Location: Beijing, China.

Architect: RSAA/ Büro Ziyu Zhuang.

The highest building in Xi’an, the Greenland Center, has been transformed into a restaurant, bar, and events space with a contemporary feel. The design incorporates traditional Chinese city planning and architecture, presenting a panoramic view of the city and Lishan Mountains. The circular spatial experience sequence includes abstract installations related to traditional planning of space, such as shadow puppets lanterns, a bright ceiling, a super-long bar, a curtain ceiling, high-seat settings, partitions, and a king-sized round table. The entrance features an installation in the shape of an inverted cone, providing an inviting space through the superimposition of traditional color and setting. Visitors are separately ushered to the open dining area, bar, and viewing area, making it the best “viewing platform” in the city. The booths in the bar are stacked and elevated, passing through the 40-meter-long No. 1 bar in Asia, allowing visitors to have a bird’s eye view of the city. The space with a high ceiling, the extended bar, independent long table, and complete sofa area correspond to the corners of the entrance, making it the most important “Party Room” in the city. The plain corridor zigzags to create a quiet place with trees and flowers, together with contemporary art interspersed in between, forming a series of opposite scenery and borrowed views. Nine independent booths of different sizes are connected, with the largest booth having a 20-person capacity, containing a sofa area for conference function and a dining table set. The project represents traditional symbols, a fusion of experience “at the top of the cloud” rather than a stacking space for traditional symbols. It nurtures the coexistence of the tradition and the contemporary, and carries the broad-mindedness, gusto, and vitality of young Xi’an.