Xiaoliangtan Garden by West 8

Designed by West 8 for the 2024 Chengdu World Horticultural Expo, Xiaoliangtan Garden, also known as The Cool Garden, is a subtle yet powerful landscape project rooted in local cultural memory. Drawing inspiration from Chengdu’s long-standing tradition of gathering by mountain creeks—listening to flowing water beneath tree canopies and feeling cool stones underfoot—the garden offers a place of pause within the larger expo grounds. Rather than presenting a spectacle, Xiaoliangtan proposes an atmosphere: one of shade, sound, touch, and shared presence, shaped through water, stone, and terrain.

A Garden Without a Fixed Beginning or End

Unlike conventional gardens defined by clear entrances, routes, or focal points, Xiaoliangtan deliberately avoids a prescribed sequence. There is no formal arrival, no single viewpoint from which the garden reveals itself. Instead, visitors encounter it gradually, invited to sit along stone edges, wander barefoot, or simply linger.

This openness reflects the informal nature of Chengdu’s creekside social life, where people gather spontaneously rather than ceremonially. The landscape encourages unstructured interaction—children play in the water, friends sit together, and individuals find moments of solitude—allowing each visitor to shape their own experience.

Water as the Organizing Element

At the heart of Xiaoliangtan Garden is the choreography of flowing water. Three gently sloped terrains guide small streams toward a shared center, where they merge into a pebble-lined basin at the garden’s lowest point. The movement of water is calm and continuous, producing a soft acoustic background that defines the atmosphere of the space.

This basin acts as both a visual and social anchor. Visitors naturally gravitate toward it, drawn by the sound of water and the tactile quality of pebbles beneath their feet. The design transforms water from a decorative feature into an active, sensory landscape element, shaping behavior and interaction.

Terrain Shaped for Use and Experience

The garden’s topography is carefully modeled to support both hydrological function and human comfort. The three sloping planes are not dramatic hills but subtle inclines that invite movement, sitting, and play. Their geometry ensures that water flows naturally and visibly, reinforcing the sense of a living, responsive landscape.

Edges are intentionally low and accessible, encouraging people to step into the stream or sit close to the water. This close contact with the ground contrasts with more formal, elevated landscapes and reinforces the garden’s emphasis on physical engagement.

Local Materiality and Geological Continuity

Xiaoliangtan Garden is constructed using red sandstone sourced locally from the riverbeds of Sichuan Province. This choice grounds the project materially and culturally, embedding it within the geological context of the region. The warm tones of the stone complement the surrounding vegetation while evoking the earthy textures familiar to Chengdu’s natural landscapes.

The stone surfaces are left tactile rather than polished, allowing visitors to feel temperature changes, moisture, and texture. Pebbles line the water basin, reinforcing the creek-like character and encouraging barefoot interaction. Through this restrained palette, West 8 emphasizes material honesty and sensory richness over visual complexity.

Shade, Comfort, and Microclimate

Referencing the shaded mountain creeks that inspired it, Xiaoliangtan Garden prioritizes coolness and comfort. Trees and planting provide a protective canopy, filtering sunlight and creating dappled shadows that shift throughout the day. Combined with evaporative cooling from flowing water, the garden establishes a pleasant microclimate even during warmer periods.

This climatic sensitivity is central to the project’s success. Rather than relying on built structures for comfort, the garden uses landscape intelligence—water, shade, and stone—to create an environment naturally suited to social life and rest.

A Social Landscape for All Ages

Xiaoliangtan functions as a shared civic space, where social boundaries dissolve. The absence of fixed seating or designated zones allows people of different ages and backgrounds to coexist comfortably. Children play freely in the shallow water, adults sit and talk along stone edges, and passersby pause to observe or listen.

The garden supports both active and passive uses without conflict, demonstrating how landscape design can foster informal social cohesion through simplicity and openness.

From Expo Installation to Living Park

Although designed for the 2024 Chengdu World Horticultural Expo, Xiaoliangtan Garden was conceived with longevity in mind. Opened in September 2024, it has continued to function as the surrounding park has matured, adapting naturally to daily use beyond the timeframe of the exhibition.

This sustained relevance underscores the project’s strength: it does not depend on novelty or event programming, but on timeless landscape principles and everyday human behavior.

A Contemporary Reading of Cultural Memory

Xiaoliangtan Garden is not a literal reconstruction of traditional creek landscapes, but a contemporary interpretation of their social and sensory qualities. By abstracting water flow, terrain, and materiality, West 8 creates a garden that feels deeply familiar without being nostalgic.

In doing so, the project demonstrates how landscape architecture can translate cultural memory into spatial experience, offering moments of calm, connection, and play within the urbanized context of a global horticultural expo.

Photography: ZiL ArchVisual