buddhist temple - chinese garden

the garden

the buddhist temple will become part of a cultural centre, which consists of an art gallery and a library. the three buildings will be located within a large, carefully landscaped garden, which relates back to suzhou’s infamous gardens. the designers of the three buildings will work closely together to design the garden, creating a strong relationship with one another.

traditional chinese garden

largest garden in China: the humble administrator’s garden in suzhou - 51,950m2, with 48 structuresseries of perfectly composed and framed glimpses of sceneryclassically surrounded by a wall, which serves as a backdrop for flowers and treeswater pond - centre with many structures arranged arround itcentral building is usually a library connected by galleries with other pavillions which serve as observation points of the garden features

potential site for temple

chosen site for garden

garden layout concept

entrance to the north-east of site from the main canal running east to westgarden zoned by circles, each with its own unique character which reflects traditional chinese gardensoverlapping circles allowing for transitional spaces between each areahierarchy of spaces - spaces become quieter, landscaping becomes denser towards the lake. this also reflects the hierarchy of spaces on the larger scale of the masterplan

potential location of each project with the possibility of a future museum project

garden layout concept

garden layout concept

main path snaking through the site from entrance to temple, connecting all the buildings togethersecondary paths and various streams to be introduced as design develops further

temple location / context

temple

artgallery

library

university campus / residential blocks

commercial metro stop

marina

taihu lake main canal

precedent

water-moon monastery | artech architects | taipai, taiwansite area: 27,936 sqmThe reflections on the 80-meter long lotus pond of the over-sized colonnades and the flowing golden drapes in between create a scene of illusory quality. Using architectural concrete as the main material, the design reduces the color and form to a minimum, conveying the spirit of Zen Buddhism.

overall temple concept