OPPOSITE PARKS
GREEN & BLUE INFRASTRUCTURE freedom to evolve independently. Each can be designed, re designed, programmed and re programmed without disrupting its neighbours or the overall structure.
Many Layers BAU identified each design issue involved in this project and developed an independent ideal, uncompromised or utopian solution for each of those issue. These ideal layers have been put together in a rich and complex assemblage. Any conflict within the assemblage was solved locally while maintaining the layer( s).
XICHENG CANAL LANDSCAPE
OPPOSITE PARKS
City Park Network Xicheng Canal Parkland is a defining component of Jiangyin’ s emerging city wide park network and a clear expression of BAU’ s Networks Cities * framework, which understands successful urban form and space as a layering of interconnected, adaptive systems rather than isolated objects. As Jiangyin grows, the project asks a critical question: Can a city cultivate both a resilient ecological network and a dynamic cultural park network— side by side, and mutually reinforcing?(* See BAU’ s Designing Networks Cities, Routledge 2024.)
Xicheng Canal Landscape Two landscapes in quiet opposition along Xicheng Canal— one shaped by nature, the other by culture The design proposes a pair of“ complementary yet parks” along a 4 kilometre stretch of the Xicheng Canal— two landscapes with intentionally contrasting agendas. One is a continuous, indigenous ecological corridor; the other is a highly flexible cultural park composed of 101 distinct park mosaics. Together, they form a complementary system: one extremely environmentally resilient, the other extraordinarily responsive culturally. The parkland, situated on remediated brownfields, is the heart of the district’ s transformation from a site of polluting industry and a contaminated canal into a series of high-density residential and mixed use precincts.
East Bank Cultural Landscape Corridor: 101 Gardens- a framework designed for maximum adaptability
Contemporary Chinese culture is fluid, fast moving and continually reinventing itself. The East Bank responds with a framework designed for maximum adaptability. A pentagonal tessellating pattern is overlaid across the site, subdividing the park into 101 whole or partial units— each one a garden / park in its own right. The maximum length of any garden edge is 100m, with a diagonal length 142m. Without hierarchical order, the park’ s structure allows gardens the
A number of other urban issues were identified and a layer developed for each. These issues include:
Palimpsest This cultural park makes visible parts of what has been removed and uses those fragments to advantage. Thresholds of historical precincts are redefined, walls lost to demolition are partially rebuilt to frame views, or become seats and benches, increasing amenity for the park users.
Peripheral Paths Both the eco-indigenous and the cultural park have a peripheral path that runs between and under existing vehicular bridges, providing highly accessible edges to both parks.
Desire Lines From every intersecting street, a path leads directly to the river. In the wider park areas, shortcuts are provided so pedestrians can cut diagonally through the park to the next intersecting bridge. In addition, the eco-park has a path running through the centre, a quiet route through nature.
Existing Buildings Existing buildings are recycled and re-programmed to become part of a post-industrial landscape – either on green islands within the new ecopark, or becoming the focus of new
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