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An eco-park of distinction
By Lu Xiaofeng and Wang Jie |
July 26, 2010, Monday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
SPECIAL passages for wild animals, facilities made with recycled materials, signposts at turns and crossroads - these are but a few of the details underlying the people-oriented design for the Ziqidonglai (meaning "Purple Air from the East") eco-park, a major new tourist attraction in Jiading New Town.
Headquartered in Boston, USA, Sasaki Associates is an international design firm that specializes in urban planning, landscape architecture and municipal design. Its forte is large landscape complexes such as the Ziqidonglai eco-park and the successful creation of the forest landscapes in the Olympic Park in Beijing. As soon as the company won the bid for the eco-park in April 2008, it plunged into an in-depth study of Jiading's history, culture, natural environment and the overall plan of Jiading New Town. "The focus is sustainable development and a people-oriented concept," said Zhang Dou, a project manager for the park based on her over ten years experience in landscape design.
"In the original master plan of Jiading New Town, Ziqidonglai was cut into small pieces by crisscrossing roads. That was a bad design for tourists and inhibited the free movement of wild animals in the park," Zhang said. "So we eliminated some of the paths and increased the green areas."
Initially, the park was to be bifurcated by Shengxin Avenue, an arterial road running from the south to the north. To improve the situation, an elevated pedestrian bridge was designed to cross Shengxin Avenue linking the park's east and west sides. The bridge will be under Metro Line 11 and landscaped with greenery to give tourists have a nice view of the park. "As for animals, who dare not run across Shengxin Avenue because of heavy traffic," Zhang explained, "this bridge will serve as safe passage."
In Zhang Dou's opinion, low carbon emission and environment-friendliness are not something detached from the park. They are part of its integral design. As for the species of the plants, only indigenous varieties will be chosen because they best suited the local climate and seldom need as much care or irrigation. Some of the old bridges, roads and workshops have been preserved and will be used for other purposes. That includes bricks for recycling. Meanwhile, large tracts of wetlands have been created in the park to purify the air and water.
In such a large public park, will tourists get lost? Not likely. The design calls for carefully marked maps and signposts directing people to the park's attractions and to feeder transportation systems. And for a distinctive artistic touch, the design features elements of the paintings of Lu Yanshao, a Jiading artist.
Headquartered in Boston, USA, Sasaki Associates is an international design firm that specializes in urban planning, landscape architecture and municipal design. Its forte is large landscape complexes such as the Ziqidonglai eco-park and the successful creation of the forest landscapes in the Olympic Park in Beijing. As soon as the company won the bid for the eco-park in April 2008, it plunged into an in-depth study of Jiading's history, culture, natural environment and the overall plan of Jiading New Town. "The focus is sustainable development and a people-oriented concept," said Zhang Dou, a project manager for the park based on her over ten years experience in landscape design.
"In the original master plan of Jiading New Town, Ziqidonglai was cut into small pieces by crisscrossing roads. That was a bad design for tourists and inhibited the free movement of wild animals in the park," Zhang said. "So we eliminated some of the paths and increased the green areas."
Initially, the park was to be bifurcated by Shengxin Avenue, an arterial road running from the south to the north. To improve the situation, an elevated pedestrian bridge was designed to cross Shengxin Avenue linking the park's east and west sides. The bridge will be under Metro Line 11 and landscaped with greenery to give tourists have a nice view of the park. "As for animals, who dare not run across Shengxin Avenue because of heavy traffic," Zhang explained, "this bridge will serve as safe passage."
In Zhang Dou's opinion, low carbon emission and environment-friendliness are not something detached from the park. They are part of its integral design. As for the species of the plants, only indigenous varieties will be chosen because they best suited the local climate and seldom need as much care or irrigation. Some of the old bridges, roads and workshops have been preserved and will be used for other purposes. That includes bricks for recycling. Meanwhile, large tracts of wetlands have been created in the park to purify the air and water.
In such a large public park, will tourists get lost? Not likely. The design calls for carefully marked maps and signposts directing people to the park's attractions and to feeder transportation systems. And for a distinctive artistic touch, the design features elements of the paintings of Lu Yanshao, a Jiading artist.
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