Botanica Meditation Centre

The Botanica Meditation Centre is located on the outskirts of the old city of Hefei. In the past 30 years, with the rapid growth of the population, the city has transformed from a single central area to a multi-center model in a very short period and has been under unprecedented pressure of intensive development.

This kind of development phenomenon not only occurs in Hefei but also in every Chinese metropolitan city, reflecting the need for people to adapt to and cooperate with the pace of work and life under the rapid development that has occurred in a short period of time.

The owner of this place has been working in the real estate industry in the past, under the high-pressure of the work rhythm, and she has always had an incomparable love for plants. She dreamed to establish a botanical garden that was open to the public and could provide the community residents with space for meditation, yoga, Tai Chi, and other spiritual training courses, to educate them of the aesthetic concept of a “slow life”.

HAS design and research conducted in-depth research for this project and found that traditional botanical gardens have huge water tanks. Although they can be used as watering systems, there is a spatial separation between two systems: plants and equipment.

In the Botanica Meditation Centre, HAS (Hung And Songkittipakdee) reversed this conventional typology. First, the traditional equipment water tank was hidden under the ground, so that the area occupied by the structure could be transformed into a multi-functional space, including places for meditation, observation and introspection.

Then there is the extended underground watering system, which extends to every corner of the botanical garden. This system not only solves the problem of the traditional water tank and the garden deviating from each other, but also adds to the uniquely designed water mist device in a more poetical way, that reflecting the rituality of meditation, yoga, Tai Chi, and other activities.

During the day, the Botanica Meditation Centre presents a sense tranquility, providing a natural resting space for people, insects, birds, and squirrels; in the afternoon, the water mist system will automatically irrigate. All these elements are added to simulate a scene of morning mist surrounding the Emerald Lake around the site, and to provide a spiritually open place for meditation.

In addition, all the material used is Hefei travertine. Hundreds of stones were carved with irregular edges by local artisans, as if it were the result of a natural phenomenon caused by water erosion

The Botanica Meditation Centre not only creates a cool micro-climate, but also allows users to enjoy an extraordinary scenic experience in the morning, afternoon and evening.