: A Vertical Park

The centerpiece of the development by Heatherwick Studio is the Xi’an Tree, a 57-meter-tall vertical park located at the central plaza. Visitors can ascend its 56 terraces, which feature cascading gardens inspired by the biomes of the ancient Silk Road, from alpine tundra to dry steppe. The Tree offers panoramic views of the district’s interconnected rooftops, terraces, and streets, as well as the surrounding cityscape.

Heatherwick Studio designed the district to provide visual complexity at three scales — City Scale: The district features a distinctive skyline inspired by the roofs of Xi’an’s Chinese temples; Street Scale: Interlocking frames and terraces create diverse vantage points, enhancing the spatial experience; Human Scale: Materials such as ceramic planters, soft-edged paving stones, and intricate details like hand-carved timber and glazed surfaces offer a tactile, sensory experience for visitors.

Heatherwick Studio’s partner Mat Cash emphasized the importance of creating a development with character and variety: ‘Super large-scale developments are often overbearing and devoid of character. In contrast, we wanted to infuse our project in Xi’an with the spirit, variety, and texture that happens naturally in cities over time. The district pays homage to the city’s tradition of making and its historic connection to ceramics.’

the xi’an tree offers 56 terraces with gardens inspired by the silk road biomes