Hongqiao Forest and Sports Park
Shenzhen, China
Category Landscape | Public Space | Infrastructure | Sports
Job type 1st Prize, International competition
Date 2018-2022
Size 600 ha
Client Guangming New District Management Committee | Shenzhen Guangming Center of Urban Develop | OCT Guang Ming (Shenzhen) Investment Co.
Collaborator Lola Landscape | L+CC
Status Phase 1: Built | Phase 2: Under construction
Awards World Architecture Festival 2021, Landscape Category: Nature Context, Shortlisted | Dezeen Awards 2021, Architecture Category: Landscape Project, Longlisted | Landezine International Landscape Award Awards 2021, Public Projects Category, Shortlisted | World Landscape Architecture Awards 2021, Built - Urban Category, Merit Award | World Architecture Festival China 2020, Best Landscape Design, Winner | World Architecture Festival China 2020, Excellence in Design, Winner
Photos Duo Duo | Cyan&Orange | Lola Landscape | L+CC | WeChat Social Media*
Sports and Nature destination
The Forest and Sports Park is to become a destination for the Big Bay area. As this metropolitan region finds its success in innovative industries, the park focuses on innovation in sports and ecology. The Guangming Town Forest and Sports Park is part of the world’s most innovative Delta.
The Pearl River Delta has its origins in dynamic nature with stunning biodiversity. Rapid urbanization required a strong policy on nature preservation. The Shenzhen green network is a good example of this. However, protection is not enough. We need to reinvent the relationship between the city and nature.
Linked life
Guangming town is a showcase of the various new ways in which city and nature can build a fruitful relationship. The Forest and Sports Park is an important link in the green network of the city. In the park, the forest and sports life will show in their most dynamic and innovative way.
Innovation cradle
The park will keep on developing over time, continuously enriching both biodiversity and possibilities for active leisure and sports. With Shenzhen being the cradle of new ideas and technologies, Forest and Sports Park will be the cradle of new nature and new sports.
Innovative sports
Innovative structures
Innovative nature
Masterplan
The base of the Forest and Sports Park is defined by a network of paths and trails. Around the lake a loop is laid out for all velocities, connecting all main programs. An electric bus stops at all important destinations, facilitating access for all user groups. The loop is the starting point of a network of paths and trails. An elevated path links the forest park to the central city park and the rest of the mountain forest. A scenic route, that goes through different atmospheres and passes by multiple points of interest. It also functions like a pedestrian highway, with rhythmic exits and no steep slopes.
Sports forest
In a natural forest setting, visitors are able to get to know new and forgotten sports, as well as the latest techniques used in sports. A range from open valleys to lower hills and mountain forest offers the natural background for these sports and active leisure.
Active landscape
Three types of nature: valleys, lower hills, and mountains. With each landscape fitting a specific group of active recreation.
Buildings network
Buildings are mainly concentrated around the loop. In the mountains, visitors can find dispersed cabins and service buildings.
Bihu lake
The lake is the central organizer and main engine of the park.
Organic ecosystems
Diversification of the forest is fueled by a Botanic Research and Development facility.
Bihu lake loop
The loop in the Lake of Champions is the connector between the city, the forest, and the station.
Open trail system
A fine network of forest trails is organized around numbered nodes, allowing endless routes to be programed.
Red path
An elevated route forms a landmark that connects the park to the city, the forest, and the mountains.
West entrance
In the urban area, the main entrance sets the starting point of the journey giving the visitors a glimpse of what they will find along their journey in the park.
Red path
It's a scenic route that passes through different atmospheres and multiple points of interest along all the multiple types of forests.
The red path allows universal access to the mountains and the forest.
The red path is parametrically designed to adapt to the terrain, in order to maintain a low slope along its trajectory.
Components
The red path is made of nine modular sections that arrange themselves around the mountains to guarantee a continuous slope. They were designed to ease the construction of the elevated path in order to reduce the impact on the forest as well.
Typical section detail
Architecture components
Along the Red Path, from the entrance to the Greenway, a series of elements are linked to the elevated structure. They grant access to the path and the forest. Some of them protrude from the forest to give the visitors unique views. While others create active connections between the different layers of the park. All of them are built on basis of a cohesive set of materials, forms, and construction methods, in order to give the Red Path its own language within the park.
Access bridge
Located at the beginning of the path, it connects the existing sports fields across the highway with the park.
Visitor center
Located at the point where the path meets the Sports Plaza, the building welcomes the visitor. The Visitor Center is a building that complements the activities of the park and works as an open auditorium for special events. The path softly covers the plaza to create the auditorium. As well as underneath it, the center holds basic services for the visitors like an information point, a cafeteria, restrooms, and a gift shop.
Spiral ramp
This feature serves as an access point for people with reduced mobility making the Path accessible for everybody. The ramp wraps around a garden placed in the middle of the sports plaza; making it a Spiral shaped landmark, that not only stands out due to its geometry but also because of the green “oasis” it creates in the middle of it.
Ground connections
A series of platforms distributed along the Red Path. These platforms are strategically distributed along the route to allow pedestrian connection between the ground level and the elevated path. Each one is individually designed to meet the specific requirements of its context and the nearby program.
Panorama tower
A tall structure with a central staircase that rises 20 meters above ground level. Its middle section consists of two hanging view platforms separated by a double-height space crowned by a sloped canopy. The horizontal lines of the platforms and the verticality of the tower create a special rhythm in the landscape.
Ending tower
A second viewpoint that rises above ground level. It’s a remarkable element to mark the end of the main trace of the Red Path, acting as an articulator between it and the existing Greenway. A lighter structure of pillars and cables holds this platform, and it’s crowned by a flat canopy with a wider proportion for rain cover.
Phase two
The first phase opened in 2020, including the red path, entrance plaza, forest area, and a temporary loop in the Bihu area. It has been a success since its opening people are able to use most of the park and its facilities. The construction of the second phase, called Lake of Champions, is expected to start in 2021. It includes five innovative sports multifields, a nursery loop, the Botanical R&D center, and the Sports R&D center.
Lake of Champions
Around the Bihu area, we find the biggest concentration of sports for all age groups and physical conditions. The Sports R&D center will develop and research new sports and activities, as well as how to improve existing sports. Every sports cluster is surrounded by a unique blend of meadow flowers, grown and tested in the Botanical R&D center.
Sports landscape
In the loop area, a linear plant and tree nursery is integrated. In a natural forest setting, people will be able to get to know new and forgotten sports, as well as the latest techniques used in sports. A range from open valleys to lower hills and mountain forest offers the natural background for these sports and active leisure.
*Disclaimer: some pictures are taken from local Chinese social media. If you are the owner of the rights and want your photo removed, please contact info@tallerarchitects.com
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