Jinmao Pure in Xi’an is the debut project of Jinmao’s Puyi series. Xi’an’s cultural heritage and abundant natural resources lend the city a distinctive charm. Drawing from these natural and cultural elements, the design aims to reflect an enriched living experience through the simplicity of nature, creating a refined, tranquil, and meaningful residential environment. By using uncarved stones, wild plants, and native water features, we aimed to create a sense of simple and pure beauty. Behind this simplicity lies an exceptional living experience—meticulous spatial planning and thoughtful details provide a sense of healing and sensory comfort, fostering a lifestyle that is both authentic and attentive.
The main landscape of the demonstration area features a sunken courtyard of less than 800 square meters, surrounded by club facilities. The designer took an unconventional approach, dividing the compact courtyard into four smaller sections, linked by corridors, providing an immersive garden-like experience. Each courtyard is connected by refined corridors, preserving their individuality while establishing a cohesive spatial sequence both visually and experientially.
The corridor design not only provides a smooth spatial transition but also blurs the boundaries between indoor and outdoor areas, forming a seamless experience that embodies the concept of ‘boundary-free living. Each clubhouse unit features a unique landscaped area with a seamless transition from indoors to outdoors. These areas include the welcoming garden at the entrance, the cigar garden, the afternoon tea garden, and the waterside tea pavilion. This design approach allows for effortless movement between spaces, enabling guests to fully appreciate the harmony between indoor and outdoor environments.
In our landscape design, we created a dialogue in scale—large rocks became focal elements in the small courtyards. Despite the limited space, the arrangement of these rocks maximizes spatial tension, imparting a sense of openness to the courtyard. The native stones were carefully selected to retain their raw, rugged character. Their unrefined surfaces highlight natural textures and strength, as if drawing the grandeur of nature into the courtyard.
We focused on the natural growth of native plants. Trees, shrubs, and wild grasses grow freely, complementing the rocks and water, establishing a natural, unrefined aesthetic. The planting arrangement avoids excessive grooming, preserving the vitality and natural characteristics of the native vegetation. This approach allows the landscape to reflect a more authentic natural appearance, with a touch of wild charm.
Courtyard in Wildness highlights the raw and pure qualities of nature, blurring spatial boundaries to create a seamless connection between indoors and outdoors, as well as between dynamic and tranquil areas. The balance of depth and openness, wild charm and vitality, allows the beauty of the natural landscape to exude a quiet yet profound strength that resonates with one’s inner self, inviting people to wander through and offer a sense of belonging in nature.
Courtyard in Wildness
Location: Xi’an City, China
Design Firm: Mind Studio
Photography: E-ar TARS
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