The Han Chang’an City Ruins area is located in the northwestern part of Xi’an, which is particularly conspicuous on satellite maps in the dark of night and surrounded by the bright lights of the main city. Located in the bustling city of Chang’an, Mihe Farm was born after years of searching for a balance between development and preservation, covering an area of more than 300 acres with the theme of urban leisure and green agriculture. The farm’s initial buildings, Mihe Auditorium and Leban Restaurant, are the first to be built.
The original layout of the auditorium was incompatible with the new functional needs of a temporary light processing plant built in modern red brick, and the original renovation plan changed to only partially preserve the west side of the plant’s facade as a small echo of the site’s memory. On the south side of the auditorium is a single building in the government-led development of a commercial district, making it difficult to define the style of the building, and it is the part of the restaurant that was transformed into the current Leban restaurant.
The kitchen part of the restaurant is connected to the auditorium, and the two are operated independently on weekdays. However, the architectural form of the buildings is connected, so that the auditorium does not have a south facade, and the restaurant is missing its north side. Of course, the new part of the auditorium is subject to the constraints of the conservation area in terms of scale and form. Instead, we’ve “mirrored” the outline of the existing restaurant building to create a “brother and sister” effect.
Integration of old and new and a fresh start.
The use of black carbonized wood around the auditorium gives the façade a soft and serene tone, paired with a simple double-sloped metal roof that meets the requirements of economical renovation and maintains the integrity of the auditorium’s architectural form to the greatest extent possible. On the east side, the air conditioning and courtyard are hidden behind a grill at street level; on the north side, a black steel corridor guides the main entrance and the auditorium portion of operable windows and doors; and on the west side, a renovated red brick wall with landscaped steps provides the best area for viewing sunsets. As a backdrop to the auditorium and ballroom, two long, narrow planted courtyards are embedded in the main body of the building, with bamboo protruding from the large, dark gray roof, reinforcing the rhythm of the building and the rural style.
In terms of functional use, the first focus of the hall is to hold “niche” weddings, followed by a variety of events. Therefore, the unfolding of the wedding process becomes the core element of the spatial movement and layout. The reception of friends and relatives, the tea ceremony, the wedding ceremony, the guest banquet are all carried out in an orderly manner in the morning and afternoon, and the spatial interoperability between the internal functions and the North Lawn also meets the needs of different scales of weddings and activities.
Sunshine warms our protagonists
In contrast to the black and dry exterior of the building, the interior of the Mihe Auditorium is clean and bright, with lots of white space for the newlyweds and event organizers to customize their private scenes according to their own preferences and needs. The large roof of the auditorium building incorporates a variety of space forms, and the dome at the entrance brings in the light of the sky from the center of the circle, allowing people to rest from the hustle and bustle outside. The single sloping roof of the auditorium reflects the early morning light through the moso bamboo courtyard, while the light from the main backdrop of the ballroom illuminates the main pair of the room at noon.
We hope to create a moment of light and warmth through the Mihe Auditorium, where the sunlight from the roof diffuses into the interior in different positions over time, regulating the rhythm of the space and thus creating a variety of atmospheres to meet the needs of different scenarios. Mihe Farm will bring a unique moment of rest and refreshment to people’s busy lives with the support of the great landscape centered on the city.
