Established in 2001, L&A Design is a cultural and creative company dedicated to land development in new urbanization and comprehensive cultural and tourism development. It accomplished more than 3000 projects worldwide, in such fields as land use planning, urban public space, green space system planning, tourist attractions and agricultural planning, commerce and residence, urban renewal, sport complexes, hotel and resort, industrial and scientific park and extensive cultural tourism project. L&A Design owns 13 branches and subsidiaries throughout the country with more than 1200 staffs from all over the world. It explores several professional sub-brands such as “La V-onderland” which is a service provider of children’s creative space, and “Wonder-garden” which concentrates on exterior decoration design.
The core concept of L&A Design is to create a better environment. In 2001, it set the development goal to be the forerunner who would bring the concept of cultural and ecological landscape into China. Considering the constantly changes and requirements of Chinese market environment, “D•B•F•O” abbreviated for “Design, Building, Finance and Operation”—— a four-in-one system platform was set up in 2016. L&A Design always pursues the creative and beautiful living environment which is based on Chinese culture, and the humanized and dynamic urban space which has regional features
L&A Design is committed to promoting the design industry development, talent training and scientific research and innovation. L&A Public Forum, L&A Workshop and L&A Open Class provide a platform for learning and communication, and initiate discussions and reflections in the emerging fields as well. L&A Rural Revival Camp and L&A Design Star International University Student Design Competition bring practical experience to professional students. The launch of Shenzhen Child-friendly Community and La V-onderland Nature Education attracted the domestic design industry’s attention to children’s creative space. Utilizing the integration of information, science, technology, art and engineering practice, L&A Research and Development Center applies big data collection and analysis methods such as sensor technology and UAV remote sensing technology in the aided design for the accurate placement of landscape structures, facilities and devices, and obtained nearly ten scientific and technological achievements and fifty new-type utility patents.
L&A Design is highly recognized by designers, clients, and government officials during the past two decades. It won the first prize in 2019 Professional Leading Enterprise issued by Private Design Enterprise Branch of CEDA, and was awarded 2018 National Top Ten Excellent Garden Enterprises issued by Landscape Architecture Association, etc. Due to the outstanding projects, L&A Design also received more than 180 prizes which are domestic and overseas including IFLA, REARD, ELA, IDEA-KING, CIHAF.
Hongshan Lake Civil Park in Anshun
The project site located in the core urban construction region, is a part of the national scenic area in Anshun, Guizhou Province. Low Impact Development Strategy was mainly adopted to renovate the existed scenic area and to build a generator for future city life. L&A emphasized the concept of ecologically sustainable development on this project to establish a sponge city system: a rainwater treatment zone was set up to reduce pressure on urban drainage, further to create resilient ecological communities in the park. The existing rich vertical resources on the site were well utilized to establish the relationship between human and nature, and to make ecologically natural scenery widely available to citizens. Various functional spaces are built by the participatory and ground-based design skills to make sure that people at different ages could happily spend their time in many ways all day long in the park. It makes the park to be an ecological, healthy and agreeable life generator filled with vitality.
It aimed at building an ecology-oriented urban public space with an integrated eco-system, a lush plant system of various species, also a rational layout for functional facilities and landscaping areas. This project creates a new definition on landscape architecture of urban public space in China. It is an ideal model of urban public space renovation.
Linzhi Artel Poly, Nyingchi, Tibet
The project is built along Sichuan-Tibet Highway which is the only to Lhasa, in Lulang Town, Nyingchi, Tibet, about 80 kilometers from Bayi Town, adjacent to Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon. Nestled in diversified landforms of glaciers, alpine valleys, meadows, forests, rivers and lakes, the hotel possesses perfect native surroundings with nice natural spatial sequence, which the design team well applied to create series layered hospitable spaces for visitors.
Local environment is well protected by series low-impact development technologies with modern techniques, local materials and technologies of Tibetan construction. Localized material such as local slate, cobblestones and wood are used in the landscape architecture, which drives the development of local economy, also makes construction costs effectively reduced, presents a successful practice and a model project for the local low-impact construction.
Also, traditional local elements are well integrated. Tibetan ethnic elements, such as bonfire, lotus throne, prayer wheel and shrine are also perfectly drawn into the project design, giving visitors a peaceful, holy and cozy vacation on plateau lakeside. Immersed into the regional culture and spirit, the project has potentials for further development, which will become a profound and mysterious signifier for visitors.
Marshland Park along Xiangjiang River
The project is located on the west bank of Xiangjiang River in Changsha. In July 2017, Xiangjiang River experienced the most serious flood in the past hundred years, which resulted in marshland park was almost completely inundated. However, the park revived itself promptly, effectively demonstrating the successful design of resilient ecosystem.
The project site lies within a sharp variation of water level. Designers did their best to protect existing environment with little disturbance. Multi-dimensional design strategies were adopted for various local drought-resistant plants and site configurations leveled by normal, wet-season and flood waterlines, to well obey the existed natural and hydrological characteristics with seasonal changes. Various plant species brought benefits to other organisms, that biodiversity stimulated the resistance to flooding disasters inherent in a healthy ecosystem. Meanwhile, during dry seasons, it is an ideal complement to Yuelu Mountain Scenic Area, layered spaces were well designed creating a waterfront recreational space for the public by native cultural elements with low-maintenance, high-resistance and high-interaction. Neighboring citizens enjoy leisure time when they are strolling, riding, bathing. The project highlights its important role in ecological energy efficiency, urban development and cultural heritance.
Rural Revival Camp for Henggang Village
Comparing with traditional theory-oriented Chinese design education, Henggang Rural Revival Camp explores a new teaching method, blazing a new trail. It responds to the realistic and urgent need for China’s countryside revival and educational reform. The camp was established in 2016, the past four sessions of the camp were supported by local government and people, on the consensus of “art into village”. Several universities have been motivated to rebuild the declining villages in the form of design workshop. With diversified thoughts from different disciplines, students attempt to realize rural revival from a new perspective and achieve extraordinary results.
This project applied another rural construction mode to revive the declining traditional elements, including cultural landscape, local architecture, and farming culture. The camp helps students to apply theory into reality and carry out more design explorations, against the background of free design and various challenges. There are more opportunities to implement designs in the vast Chinese rural communities. Different from only applying pure technical and commercial thoughts, management courses and group construction projects were set to facilitate the social identity transformation and team management of students, including project operation and budget, project and team management, they can make full use of their imagination, at the same time local conditions considered.
Sales Center of COB Wangjing Mansion in Beijing
This project is aim to design a sales center for the Mansion, to promote the real-estate purchasing experience in the early stage, and later to be a multi-functional amusement space for children here. The target clients of the Mansion are mainly the younger generation in Beijing with nuclear families. They have got in touch with the Western culture much earlier than other cities, and they have a stronger passion for interstellar culture than the elder. Accordingly, L&A was inspired to design the sales center themed by interstellar space to attract both the target clients and their children. Contextual design skills are employed to create the scenery of a science fiction story about the Earth tour of an alien called “Haohaiyou” from another planet. Various designing elements, such as landscape, interior, soft furnishings, equipment and facility customization, sculptures and IP, are well integrated to build this theme-park-style wonderland.
The innovative wonderland-oriented design concept makes the sales center filled with vitality. It becomes an ideal interactive space for people to enjoy a good time here. The target residents will play happily with their kids in this children’s discovery center with unique and interesting sci-tech experience. The immersive interstellar space brings unprecedented joy into this residential community. The glamour of design produces better daily life.
