INTERNATIONAL HORTICULTURE EXHIBITION 2024 CHENGDU

The International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH) promotes the value of plants in urban environments and the essential role they play in sustaining our planet. In 2024, Chengdu hosts the International Horticultural Exhibition under the theme of "Park City - Beautiful Habitat", which emphasizes the prevailing characteristics of our times and the features of Chengdu as a park city itself.

The exhibition site covers a total area of 242.2 hectares and is located 10.2 km from Tianfu International Airport in the southeastern new district of the metropolis. There are 7 zones, 6 main pavilions, 120 gardens for invited exhibitors and 8 theme gardens on the site. The Expo will run from April 26 to October 28, 2024. 

BERLIN ICEBERG ROSE GARDEN

prespace ARCHITEKTEN was invited to design and curate the garden that presents German horticulture at the EXPO. The State of Berlin, in the person of the Governing Mayor, became the patron of the project.

Historically, German cities often have rose gardens and we chose this aspect as a starting point for the concept and design of our garden.

The abstraction of a rose blossom generates the shapes of paths, flower beds and pools in the rose garden. In conjunction with the topography of the site, the shapes and paths lead to a central pavilion, which we intend to be a place to participate in activities, visit exhibitions, and also enjoy a moment of communication or contemplation.

GARDEN PAVILION

At first glance, the pavilion appears to be a perforated cylinder floating above the garden. The shape of the pavilion is based on the connection of two differently sized circles and the interplay of the resulting arcs defines the space itself and the location of supporting elements such as the window on the upper floor, the staircase and of course the entrance on the ground floor. The void in the center is designed to also provide light to the center of the ground floor seating area and set a focus on the bar. 

In order to enhance the floating impression of the pavilion as a whole, the ground floor is designed mainly in black colors and the ground floor facade is entirely made of glass, which can be opened on the northern half of the circle. The glass panels are colored differently and match the colors of the roses in the garden. The view outside is filtered in pinks and reds. 

In contrast to the ground floor, the upper floor is meant to be light, opaque, and introverted. Nevertheless, the walls have been perforated with vases specially designed for the project. Once again, the colors of the roses will be used to subtly relate the exhibition space to the garden outside.

WHAT ABOUT THE ICEBERG?

Even rose gardens and roses cannot escape the biological changes in times of climate change. We chose the name Iceberg Rose Garden to create associations with both the German rose variety "Eisberg" and the endangered natural phenomenon of the iceberg.