Located between a mountain and river in rapidly growing Changsha, Lianjiang Park commands a critical juncture between city, nature, and a changing way of life. While the Lianjiang region had always been intimately linked to the water, recent urban development has resulted in a significant loss of wetlands, habitats, and the culture they give rise to.
In response to a government-proposed 3-square-kilometer new development zone with a 12-ha reservoir for urban flood control, the design team envisioned a comprehensive water system as the armature of the development, with the reservoir becoming a multifunctional open space in the city. Incorporating a 20-meter grade change, lake, wetlands, creeks, hills, terraces and islands are sculpted from existing topography, serving to store and filter drainage from surrounding urban areas before it flows into the river. Expanding the perimeter of the water body through an undulating shoreline, with a series of bays and inlets, means the ecological functions and experiential features of the reservoir are maximized along the edge. Introducing water treatment infrastructure to address water pollution and increase flood capacity creates a variety of habitats, thereby restoring water-based ecologies and cultural habits. A wide variety of recreational amenities are planned by creek and lake, including waterfront promenades and plazas, wetland gardens, education center and sports fields. Three trails traverse varying levels of the park, connecting a variety of programmed spaces and distinct landscapes. The plant selection reinforces a unique sense of place with wetland grasses, tea terraces, bamboo forest, metasequoia islands, and lotus ponds recall the traditional Lianjiang landscape. Through the synthesis of topography, hydrology and vegetation, Lianjiang Park becomes a 20-hectare living green machine, integrating human activities and serving as valuable model for sustainable urban expansion. Taking on the challenge of managing polluted runoff, the project creates a sustainable landscape where people and wildlife can find refuge and rejuvenation – under the surface as well as above.
Golden Gate National Recreation Area
In the early 1970s, the National Park Service began the enormous task of creating a new national recreation area in the midst of an urban center—the San Francisco Bay Area, home to 4.5 million people at the time. Riding the wake of the environmental revolution of the late 1960s, the Park Service would need to find consensus among a wide range of constituents, ...
Changchun Tractor Factory Renovation
Once-industrial site re-imagined as a commercial complex with eye-catching public spaces.
For this site, which was once an industrial tractor factory that epitomized Changchun’s thriving industrial past, SWA provided conceptual design through implementation to transform the former of Changchun Tractor Factory into an eye-catching public realm that fulfi...
Main Street Garden Park
A key component in the downtown revitalization strategy, Main Street Garden Park required razing two city blocks of buildings and garages to make way for its transformation into a vibrant public space teeming with civic life. This two-acre park fosters downtown residential and commercial growth and was designed to accommodate the needs of residents in adjacent...
China Beach
China Beach acts as an amphitheater to take in the drama of the San Francisco Golden Gate: the ebb and flow of the wildlife, currents, tides, winds, fog, sun, surf, and marine traffic. Ultimately, this larger landscape and the landscape features of a refreshed beach terrace will be the defining experience for the visitor to China Beach. We are striving to prod...